P-59A Posted February 2, 2021 Share #1 Posted February 2, 2021 I have seen these from time to time, but have never seen any information on if they were used in WW2. Does anyone really know anything about them? I understand they were used with the F-3 heated flying suit, but not much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted February 2, 2021 Share #2 Posted February 2, 2021 Is this the one that we talked about? I'll be looking forward to what is said about there use. Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pararaftanr2 Posted February 2, 2021 Share #3 Posted February 2, 2021 These were shown in another thread recently. I don't have any photos of them in use, other than in a GE ad (see below), but they are definitely of WW2 vintage. The War Supply Contract list shows they were made by General Electric Company in their Bridgeport Connecticut facility, contract number AC-3204, for $390,000, and were produced from June through November of 1944. Listed as "Goggles Lenses" on the page excerpt below. I had a pair years ago (early 1990s) when I collected USAAF, but only have one photo of them displayed. You can see the electric cord and the OD snap on the right section of the lens if you look closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted February 2, 2021 Share #4 Posted February 2, 2021 I have several pairs of these. I have been working on a repro power cord. I made up a cord but am at a stop until I can find some snaps to connect the wire ends to. Im guessing they were used at the time as they went through a lot of trouble to develop them and there was the ad for them in the geographic so I would be confident that they were used during WW2. They plugged in on the electric shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share #5 Posted February 2, 2021 One of them is and the other is from another place I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share #6 Posted February 2, 2021 Rooster, I take it that cord is hard to find. May I ask how are you going about your repop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share #7 Posted February 3, 2021 This belongs to someone else and has the correct issued plug and snaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share #8 Posted February 3, 2021 This is the link to what Rooster is doing and it ties in well with this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted February 3, 2021 Share #9 Posted February 3, 2021 Yes I think I have it as far as I can go without the snaps. Im still looking for something that will work. I was showing them to some younger folks and they asked me why anyone would have needed heated lenses. I told them its because they were flying in un pressurized aircraft and 25000 feet where its about -31 degrees below zero most all the time... I said right above us right now at 25000 feet up its really really cold ! They looked at me like I was nuts and had to check their phones.... 😊 Ahh the modern age !!! Same reason they blew flocking on the flak helmets so if you took your glove off and grabbed your helmet at altitude, your hand would not freeze to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share #10 Posted February 3, 2021 I found this in Sweeting's book on Combat flying clothing. It shows the F-2 was set up for an oxygen heater or goggle heater plug. That push's back the time frame these were used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pararaftanr2 Posted February 3, 2021 Share #11 Posted February 3, 2021 "That push's back the time frame these were used." As I previously stated, they were in production from June-November 1944. They would have taken some time to reach units Overseas, so we can speculate earliest examples were available by Fall 1944. Not sure how this changes any "time frames"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share #12 Posted February 3, 2021 It changes nothing, I like to see the source material when possible. Knowing these were used on the F-2 heated system is just a little bit more than fall of 44. That is the rough date of the F-3 coming about and I never would have known it was used on both heated suits had I not seen this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pararaftanr2 Posted February 3, 2021 Share #13 Posted February 3, 2021 Okay. I did mention it when replying to your question in the flak-goggle thread the other day though. "Sure. It's the electrically heated lens for the B-8 goggle. The other item you asked about is an electric heater for the A-14 oxygen mask. Both items plugged into an outlet on the chest of the F-2, or F-3 suits." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share #14 Posted February 3, 2021 Well, maybe it does change some things. The F-2 was standardized in Aug of 43 and the F-3 was standardized in Feb of 44. If that heated goggle was always a part of the F-2 system wouldn't that push's the date back one year before the fall of 44? If not, then the F-2 had a design built into it for a product that did not exist and would not exist for 6 months after its replacement the F-3 had arrived. For the makers of the F-2 to put that plug into the production meant they were expecting something to come along at the same time. Something went wrong big time. At least that's what the numbers say. On a side note Sweeting doesn't talk about these in either book in so far as I can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pararaftanr2 Posted February 3, 2021 Share #15 Posted February 3, 2021 Don't forget, the outlet on the F-2 (and F-3) was to be used for the A-14 electric heater as well. Since the A-14 mask was available after Summer of 1943, I'd guess that's why the outlet was originally included in the F-2 design. Only speculation on my part though, I don't have contract information currently on the heaters to back that up. Sweeting's books, although written a few decades ago, are well researched and written. Since he worked for the Smithsonian, he had good access to period reports and photos. I don't believe he was a collector though, and you can tell he didn't have "hands-on" experience with the gear and clothing he wrote about. For their time, they were THE reference to have if you collected USAAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share #16 Posted February 3, 2021 Agreed, Sweetings books are a good source of the basic rendered information . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted February 3, 2021 Share #17 Posted February 3, 2021 Does anybody have a close up photo(Detailed) of the snap connector's? Male and Female please. I worked Avionics for 20+ years and have some things around and I am also a very talented tech who can make things. If given and idea of what is needed, I would look deeper into this subject and see if I can help folks out. The connector Rooster has at the end of that cable looks to be a very common Comm connector used on the pilots O'2 mask mic connection,(Still Used) But Its hard to judge the size from the photo's. Does it fit the F-2/F-3 heater connection? Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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