Collection from Italy: #1 F4U Pilot, late war.

[BlueBookGuy]

And here in the end, just to have a look at a beautiful (and not precisely an everyday's finding in these condition) USN aviator's item,

a couple pics of the leather summer gloves, lightweight, in one of at least three known hue variations. Photos have been a bit better treated as for colors, the ones posted at the time had turned out being somehow duller and darker than what actually are.

 

Must say these gloves were on my 'wanted' list since years before I started in earnest with making the WW2 Navy pilot 'cause I was going on, anyway, with a fair collection of summer flight gloves from the US airmen through the time - started in 1943 with the classic A.A.F. B-3/B-3A, getting the early '50s Navy gloves (but NOT true B-3A) towards the more common U.S.N. B-3A of early '60s, the U.S.A.F. B-3A through the whole '60s and early '70s, up to the official re-entering of the 'modern' U.S.A.F. B-3A about mid-'80s.

 

However the true original WW2 summer flight gloves I just had been able in seeing twice in Militaria events here in Italy back years ago, but even so I wasn't 100% sure they were the real stuff - lack of a valid reference both from life and on books/magazines.

Eventually I found in Belgium this pair, brand-new and still tied together by a thin thread. 100% original and with tiny differencies from the stunning repros of these WW2 USN summer gloves by Eastman Leather Clothing made these days, really turned out at highest levels following the original patterns. The repros bear anyway the 'Eastman Leather Clothing' stamp inside the wristlets.

 

I've been always very fond in the summer flight gloves, do not know why this item does have such a appeal to me. Moreover these US Navy ones are surely not a common finding.

 

[BlueBookGuy]

[BlueBookGuy]

Here the last one - Thanks for watching.

 

[BlueBookGuy]

Mentioned before the modern very high-quality WW2 USN flight gloves, repros by Eastman Leather Clothing.

Here a detail of hand's back and the folded over wristlet showing firm's markings, compared to an original. Most possibly the repro has had the wristlet a bit shortened, perhaps subsequently - originals were somewhat longer.

 

Not sure of the exact time they went out of production. Currently they aren't among repro gloves in Eastman's catalog.

 

 

[BlueBookGuy]

And a last shot of the original's wristlet, inside, having its size number (and surrounding diamond) in different hue of blue.