Painted WWII American A-2 Flight Jackets have realized unprecedented prices in the past year. For example jackets at Rock Island Auctions sold in 2022 for $32,000 and $23,000 ; respectively they can be found at this and this . When comparing the Rock Island Auction jackets with the one offered here, one can easily see that our offering is an exceptional value!
Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. This is an absolutely beautiful World War Two American painted A-2 flight jacket, named to Sergeant Leonard Anthony ITLE. In researching Sgt Itle, we were able to uncover that he served with not only the Army Air Forces during WWII but the Royal Canadian Air Force as well! Itle joined up with the RCAF on December 7, 1941 and we do not know if this was just a coincidence or he joined to as a result of the attack at Pearl Harbor. He served with the RCAF from December 7, 1941 to May 31, 1943. We do not know what unit he was with, but we do know from a crash report that he trained at the No. 4 Bomber and Gunnery School (No. 4 B&GS), which trained bomb aimers and air gunners.
After leaving the RCAF on May 31, 1943 he enlisted in the Army Air Forces on June 1, 1943 and served up to January 31, 1946 with the 306th Bomb Group, 368 Bomb Squadron under command of the 8th Air Force. This last discharge did not bring an end to his military career. Soon after being discharged from the Army, he soon enlisted again for a brief time in the AAF before the founding of the modern air arm of the United States, the US Air Force. He served in the US Air Force from January 31, 1946 to December 31, 1973, accumulating a total of 30 years in the military!
The strangest thing is that we were not able to uncover really anything about his career, aside from the unit and dates in which he served. You’d imagine there would be biographies to come across or other snippets, but we came up empty. This is a wonderful opportunity to add this lovely painted A-2 jacket to your collection, especially one with incredible research potential!
The A-2 jacket, which is in good condition with fantastic hand painted artwork. The reverse side of the jacket has an exceptional painted image of a winged number 8 for the 8th Air Force. In the center of the 8 is an image of a what we believe to be an image of Moon Mullins. The image is faint but still can be seen properly, though the painted bomb markets are rather difficult to see.
Moon Mullins is an American comic strip which had a run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characters who reside at the Schmaltz (later Plushbottom) boarding house. The central character, Moon (short for Moonshine), is a would-be prizefighter—perpetually strapped for cash but with a roguish appetite for vice and high living. Moon took a room in the boarding house at 1323 Wump Street in 1924 and never left, staying on for 67 years. The strip was created by cartoonist Frank Willard.
Moon Mullins: With his big eyes, plaid pants, perpetual cigar and yellow derby hat, Moon is an amiable roughneck. He haunts saloons, racetracks and pool halls, mangles the English language with Jazz Age slang, and gets into endless scrapes looking for an easy buck or a hot dame. Moon himself is a low-rent but likeable sort of riff-raff, involved in get-rich schemes and bootleg whiskey, crap games and staying out all night with disreputable friends. None of the roughhousing was fatal or even particularly threatening, however. Indeed, the gentleness of the situational humor behind all the characters' rough edges kept the strip on an even keel. The name "Moonshine" referenced Mullins as a drinker and gambler during Prohibition.
Jacket is in size US 40 and has retained most of the original components including original knit waist band something we often see replaced on A-2 jackets that saw extensive service. Interestingly enough, the sleeve knit cuffs are missing and appear to have been removed intentionally. Also original is the TALON brand zipper which is functional. There are various noticeable repairs done to the jacket, such as leather patches used to mask the holes that are present. We are not sure as to when these repairs were made, but judging from how they are less aged from the jacket, it is our belief they were done some time after the war.
The interior lining does have tearing and stitching loss present, so do handle it with care. The top rear back portion of the liner still retains the original tag which reads as:
TYPE A2
DWG. NO. 30-1415
ORDER NO. 42-1542-P
PROPERTY
AIR FORCE, U.S. ARMY
AERO LEATHER CO.
40
This is an incredible example of a hard to find painted A-2 jacket, offered in wonderful condition. Comes more than ready for further research and display.
Approximate Size: 40
368th Bomb Squadron
The squadron was established as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit in early 1942. Trained under Second Air Force before deploying to England in September 1942, it became one of the first heavy bomber squadrons of the VIII Bomber Command 1st Bombardment Division. It was a highly decorated squadron during the air offensive over NSDAP Germany and occupied Europe, engaging in strategic bombardment operations until the end of the war in Europe, in April 1945. After the war, the squadron assisted in demobilizing personnel using B-17s as transports along Air Transport Command routes from Western Europe, Italy and the United Kingdom to Gibraltar, and north and west Africa.
The 368th was reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe occupation forces in late 1945, engaging in photographic mapping and strategic reconnaissance operations over Western occupation zones of Germany as well as the Soviet zone. Moved to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, France, it absorbed parts of demobilized squadrons and then returned to Germany as part of the American occupation forces. It was demobilized in Germany at the end of 1946.
