Gear Up! Flight Clothing & Equipment of USAAF Airmen in World War II

185 Pages·1995·52.47 MB·English

by  Jon A. Maguire

•
Flight Clothing & Equipment of
USAAF Airmen in World War II
Jon A. Maguire
SchifferMilitary/Aviation History
Atglen,PA
Preface& Acknowledgements
FiftyyearsorsohavepassedsincetheUnitedStatesArmyAir ers'Jacketfrom WorldWarIto DesertStorm (withJohnConway),this
Forces took to the skies in World War II. Many veterans of bookis notjustfor collectors. I hope it will alsobe a reference for
thatmightyarmadaarestillaroundtotellthetales,butmany historians, and most importantly a source of memories for those
havealready"gonewest." Iamluckyenoughtohaveoneofthose whoserved.
veterans as my Dad, and to still have him around as a first hand Many collectorsand veterans have been generous in sharing
source! Dad was a C-47 pilot in Europe during World WarII and their time and material with me. Without a lot of help this work
wasphotographedin manytypesofflyinggear. Ihopethereader would not have been possible. John and Donna Campbell of
does not mind, but Ihave used him as a "model" in many of the CampbellArchiveshaveonceagainbeenmajorcontributorsoftime
contemporary photographs of clothing and equipment (Thanks andphotographsinthisproject,astheywereonmypreviousbooks.
Dad!). Thanks!Mywife,Rhonda(whohatestotype)againtypedthemanu
My interest in Army Air Force memorabilia started with my scriptforme.Thanks!
father's gear growing up, and from the positive influence he still Thefollowingveterans,historians,andcollectorsmadesignifi
hasonme.Ihavecollectedmanytypesofmilitaria fromLuftwaffe cant contributions and have my sincere gratitude: F. Paul Bowen,
toU.S.CivilWartoVictorianBritish,butmytrueloveremainswith David Bradley, John "J.J." Canning, Mike Conner, John Conway,
the U.S.A.A.F. where Istarted out collectingas a kid. The field of Mike Davidson, Charles DiSipio, General George Eade, Dale
flight gearisone area ofmilitaria collectingthat has notyethad a Edwards, Dolph Farrand, Mike Gonzales, Wendell Hoppers, Jeff
lot of the fun taken out of it·because of fakes and frauds. This is Huston, Fred Huston, Ralph Jenks, Steve LaBoyteaux, Bill Linke,
perhapsonereasonwhymanycollectorshavebecomeinterestedin Rick Markel, Len McKean, Pat Moran, J. Michael Nordin, Greg
U.S.A.A.F.gearinrecentyearsandhaveswitchedfrom otherareas Parlin,MichaelJ.Perry;MickProdger,JackRector,BurtSheriff,Bob
ofmilitarycollectibles.Ihavetriedtoprovidethereaderageneral Slusher,HowardSossamon,JeffSpielbergOSIndustries),JoeStevens,
overviewofthisfield inaformatwhichisinterestingandinforma MikeWhitson,BillWildey,and RonWillis.
tive.ThisisthetypeofbookIwishedIhadasabeginningcollector, ThanksalsotoBobBiondiand PeterSchiffer.
andalsoonewhichshouldbeenjoyablefortheadvancedcollector. Everyefforthasbeenmadetogiveproperphotocredits- hope
Gear Up! is by no means the complete work on the subject fully Ihavenotoverlooked anyone! Ihave donemybestto insure
considering the number of items used by U.S.A.A.F. airmen, that thattheinformation contained herein isaccurate. Ifthere are mis
would almostbeanimpossibility. Iam also notthe"expert",butI takes- Iwouldliketocorrectthem!
dolovethe subjectand hopeIcansharesomeofthe informationI Forthosewhowishtocontributetofuturevolumes,pleasecon
havelearned from overthirtyyearsof"messing" withthisstuff! tactmecourtesyofSchifferPublishing.
As with my two companion volumes Silver Wings, Pinks & I hope you enjoy this book and find it is a useful addition to
Greens:Uniforms,Wings& InsigniaofUSAAFAirmeninWorldWarII, yourlibrary.
u.s.
andAmerican FlightJackets, Airmen & Aircraft:AHistoryof Fly-
Dedicatedto themenofthe27thAirTransportGroup.
Onfrontdustjacket:JohnR. "Dick"KlopolskywasaB-17crewmanillthe91stBombGroup.He waskilledin
actionoverSchweinfurt,GermanyonAugust17,1943,whenhisplanewasshotdawnbyanMe109.
Page1:Lt.JoeD.Maguire, C-47pilot,321stAirTransportSquadron,27thAirTransportGroup,wearingB-10
jacketand"crushercap.,..PhototakenParis,Christmas1944.
BookDesignbyRobertBiondi
Copyright©1995byJonA.Maguire.
LibraryofCongressCatalogNumber:94-68963
Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthisworkmaybereproducedorusedinanyforms orbyany
means- graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage
andretrievalsystems- withoutwrittenpermissionfromthecopyrightholder.
PrintedinChina.
ISBN:0-88740-744-7
Weareinterestedinhearingfrom authorswithbookideasonrelated topics.
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CONTENTS
Preface &Acknowledgements 4
Foreword 7
byJoeD. Maguire (FormerlyCaptain, USAAF)
Introduction 9
Chapter I Flying Headgear 11
Chapter II Flying Suits, Jackets & Trousers 63
Chapter III Gloves 108
Chapter IV Footwear 116
Chapter V Emergency, Rescue & Escape 124
Chapter VI Flak Armor 155
Chapter VII Miscellaneous Equipment & Paper Items 162
Chapter VIII A Tribute to the Ground Crews 174
Bibliography 183

FOREWORD
by Joe D. Maguire, (Formerly Captain, U5AAF)
I
am the proud father ofthe author ofthis work (but not at allbiased!). Jon
was an active boy and provided his Mother and me with some thrills and
concerns alongthe way. He has captured my admiration as an adultwith
hisaccomplishments. fhave suchgoodandpleasingmemoriesoffootball,
basketballandbaseball,butsomeofmybestmemoriesareofthetimeswespent
with a local historical aircraft modeling club. The seeds were planted during
those early times that have grown into Jon's keen interest in military aviation
history (I suppose myhavingbeen a pilot in World War II had it'sinfluence as
well). HopefullyyouwillgainsomeadditionalknowledgeandprideinourAir
Forceandveterans. Itis important that ourhistory is perpetuatedand remem
bered. Thanks toJon and other authors, some of the details ofeverydaylife in
theArmyAirForcearepreservedinwordsandphotographsfor future genera
tions.
As Ireflect on my experienceas a pilotinthe U.5.A.A.F. ofWorldWarII, I
remembergoodfriendsandgoodtimesinspiteofabadsituation.Thoseofusin
theArmyAirForce,asIamsuremostAmencansoldiersdid,triedtokeepthings
lighthearted andweletoffsteamwheneverpossible. Inadditiontothose good
memories, Iamhauntedbythe faces ofthose countlessy'oungpeoplewho did
nothavetheopportunitytoliveouttheirlives,raisefamilies anaenjoythefree
dom we fought so hard to preserve. We had a tough job to do and we pulled
together and got it done! As a "GooneyBird" (C-47) pilot, I remember mostly
hard work! We were flyine; truck drivers. When we got shot at we could not
shootback! Most of my missions were at relatively low altitudes, so I can not
relate many experiencesofwearing high altitude or oxygen gear. As a cadet, I
wore shearling gear (8-6 helmet and B-3 jacket), not because of altitude, but
because itwaswinterin EastSt. Louisandwe wereinopencockpits! Iremem
ber it felt pretty good. My electric suit was still sealed in the package when I
finished myt~-fivecombatmissions.
One item Idid wear everydaywas a headset. I have fond memories oflis
teningtoSergeantMonahanonArmedForcesRadioplaying"OpusI"byTommy
Dorsey. Monahan used that songashistheme andItsuresounded good flying
acrossthechannel. IalsorememberanRAFemergencycontrollerasking"how
manyangels are you?" At the time Iwas flying a Gooney that hadbeen hit by
flakandnad additionaldamageinflictedbythe20mmofanMe109.Ittookme
amomentto realize that the controllerwanted myaltitude! (Obviouslywe got
backonthe ground,but itwasaninterestingday.)
Most days my flight gear consistedofolive drab wool gabardine coveralls
(ANS-31 flight suit) worn over a wool officer's shirt and "pink" pants. We all
used a piece of a parachute as a scarf around our necks. The scarfserved two
purposes. We were forced, at times, to go weeks without getting our clothes
cleaned. Sometimes we would rinse them in aviation gas, which was a little
hard on the skin! The silkscarf helped keep our shirts from getting too soiled
anditprotectedourskinfrom the gas"cleaningfluid."
Iflew in a pair ofboots I had made while Iwas acadet at College Station, Author'sNote:
Texas. They were like ridingboots, but came just over my ankles. They had a BySpecialOrderGB-352, 27September1994,
leatherkilty and abuckle strap. Onwarmer days Iwouldfly in myA-2jacket. JoeD.MaguirewasawardedtheDistinguished
When it was really cold I wore my B-9 parka. The jacket I probably wore the FlyingCross and theAirMedalwithsixOak
mostandlikedbestwasm'yB-lO.Itwasmorecomfortableandwarmerthanthe Leaf Clusters. Other friends from the 321st
A-2. Istillmiss myofficer svisorcap ... Squadron,27thAirTransportGroupwhowere
Iwouldliketopayaspecialtributetotheaircrewmembers.Wetendtohear awardedtheDFCandAirMedalwereretired
alotaboutpilots,butIhaveoftenthoughtaboutandadmiredthosemenwho,at GeneralGeorgeJ. "Jim" Eade,Joew. Stevens,
times, had to helplessly ride out a situation puttingfaith and trust in the pilot andFrankSimpson.Intotal,sixty-fivemenof
andtheairplane.Thebombardiers,navigators,airgunners,radiooperators,flight the27thAirTransportGroupreceivedairmed
engineers, photographers, etc. all served withvalorand distinction. als,fiftyyearslate!Congratulationsandthanks
MysonhasbeeninterestedinthehistoryoftheU.S.A.A.F.sincehewasvery forajobwelldone.
young. Iamproudthathewantstopreservethememories ofwhowewere.An
honorable and successfulpastprovidesinspirationfor thefuture. OPPOSITE:Lt.JoeD.Maguire, Paris,Christmas1944.
7

INTRODUCTION
G
etting a fighting force the size of the
U.S.A.A.F. in the air and equipped for
flight was no small task! From 1941 to
1944 the Army Air Forces grew from 1100 air
craft to 80,000 aircraft. The personnel to oper
ate, support, and service these aircraft grew ac
cordingly. Ultimately, 2,400,000 men served in
this great air armada.
Many new and challenging problems had to
be solved, not the least of which was keeping
warm at altitude. Most heavy bombing raids in
Europe were carried out at altitudes over25,000
feet. The temperature at bombingaltitude could
reach 60 degrees below zero fahrenheit and the
aircraft were not insulated or pressurized. Pro
curing clothing and equipment to meet these
needs in a short amount of time required inge
nuityand resourcefulness. The results wereboth
interesting and amazing! U.S. air crews went
aloft wearing almost any combination of gear
imaginable. A vast amount of equipment was
obtained from the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.), so it
is not at all unusual to see American Airmen
wearing British gear as part of their flying kit.
As the war progressed and U.S. industry began
to catch up with production needs, U.s. equip
ment became more standardized, however
America's airmen continued to be issued, and
scavenge, R.A.F. gear throughout the war.
The natural tendency offlyers tobe individu
alistic also added to the vast number of combi
nations and variations in flying kits. This work
is intended to provide the reader with a broad
understanding and hopefullysome"feel" for the
flight clothing and equipment worn by the men
of the United States Army Air Forces in World
War II.
9