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Need help with flight jacket


zk4298militaria
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zk4298militaria

I picked up my 1st flight jacket for a good price and I wanted to make sure it’s WWII. Tag is missing. Does have talon zipper and two different types of stitching around the waist. There was a really nice Cisco scarf stuffed into the inside pocket. Also is the mannequin I have set up historically correct? Any help would be appreciated, need more pictures let me know.9E52A9EB-B236-47B2-B850-FA38FC86BC0D.jpeg.eb1e144377382b7e60a6d1c081512a28.jpeg2C6774B1-C3D8-47FE-8CB0-8077AA506E5B.jpeg.0211a30ca473072d066f31edf148b5a2.jpegE23C8369-B7F6-43F8-9D26-C5626F5918A4.jpeg.bcbd6a0e7a6ae5b8b3b6f3fa12af0f27.jpeg7697738A-8B2D-4FCE-9D59-92E8ADF6286A.jpeg.b746eccc881ad2a4e692f475a687ac39.jpeg95491C54-448D-4DBB-A938-26FAD25F82F4.jpeg.32f09cbfd69d3c1687eba9e792505ecc.jpeg

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It's a WW2 Navy M422a style flight jacket (or commercial version) which was made prior to the G-1....Put an officer's Navy or Marine Corps cap on the mannequin.....Bodes

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zk4298militaria
2 minutes ago, Bodes said:

It's a WW2 Navy M422a flight jacket which was made prior to the G-1....Put an officer's Navy or Marine Corps cap on the mannequin.....Bodes

Thank you for the confirmation! Ill be on the lookout for the right hat.

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zk4298militaria
11 minutes ago, zk4298militaria said:

Ok so you’re saying it’s not military issue? Ill be on the lookout for the right hat.

 

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He is saying I think it could be Government issue or commercially produced. Can you see a US or USN stencil on back side of the collar? Sometimes this was in black, gold or silver paint. Is there a rectangular stitch line in the collar lining near the collar where a tag once was? It looks to me to be typical of an early Government issue jacket with the correct maroon colored lining, although much of the lining has been repaired and replaced with a later brown color. 

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zk4298militaria
25 minutes ago, warguy said:

He is saying I think it could be Government issue or commercially produced. Can you see a US or USN stencil on back side of the collar? Sometimes this was in black, gold or silver paint. Is there a rectangular stitch line in the collar lining near the collar where a tag once was? It looks to me to be typical of an early Government issue jacket with the correct maroon colored lining, although much of the lining has been repaired and replaced with a later brown color. 

Sadly, There is nothing under the collar.

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Sometimes that paint wore off, so it would be nice to see but its not always there. Might check real closely under full sun tomorrow, if it was black paint, lots of times it is real hard to see! Stitch lines where a tag could have been on that maroon lining near the collar? If not look at lining near collar to see if the entire lining has been replaced or restitched.

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  • 2 months later...
zk4298militaria

Sorry for the late update on this jacket but the added lining is hand stitched in and there is a tag underneath, I cant see it and don't have any idea who the maker is but its the correct size and in the correct location for a military tag. Also there is a USN under the collar but the letters are black paint, very thin, and extremely faded (I can only make out the U and part of the N). I tried getting pictures but they would not show up, just going to have to take my word for it. Thanks to everyone who helped me with this.        

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        - Zach

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zk4298militaria
18 minutes ago, doyler said:

Black USN isnt uncommon. I have a couple marked that way and are hard to see

Thanks for the response. I would assume 100$ was a good price in this condition? I'm still looking for a naval aviation cap to go with it.

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I would have paid $100 for it. I would also be dying to see that label under the lining! I am guessing from your description that the tag is located just under the collar under the lining? If so, I would also guess that the original lining was tattered near the neck but left in place by the previous owner, who took original lining material from the center of the lining to sew in the neck area, and the brown lining to replace what was removed in the center. Make sense? In my experience, the liner took the most abuse in the neck area, so it makes sense the original may have been damaged there. I know an excellent restorer who would be able to do a much better job with the lining, perhaps replacing the brown area with a matching shade of red and moving the tag to the top so it can be seen. Let me know if you want information on that. Regardless, you did well at $100. The label would tell us a ton though. 

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man you did great for 100 bones...

The lack of pencil pocket sewn into the left pocket helps date it also IIRC...making the jacket an early 55J14 G-1 vs the WWII M422

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zk4298militaria
2 hours ago, phantomfixer said:

man you did great for 100 bones...

The lack of pencil pocket sewn into the left pocket helps date it also IIRC...making the jacket an early 55J14 G-1 vs the WWII M422

There is a pencil pocket on the left pocket, if this is what you were referring to.9C5851D1-F56B-4EF5-BEE3-85C09CF94B18.jpeg.9c4070c9a5deca484ebb89eddc3ac14b.jpeg

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zk4298militaria
5 hours ago, doyler said:

Black USN isnt uncommon. I have a couple marked that way and are hard to see

0C19A33B-10B2-49E3-948E-70BA42557723.jpeg.3318b8f22e2cfc5e5c641e740c98fe4f.jpeganother small correction, this is all that is visible on the collar, in yellow. The bottom of the u and the bottom of the s. Finally got some better lighting.

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zk4298militaria
10 minutes ago, phantomfixer said:

https://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/“a-better-fighting-garment…”-a-beginner’s-guide-to-the-us-navy’s-wwii-era-and-later-intermediate-flight-jackets.27377/
 

a good link to help date the jacket .. seems some 422s had a sewn pencil slot and some did not.. based on manufacturer

 

I was looking through the navy flight jackets section of this forum and was having a hard time figuring this out, some 422s without the stitching some with. Thanks for the link.

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zk4298militaria
29 minutes ago, dmar836 said:

AN-J-3 typically had "U.S." under the collar rather than "U.S.N."

You may be right because all I can make out in yellow is a little of the U and some of the S, the N may be completely rubbed off, I’m not quite sure.

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4 hours ago, dmar836 said:

AN-J-3 typically had "U.S." under the collar rather than "U.S.N."

 

All of them, or just AAF issued ones?  I went to see what mine was marked and discovered it’s actually an AN-6552, which I understand was always marked “US” despite being an interservice jacket.  
 

Anyway, does the color supply the answer?  My vague recollection is that the Navy used yellow “USN” markings on the back of the collar (and black), but the Army did not use yellow.  Is that right or have I misremembered?

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zk4298militaria
8 minutes ago, Nack said:

 

All of them, or just AAF issued ones?  I went to see what mine was marked and discovered it’s actually an AN-6552, which I understand was always marked “US” despite being an interservice jacket.  
 

Anyway, does the color supply the answer?  My vague recollection is that the Navy used yellow “USN” markings on the back of the collar (and black), but the Army did not use yellow.  Is that right or have I misremembered?

This is my first jacket, to be honest I don’t quite know. If it’s a navy jacket, great, if it’s a USAAF jacket all the better.

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17 minutes ago, zk4298militaria said:

This is my first jacket, to be honest I don’t quite know. If it’s a navy jacket, great, if it’s a USAAF jacket all the better.

Yes indeed.  It’s a great jacket no matter how you slice it.

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