Hey all,

 

I need some advice and expertise with what appears to be a beautiful WW2 CBI bomber jacket.

 

I found this at an antique shop and I liked it BUT I was hesitant to buy it. My question is, is it real, or kind of a fantasy hybrid jacket?

 

it appears to be WW2 era. There is no tags. There is a blood chit on the back, photo sewn inside, along with CBI patches. It’s also named to Albert R Powell on the front but can’t find anything about this man. And then it gets weirder… theres a paper inside for a resume to a WW2 signal corps vet (probably from 60s) who served in the CBI Burma theater, his name Arthur R James. The hells angels patch is almost to good to be true as well. And there’s some Chinese currency bills in another pocket. The China Pilot wings are fake. 
When I do an image search this exact jacket comes up on google (but when you click the link it’s a totally different website with no jacket anywhere). It may have been for sale at another store at some point.The CBI collar pin is authentic. Some of the other Insignia is post war. I’ve posted some pics of it, sorry they’re not great I only took video and then screenshots stills of it.

 
so he’s asking 3k, but would come down to 2,500. For an authentic CBI bomber jacket, seems like a decent deal but theres just something about it that scares me. Maybe someone pieced it together over the years with real and fake items? Or maybe it’s totally a repro as I know some of these bomber style jackets are VERY WW2 period looking. Let me know!! Thanks

Hideous tribute art piece IMO. 

I would call it folk art rather than a military piece and I personally wouldn't want it in my collection. 

Sorry to sound so sour but for that money you could buy an authentic A-2 with some paint and provenance. 

Dave

I agree. Let some one else find this "Gem". 

Civilian jacket with some real parts, but not worth anywhere near the asking price IMO. 

@azww2 save your money for a real jacket with provenance. If you have a strong interest in the CBI theatre of operations then I suggest you invest in some good reference books and do further research on the Internet. Heavily patched CBI flight jackets are rare and expensive. You might find this 11th Bomb Squadron (14th Air Force China) photo of interest.

 

 

Neither of the names Albert R Powell nor Arthur R James appear as being in the AVG. 

Took about 30 seconds to check. https://www.warbirdforum.com/roster.htm

Jacket is more than OTT and puts paid to someone's imagination

That looks Like a 1960s Schott Brothers jacket all dressed up.

 

Kurt

3 hours ago, dmar836 said:

Hideous tribute art piece IMO. 

I would call it folk art rather than a military piece and I personally wouldn't want it in my collection. 

Sorry to sound so sour but for that money you could buy an authentic A-2 with some paint and provenance. 

Dave

Thank you everyone for your input on this. I am glad I went with my gut feeling! It just seemed too good to be true! What a shame. And the fact that the owner is openly selling it as authentic is a shame. 

32 minutes ago, KASTAUFFER said:

That looks Like a 1960s Schott Brothers jacket all dressed up.

 

Kurt

Amazing it’s not even a WW2 era 

Not really a threat to the hobby at all. These items have always been around. Knowledge of clothing styles and construction of the surrounding eras used to be pretty much part of WWII collecting. From the dye staining, stitching style, patch quality, construction methods, jacket style, zipper age, leather repairs, on and on. This was an easy one.

We have seen the knowledge base narrow considerably in the past few years - Instagram, FB, this forum, etc. Newer collectors want quick and simple answers. Nuance is sometimes... almost... offensive. In a world of excessive, free information, the actual truth is becoming difficult for many to see. New info is not always best info.

If one learns through context, simple comparative analysis, and even classic written data, 99% of the silliness and guessing is taken care of. As some might say. "Read a book!" Lol.

JMO as usual,

Dave

And although we most definitely don't see it here, how many times do we see posts where someone wants verification of what they have been told, what they believe, or simply want to be so, and then go off on either a tirade or a bunch convoluted would have, could have, the official records are wrong, when presented with the fact that dash the hobby horse.