Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 305:
Description
WWII USAAF Type B-15 Intermediate Flying Jacket, olive drab cotton-twill shell with plush mouton fur collar and CONMAR-marked zipper, roster number "1495" hand-stenciled at the neckline, government spec label intact – standardized 7 April 1944 Offered here is an original World War II United States Army Air Forces Type B-15 intermediate flying jacket, one of the most recognizable pieces of American aircrew equipage of the war’s final year. Stenciled with the roster number "1495" at the neckline, the jacket carries no separately published biography or documented named history; its story rests instead in its government specification label, its hardware, and its honest service wear – the physical record of a working combat garment rather than a parade piece. The B-15 was formally standardized on 7 April 1944, developed as an immediate wartime improvement over the short-lived B-10 flight jacket and as a lighter alternative to bulky shearling gear at a time when leather was in critically short supply. Built of tightly woven olive drab cotton twill, it was engineered specifically for high-altitude bomber and fighter operations: the off-center front zipper was positioned to clear oxygen mask hose connections, while the divided utility pocket on the left sleeve and snap-closure slash pockets addressed the practical needs of aircrew working in cramped, cold fuselages and cockpits. The plush mouton fur collar, worn upturned with its integral throat-latch storm flap, offered protection against the punishing temperatures encountered at altitude over Europe and the Pacific. Jackets of this pattern were issued in quantity through the closing year of the war before the design evolved into the improved B-15A with leather oxygen-mask clips. The jacket is built of olive drab cotton twill, its government spec label reading "JACKET, B-15 TYPE" sewn below the collar, legible though lightly frayed at the edges. The mouton fur collar remains full and plush with only minor thinning consistent with age, closing at the throat with its original latch tab. The metal front zipper carries a CONMAR-marked slider with its original leather pull intact and complete. Inside, the diamond-quilted lining survives in place with typical period discoloration, the roster number "1495" hand-inked directly above the label. Two snap-closure slash hand pockets and the sleeve utility pocket complete the exterior, with ribbed knit cuffs and waistband at the garment’s edges. No other items accompany this lot. Condition is fair to good for a jacket of this age and type: notable tearing and fraying is present at the corner of the right slash pocket welt, with surface staining, scuffing, and general fading across the twill shell; the knitted waist hem and cuffs show fraying, moth tracking, and partial separation consistent with decades of storage and wear; the zipper and pull appear complete and functional, though operation has not been independently tested. An honest, well-marked example of the definitive late-war USAAF flying jacket, its worn twill, CONMAR hardware, and stenciled roster number bearing quiet witness to real operational service in the skies of World War II.
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