In
the hot and humid Pacific theater, light cotton jackets often
replaced the G-1 as the flight jacket of choice for aviators.
Constructed of a thin but dense and wondrously soft cotton twill,
these jackets are hard to come by; few survived. The above example,
from Torpedo Squadron 21, was rarely if ever worn and came to us in
excellent undamaged condition.
The beautifully painted leather patch of an angry shark-faced
torpedo and name tag are similarly perfectly preserved. The
Disney-designed VPB-101 example carries the same exact spec. label
but is a completely different jacket configuration. So much for the
cult of label readers -- tea leaves likely could provide more
information on the many variations in WWII flight jackets. |
|
