In Our Bundles This Week: WWII (1943) Jungle Camouflage Backpack

It looks like it's got a story to tell, it smells like it's got a story to tell and imagine the satisfaction of finding the date neatly printed on the inside of this incredibly rare piece of military!

In Our Vintage Bundles This Week: 1940s/WWII Hand Painted USN Deck Jacket

We've had a great week. Painted flight jackets are rare as it is, this is the first painted deck jacket that we've seen. The dates on the jacket and it's USN markings date it to WWII, although we're not sure whether it may have seen action in West Germany or Japan. Check out the detailing:

The sleeve has the name of it's owner (Jack Dielkey), his years of service? (1946-1949) and his "Cloud Luster" squadron's insignia. The back has a hand painted feather (does anyone know what this means?)

The Airforce became a separate entity in 1947 but we're sure that the jacket is an earlier military issue and was not made exclusively for the Airforce. It's possible that either Air Force issue clothing had not been made yet or that Jack Dielkey was issued the jacket in his service during the war and then continued to use it during his subsequent tours. These are the finds that we live for!

As always, here's the label for your viewing pleasure, good luck reading it :)

Interested in a bundle?
Click the "email me" link on the top-right of the page to learn more.

From My Personal Collection: WWII M-422 Flight Jacket

This jacket is really something special. We come across later versions/ reproductions at work but when I first had the chance to pick this up I jumped at it. It's the only one that I've ever seen in person.

You may ask, just what the heck is the M-422? In short it's one of the first Naval flight jackets ever made. It's design inspired it's most famous successor, the G-1 jacket. The historical value of this piece is immense, and it pre-dates most other bomber jackets. I was really fortunate to find one without any tears and rips in the leather. The leather still has it's original luster!

What makes it even cooler is that it still has the nametag of the former owner, a Mr. McKearnin. The owner, William J. McKearnin, was part of the 12th Air Force, 57th Air Division, 446th BS

He served in Italy during WWII as a "radio operator-gunner" and notes of his promotion are detailed here. Unfortunately there's precious little online about Mr. McKearnin or his squadron.