Here's me in my summer flying clothing. Eastman A-2 Jacket bought back in 1998 and Crusher Officers Cap bought off Ebay spring '05. The A-2 was never official uniform, but was usually considered as such, and is often seen in off base pictures. 

"Spirit of '76" was the name on my second B-17 Fortress. The mission symbols on this A-2 stand for actual flights on the plane. Currently I have 68 B-17 missions to my name.

Here I am at Elvington, with my Aero Leather B-3 fleece jacket and Crusher Officers Cap. The B-3 was a winter use  jacket, designed with a 3/4 inch fleece lining. This was to help keep the owner warm at the sub zero temperatures at 25 to 30,000 feet altitude.

Two straps on the collar fasten to buckles on the other side to hold the collar up around the neck. The "Hang The Expense" B-17 artwork was completed at the end of April '06.

These two A-2's belong to Lynne ( Woody's War ) and Stuart ( Blackhawk ). 'Woody's War' is a fictional artwork, although the character was created in 1941 and so is authentic for the period. 'Blackhawk' is almost a direct copy of a 96th Bomb Group B-17 art.

The AN-J-4 Jacket was a later development of the B-3 fleece jacket and had the new joint Army & Navy identification code ( AN- ). It was a thinner fleece than the B-3 because the heated flying suits had become more common.

The A-6A shoes were a development of the A-6 shoes. During parachuting, the shoes often came free from the wearer as the 'chute deployed. Two buckled straps around the instep and ankle improved the securing of the boot.

The Q-1 electrically heated shoe inners were worn over the leather service shoes and inside the A-6A Flying Shoes. Small press studs connect the electrical supply to the elements woven into the fabric.

I bought this Life Preserver, late in 2005. Type B-4, Specification 94-3135. It came complete with the CO2 bottles and Dye Marker pouch, still full.

 In December '05, I managed to find an A-4 Chest Parachute on Ebay. Also included & shown below is the 'chute inspection log, drop test log, emergency use and repair routing tag.

To carry the increasing amount of flight gear around in, I also bought this aviators flying kit bag from Ebay.

While faded, he bag still bears the name of the original owner, Houge. While not in perfect condition, it is still very usable.

The HBT Coveralls are the type of clothing that the mechanics, ordnance and general base service personnel would wear. These wear purchased to live in my kitbag for those summer days that may turn cool, as they are large and loose enough to pull on over other clothing.

Early in 2006, two pairs of A-11 Alpaca lined flyers trousers were purchased. These were for intermediate use between summer clothing and the heavy leather/fleece winter equipment.

This bail out oxygen bottle is a great accessory to go with my A-11 trousers. The A-11's have a special pocket with straps which hold the bottle in place.

The original air pipe was perished and was replaced with about 3 feet of black rubber petrol pipe which looked similar to the original hose. A metal fitting was machined for the end.

HB-7 Headset

The HB-7 Headset is fitted with ANB-H-1 H Earphone Receivers, and a PL-354 Plug. These headsets were the reason combat flyers took out the wire reinforcing out of their officers caps, allowing the cap to crush down when wearing the headset. The caps then became known as 'Crushers', and were the mark of a combat flyer

New for April '07, the T-30-S throat microphone makes a nice companion to the Headset. It is marked 'Univ Micro Co., Inglewood, Calif, Made in USA'. Almost a year later, I picked up this  SW-141-V Microphone Switch, complete with leads, plugs and necklace. A large lever switch was mounted on the side of the case to enable easy operation even when wearing bulky flight gloves