Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 313:
Description
WWII USAAF Type A-2 Leather Flight Jacket – CBI – Lot 265. Exceptional original WWII U.S. Army Air Forces A-2 leather flight jacket with strong China-Burma-India Theater associations, retaining two highly desirable period shoulder insignia and extensive wartime wear. The jacket displays a leather China-Burma-India Theater shoulder insignia, incorporating the Nationalist Chinese sun, American star, and red-and-white striping. The CBI insignia was worn by U.S. personnel serving in the China-Burma-India Theater and is one of the most immediately recognizable emblems of American service in that theater. National Museum of American History The opposite shoulder carries the embroidered Fourteenth Air Force "Flying Tiger" insignia, depicting the winged tiger over the white star with red center. The Fourteenth Air Force was activated in China in March 1943 under Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault and conducted combat operations against Japanese forces from bases in China through the end of the war. Museum of Aviation Foundation, Inc.
The jacket itself exhibits the classic wartime A-2 configuration with brown leather construction, snap-flap patch pockets, shoulder epaulets, knitted waistband and cuffs, and front metal zipper. The zipper retains a Talon-marked pull, a desirable period feature. The original maker label is no longer present, but the interior carries repeated identification markings including "P-5238", prominently hand-marked beneath the collar and stamped elsewhere in the lining. These markings offer a potentially important avenue for additional research into the jacket’s original wearer or wartime inventory history.
The insignia are particularly noteworthy. The CBI shoulder patch appears to be a leather-made theater example showing considerable age and wear, while the Fourteenth Air Force patch is an embroidered wartime-style example displaying the organization’s distinctive winged tiger. The Fourteenth Air Force grew directly out of the American Volunteer Group and the China Air Task Force tradition and became one of the principal American air formations fighting in China. Its personnel operated under unusually difficult logistical conditions, with virtually every gallon of fuel, replacement part, weapon, and aircraft component having to reach China through the vast CBI supply system.
This jacket shows substantial genuine service wear throughout, including surface rubbing, creasing, finish loss, abrasions, scuffing, and considerable deterioration to one knitted cuff, while the waistband and opposite cuff remain comparatively intact. The lining is complete enough to retain the important wartime markings and exhibits staining and wear consistent with prolonged use. The overall appearance is exactly what collectors hope to see in a veteran flight jacket: not artificially pristine, but heavily worn and evocative of actual wartime service.
Of particular interest is the combination of the CBI Theater insignia and Fourteenth Air Force Flying Tiger patch, which strongly associates the jacket with an airman who served in the China-Burma-India/China Theater. The CBI shoulder emblem represented American personnel serving across China, Burma, and India, while the Fourteenth Air Force operated principally from China in the campaigns against Japanese forces. China-Burma-India Theater Further research into the interior P-5238 identification may eventually permit the jacket to be tied to a specific individual or unit.
An outstanding, untouched-appearing WWII A-2 with highly collectible CBI and Fourteenth Air Force insignia, original Talon zipper, wartime interior identification markings, and the honest wear of a jacket that clearly saw extensive use. A particularly evocative piece from one of the most difficult and historically fascinating theaters of the Second World War. Associated with lot 265
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