1950's & 60's USAF pilot's helmets, flight suits & more

[Bob Hudson]

Today I also found his commissioning and retirement papers. He started as 2nd Lt. in the AF reserve in 1952, became a 1st Lt. in the Regular Air Force in 1955 and retired in 1975.

 

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

I found a few more medals certificates, his flight cap, a photo, a C-130 checklist, and a menu from dinner attended by the Queen of England's hubby:

 

 

 

 

 

I did not find any medals except for the mini-set on his evening dress jacket. His only child is his a special home, but a niece apparently swept through the other day and grabbed a few things and no doubt the bling of the shiny medals caught her eye, but I have the certificates, including the few more I found today:

 

 

I'm sure a lot of families throw away those certificates even if they intend to keep or sell the medals and they just don't realize the importance of the papework. Speaking of which I almost did a dumb thing: yesterday I saw the manila envelopes that have the records of his flight time in Vietnam, but I just looked at the writing and thought they were nothing more than expense reimbursement records for when he was TDY, and tossed them aside. When I went back today I decided to give them another look...

[Bob Hudson]

I started doing some photography setups today with this grouping. I'm going to sell the bulk of the named/ID'ed pieces and paperwork as a group but I will keep one setup for my collection and I have to say that this stuff looks totally cool when put together. After I got this one put together in my workshop today I kept grabbing passersby and dragging them into the shop to see this. Since there are three patched flight suits and two patched jackets plus three helmets and the flight cap, there are pretty much three nice flight setups here (although only two pairs of flight boots). I tried a couple of headgear options during the photo tests this morning. I normally don't put the arms on this mannequin (which is used only for photo sessions) but there are two pairs of the B3 flight gloves and I wanted to put a pair of those on the mannequin and have one hand holding the flyer's kit bag.

 

 

 

[USMC_GAU-21]

GREAT photos!

 

Is there any way you can take some close ups of this helmet you used for this display. I do not have a lot of color shots of this type. It is a rare one.

 

Thanks!

 

r/Gy Dan

[cco23i]

HOLY CRAP! GREAT FIND!!!

 

Scott

[Bob Hudson]

GREAT photos!

 

Is there any way you can take some close ups of this helmet you used for this display. I do not have a lot of color shots of this type. It is a rare one.

 

Thanks!

 

r/Gy Dan

 

I'm at home now, but I will take some closeups inside and out. I can't recall the number that was on this one but I was not able to find any reference to it, only to a Navy helmet with a similar number. Here's an closeup from the photo I posted above:

 

[Bob Hudson]

I do have to say that the more I look at these helmets the more impressed I am: I've been looking around the web and I just have not found many that have these basic USAF markings on the a plain white helmet - everything seems to have been painted, but these have a look that harkens back to early days of the jet age.

 

 

We have some nice older helmets on the forum in this thread: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=48025

[kphfun]

We have some nice older helmets on the forum in this thread: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=48025

Yes, that is for sure, I have a bunch of helmet decals from various unit's from the late 40's and early 50's (They are really cool) and have always wanted a helmet like you found three of. My day will come I hope. The set ups look VERY NICE, you will do well I am sure. :thumbsup:

[M60 Driver]

As they say in some neighborhoods in my neck of the woods,

 

UFF DA

 

That is one nice group

[APO472]

That is one nice score and great job photo'ing them. Well done, Sir.

[USMC_GAU-21]

Well I can tell you they are some of the best examples of "unmolested" Jet-age helmets I have EVER seen. Once you get some inside shots and some numbers I have some original USAF flight gear manuals that I will try and track down, why that Navy helmet has such a nice USAF decal on it. When I saw it I almost fell out of my computer chair. Lets see "hens teeth" comes to mind...........

 

anyways, appreciate the link to the other helmets from Bebel, WOW!

 

I was hoping to find other folks on this forum that collected flight gear from the 50's - 70's. Not that I don't love WWII USAAF, USAAC, USN flight gear, it is a little out of a "retired Gunnys" paycheck :think:

 

Thanks for taking the time to post the pics, and I will look forward to seeing some more when you can.

 

r/Gy Dan

[Bob Hudson]

Well I can tell you they are some of the best examples of "unmolested" Jet-age helmets I have EVER seen.

 

I have posted detailed photos of the three helmets at http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...st&p=393970

[Bob Hudson]

Well I can tell you they are some of the best examples of "unmolested" Jet-age helmets I have EVER seen.

 

When I first saw these it was the instinctive "Wow, that's cool" response, a response these elicit even from people who don't know or much care about miitaria. But in spending many hours researching and photographing these in the last couple days has made me appreciate how few of these "unmolested" ones seem to be out there: with few exceptions they've been repainted or the decals are worn off or they were reworked with more modern avionics, etc. For instance that P-1B has its original headset receivers, dated August 1954 (I haven't looked at the other two yet).

 

The website at http://webs.lanset.com/aeolusaero/Articles...of_the_gear.htm addresses this:

 

"As this is being written, existing stocks of many of the earlier jet-age flight helmets are in the process of being depleted and are disappearing. Some, such as original, unmodified examples of the early USAF HGU-2/P have become increasingly rare (most were attrited during the Vietnam war, unfortunately, and thus early HGU-2/P examples remain one of the less common finds today)..."

 

I have to say that the HGU-2/P seems to be original in every way. It has one minor problem: the padding inside the crown of the helmet appears to have been some type of foam-backed leather glued to the shell: the foam has disintegrated over the decades so the three pieces are loose but fixing that is simply a matter of removing the foam residue and attaching the leather pieces with double-sided foam tape.

 

I love doing this urban archaeology and uncovering these time capsules!

[Bob Hudson]

I wanted to show some of the items hidden in the shadows, so to speak, in the above photographs, including these two great Army Air Force flight helmets, the cloth Type A-9 and the leather Type A-11.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JDK]

What a great group of items! That's what I call a grouping!

JD

[Bob Hudson]

The grouping includes two MBU-5/P oxygen masks with an unusual twist: they have a quick release mechanism that allows them to drop away from the face without have to unfasten the mask connections to the helmet:

 

 

 

The black tip on the right side of the mask below is the release mechanism. Pull that out and it allows you to lift a lever and release tension on the mask straps.

 

 

Each of the masks has one of these quick release mechanisms but I can really find no info on them. They have a part number of ASSY. NO. 450-375 and are made by Sierra Eng.

[Bob Hudson]

I assume this Maj. Conroy's helmets date from his days flying B-57's and B-66's and that when he started flying C-130's and C-141's he would have just worn headphones. There are two pairs of these and at first I was confused as to why they had straps on the back:

 

 

 

Well, once I attached an oxygen mask to one of the headsets I realized that the headsets straps allowed you to fasten the mask tightly without pulling the headset off your head:

 

 

One thing I wanted to note here is that military headsets are made up of many components, each of which has its own part number and I often see a headset wrongly identified by one of its component numbers. For instance in the photo below you can a number beginning with MX-25 and which is prominently stamped on top of the headband. It's easy to to assume that's the model of this headset but it's actually just the part number for the plastic cover on the headband. The actual headset model number is on the cord and this is typical for military headsets: the cord will have two bands on it, one with the cord's part number and the other with the headset's model number. In the photo below I show the three pieces of information on the band with the headset model number:

 

[Bluehawk]

Based upon, and credited to, your research on this officer I have started a Remembrance profile for him which may be seen at this link:

 

http://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/...n&ID=108269

 

It is in progress and so is not perfect yet, but any suggestions for improvement would be welcomed.

 

We have a feature which enables other airmen who may have served with Maj. Conroy in some way to connect with one another, so if that happens they will be directed to you, or I will see that you are informed.

[Bob Hudson]

Based upon, and credited to, your research on this officer I have started a Remembrance profile for him which may be seen at this link:

 

http://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/...n&ID=108269

 

Thanks for that. I went back today an purchased more of his items: some squadron lighters, named ash tray and pewter cup, etc. I had already spent a whole lot of money there but decided that these items personalized to him should be part of one grouping and not get scattered to the four winds.

 

This guy was a true journeyman pilot: he wasn't an ace, he didn't get a Silver Star or reach the rank of General but for more than 20 years he did his duty, flew in and out of Southeast Asian airfields in a transport plane that was one giant target and he put in some grueling hours making those almost weekly roundtrips from California to Vietnam.

[Bluehawk]

Thanks for that. I went back today an purchased more of his items: some squadron lighters, named ash tray and pewter cup, etc. I had already spent a whole lot of money there but decided that these items personalized to him should be part of one grouping and not get scattered to the four winds.

 

This guy was a true journeyman pilot: he wasn't an ace, he didn't get a Silver Star or reach the rank of General but for more than 20 years he did his duty, flew in and out of Southeast Asian airfields in a transport plane that was one giant target and he put in some grueling hours making those almost weekly roundtrips from California to Vietnam.

... what you say makes me wonder if, on the C-141, he might have been a Freedom Flight pilot? Or maybe Medivac or both?

 

Anyhow, his story is wonderful and thanks for letting it be shared. The AFTWS linkage should help you grow his history too, I believe.

 

I noticed something of interest on his Class A rack that you pictured - which looks to me like a WWII Victory and American Campaign medal, and for sure an Army GCM which, to my knowledge, is not awarded to USAF officers. So, was he enlisted in WWII, or what am I not remembering properly?

 

The AF quit giving out the Army GCM to enlisted airmen in 1963 (I think), although enlisted may wear one if awarded prior to the newly revised (and then rescinded and again reinstated) AF GCM. Anyway, he'd be able to wear one if he had been enlisted in WWII regardless of later being commissioned, I'm pretty sure.

[Bugme]

I have his military socks:

 

:w00t: There ya go, it just can't get any better than that!

[Bob Hudson]

... what you say makes me wonder if, on the C-141, he might have been a Freedom Flight pilot? Or maybe Medivac or both?

 

Anyhow, his story is wonderful and thanks for letting it be shared. The AFTWS linkage should help you grow his history too, I believe.

 

I noticed something of interest on his Class A rack that you pictured - which looks to me like a WWII Victory and American Campaign medal, and for sure an Army GCM which, to my knowledge, is not awarded to USAF officers. So, was he enlisted in WWII, or what am I not remembering properly?

 

The AF quit giving out the Army GCM to enlisted airmen in 1963 (I think), although enlisted may wear one if awarded prior to the newly revised (and then rescinded and again reinstated) AF GCM. Anyway, he'd be able to wear one if he had been enlisted in WWII regardless of later being commissioned, I'm pretty sure.

 

I think you are on to something: I checked the NARA enlisted records and someone with the same name and birth year enlisted in the Air Corps in 1944. I know his "pay date" in the US Air Force is 1950 so perhaps he went to four years of college after WWII and then joined the USAF to get his commission. He was a pilot in civilian life even before joining the military. I have some of his civilian flight logs and I'll have to check those for any clues. There is no one alive who would know about his service so it requires some digging around. Here's a 1961 entry from the Air Force Register:

 

[Wailuna]

...I checked the NARA enlisted records and someone with the same name and birth year enlisted in the Air Corps in 1944....

Whether this is your man or not, with a birth date in November 1926 doesn't seem likely that Major Conroy was on active duty early enough to qualify for the American Defense Service Medal. You might have some luck in obtaining his full service record, however. As he retired after the Great Fire, there is a good chance that NARA will be able to find his records, which should include one (or more) official photograph of Major Conroy showing the ribbons he actually wore close to retirement.

[Bob Hudson]

Whether this is your man or not, with a birth date in November 1926 doesn't seem likely that Major Conroy was on active duty early enough to qualify for the American Defense Service Medal. You might have some luck in obtaining his full service record, however. As he retired after the Great Fire, there is a good chance that NARA will be able to find his records, which should include one (or more) official photograph of Major Conroy showing the ribbons he actually wore close to retirement.

 

Good points: that rack also does not show his Bronze Star (I have the certificate for that). I've been so busy sorting through the many bags of stuff that I have not had a chance to do more than take a cursory glance at the paperwork. There is a small chart that seems to show his decorations and how they should be laid out in the ribbon rack. I think that's down at my workshop so I'll have to remember to get that and the medals certificates and start reconciling them.

[Bluehawk]

I think you are on to something: I checked the NARA enlisted records and someone with the same name and birth year enlisted in the Air Corps in 1944. I know his "pay date" in the US Air Force is 1950 so perhaps he went to four years of college after WWII and then joined the USAF to get his commission. He was a pilot in civilian life even before joining the military. I have some of his civilian flight logs and I'll have to check those for any clues. There is no one alive who would know about his service so it requires some digging around. Here's a 1961 entry from the Air Force Register:

 

That will be interesting to learn, for sure. 1944 would qualify him for WWII.

 

The rack showing a ADSM would suggest service starting not later than 1941, of course.

 

I'll keep checking in.

 

Was able to include a Bronze for him on the Remembrance, based on you showing that certificate.