Bomber-jacket leather and our law

(ArtKramr) wrote in message ...
Subject: Bomber-jacket leather and our law
From: (Michael)
Date: 9/22/03 5:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

The B-6 was the intermediate weight sheepskin jacket and the B-3 and
AN-J-4 were the heavy weight sheepskin jackets. What clothing (and
how many layers) did you usually wear on missions?

For winter flying we were issued elecric suits, heavy sheepskin jackets and bib
pants and quileted long johns as well as 4 pairs of gloves

From the photos
I've seen, it doesn't look like the B-26s crews wore a ton of clothes
or were issued electric flight suits or sheepskin (very often).

~Michael

Very often? I am not sure what you mean by very often?

Sorry for the confusion. I'm assuming since there is little
photographic evidence of sheepskin jackets being used by B-26 crews,
that they weren't something the entire group of aircrew was outfitted
with. That's what I meant by not "very often".

So how did it work? Was every flyer in your group issued a heavy
sheepskin jacket? And would they have gotten it stateside before they
shipped out or when they arrived at their assigned group? It seems
like an A-2 or B-10 jacket or B-11 parka over a flight suit and wool
uniform was the most common outfit worn by B-26 crews, even during the
winter.

~Michael

Subject: Bomber-jacket leather and our law
From: (Michael)
Date: 9/23/03 7:01 AM Pacific Daylight Time

So how did it work? Was every flyer in your group issued a heavy
sheepskin jacket? And would they have gotten it stateside before they
shipped out or when they arrived at their assigned group? It seems
like an A-2 or B-10 jacket or B-11 parka over a flight suit and wool
uniform was the most common outfit worn by B-26 crews, even during the
winter.

~Michael


Every flier in the group was issued sheepskin pants and jacket, quilted long
Johns, electric suit and 4 pairs of gloves. They were issued to us in England.
The clothing you describe would only be worn in summer. And we were never
issued a parka of any kind. It would have been useless. Imagine a chute harness
over a parka for example. During the bitter record setting winter of 1944 (
Battle of the Bulge) we flew in the sheepskins and after the missions we kept
them on and slept in them to keep from freezing. The electric suits were of
limited use since if it was really cold on the ground you couldn't bail out in
an elctric suit. You would freeze to death. Also the electric suits had "hot
spots" in them. After a while they would burn under the armpits and behind the
knees and elbows and they had to be turned off until those areas cooled. And by
the time they cooled the rest of you was shivering. So you would fly missions
in an electric suit turning it on and off and on and off all the way out and
back.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer

(ArtKramr) wrote in message ...
Every flier in the group was issued sheepskin pants and jacket, quilted long
Johns, electric suit and 4 pairs of gloves. They were issued to us in England.

Thanks for the info. It's interesting (at least to me) to hear about
stuff like this. I've heard of guys getting all new gear before they
ship out, and guys getting equiped when they reach their theatre. I
guess there was no set system of who would get what, when or where.

The clothing you describe would only be worn in summer. And we were never
issued a parka of any kind. It would have been useless. Imagine a chute harness over a parka for example.

I've seen photos and the harness fits over them. I'm sure they would
have been a pain, but they did issue B-7, B-9 & B-11 parkas to aircrew
for flight use. The B-11 got lots of use later in the war, and was
issued to everyone from glider pilots to heavy bomber crews.

During the bitter record setting winter of 1944 (
Battle of the Bulge) we flew in the sheepskins and after the missions we kept
them on and slept in them to keep from freezing.

I can only imagine how harsh the conditions were. Did you ever get
warm? I had a great uncle in the 101st during the Battle of the
Bulge. Unfortunately he died before I was born so I never got to hear
of his experiences.

The electric suits were of
limited use since if it was really cold on the ground you couldn't bail out in
an elctric suit. You would freeze to death. Also the electric suits had "hot
spots" in them. After a while they would burn under the armpits and behind the
knees and elbows and they had to be turned off until those areas cooled. And by
the time they cooled the rest of you was shivering. So you would fly missions
in an electric suit turning it on and off and on and off all the way out and
back.

Do you know what type you were issued? Your comments echo exactly
those I've heard and read about the one piece F-1 blue bunny suits.
Sometimes they wouldn't work at all and other times they'd burn you.
They were better left off and just used as another layer of clothing.
The two piece F-3 suit supposedly fixed those problems of hot spots,
breaking wires, etc. and was worn under the B-10/A-9 combo to protect
you if the electric suit failed or you bailed out. Seems like heavy
bomber crews just about always wore an F-3 suit from late summer '44
onward and they were used extensively during the Korean War too by
Invader and B-29 crews.

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this stuff with me. I really
appreciate it. If I could bother you with one other question which
I've always wonder about (but nothing is ever written)... what was
life like between missions? i.e. What responsibilities would aircrew
have between missions? What did they do to fill up the day when they
weren't flying?

Thanks,

~Michael

Subject: Bomber-jacket leather and our law
From: (Michael)
Date: 9/23/03 7:26 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id: e9a6fbc9.0309231826.6513df5

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this stuff with me. I really
appreciate it.

My pleasure. Ask away. Oh and I forgot to mention the big fat heavy sheepskin
flying boots that we wore all that winter.I was never so cold in my life before
or since.

If I could bother you with one other question which
I've always wonder about (but nothing is ever written)... what was
life like between missions? i.e. What responsibilities would aircrew
have between missions? What did they do to fill up the day when they
weren't flying?

Thanks,

~Michael

Michael go to my website and read a story called " THE RAIN AT PONTOISE" to get
an idea what it was like when we weren't flying.



Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer

(ArtKramr) wrote in message ...
Subject: Bomber-jacket leather and our law
From: (Michael)
Date: 9/23/03 7:26 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id: e9a6fbc9.0309231826.6513df5

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this stuff with me. I really
appreciate it.

My pleasure. Ask away. Oh and I forgot to mention the big fat heavy sheepskin
flying boots that we wore all that winter.

Yeah, the A-6s. Did you wear just the boots themselves, or were they
big enough to be worn over a pair of shoes?

Michael go to my website and read a story called " THE RAIN AT
PONTOISE" to get
an idea what it was like when we weren't flying.

So on non-flying days (rain or shine) aircrews were pretty much left
to find whatever to occupy their time?

Thanks,

~Michael

Yeah, the A-6s. Did you wear just the boots themselves, or were they
big enough to be worn over a pair of shoes?

Ah, that takes me back! In basic training I was issued a pair of
overshoes (galoshes, if you prefer) so large that when I walked they
never left the ground.

In the interest of the Company's rank in the climactic Speed March, we
wore the galoshes all day, every day.

Mine never left the ground, or more accurately: mud.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

Subject: Bomber-jacket leather and our law
From: Cub Driver
Date: 9/30/03 2:29 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id: 15jinvk4e04p44ult8tiln4fielnhoefrk

Yeah, the A-6s. Did you wear just the boots themselves, or were they
big enough to be worn over a pair of shoes?

We wore those big sheepskin lined winter flight boots over regular boots. If
you didn't the boots would snap off when your chute opened and you would land
barefoot in the winter snow.




Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer