Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 337:
Description
WWII USAAF Heavy Sheepskin Flight Ensemble – Type B-3 Jacket (Size 42R), Type A-3 Shearling Flight Trousers (Size 38R, Order No. 43-18882-AF), Type A-6 Winter Flying Boots and Winter Flight Mittens with Rayon/Silk Inserts Offered here is a substantial grouping of United States Army Air Forces heavy winter flight equipment, dating to the circa 1942-1944 period of American strategic bombing operations. The lot comprises a Type B-3 sheepskin flight jacket, matching Type A-3 shearling flight trousers, a pair of Type A-6 winter flying boots, and a set of winter flight mittens with fabric hand inserts. No named recipient or unit assignment has been identified with this grouping, and no separate published biography accompanies it; the story here is told through the garments themselves and the government contract markings stitched into their linings. This type of ensemble represents the definitive high-altitude cold-weather kit issued to bomber crews such as those of the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces, who flew unpressurized, unheated aircraft including the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator over Europe and the Mediterranean. At operational altitudes above 20,000 feet, ambient temperatures could plunge well below -30 degreesF, and frostbite was a genuine operational hazard for gunners, waist crew, and other exposed personnel. The B-3 and A-3 combination, standardized in the 1930s and produced in quantity through the war years by numerous AAF contractors, paired heavy shearling sheepskin bodies with horsehide reinforcement panels, leather welting, and robust brass separating zippers, while the A-6 boots and insulated mittens completed a full-body system designed to keep aircrew functional through hours-long missions in the bomber stream. The Type B-3 jacket, Size 42R, bears a partially legible contract label sewn into the shearling collar lining reading Drawing No. … A.C. Order No. (535) 42…, and retains its deep shearling collar, contrasting horsehide sleeve reinforcement panels, front brass zipper, and adjustable leather waist tabs; the fleece lining throughout remains full and supple despite heavy surface wear to the exterior leather. The Type A-3 trousers, Size 38R, carry a legible label reading Order No. 43-18882-AF, Property Army Air Force, U.S. Army, and display a stenciled Army Air Forces wings-and-star roundel at the upper hip, intact canvas suspenders, twin leg zippers, and thick shearling cuffs and waistband. The Type A-6 boots, marked Size Large, have sheepskin-lined shafts, brass zip closures, and heavy composite soles. The flight mittens are gauntlet-style with shearling cuffs, brass zip vents, and detachable fabric hand inserts in a lighter tan hue. Condition throughout is fair to good and entirely consistent with genuine wartime flight use. The B-3 jacket shows extensive surface crazing, lacquer loss, and flaking to the polyacrylate-finished exterior leather across the body and both sleeves, though the shearling lining remains substantial and unmatted. The A-3 trousers show general surface wear and an open seam separation at the upper seat/thigh exposing the fleece lining beneath, with the stenciled hip marking showing expected flaking and loss. The boots and mittens show moderate surface crazing, oxidation to hardware, and honest patina consistent with age and cold-weather field use; all zippers, buckles, and snaps are present, though their mechanical function has not been tested. A visually striking and complete four-piece USAAF winter flight ensemble that captures, in tactile form, the formidable environmental demands faced by American bomber crews at altitude over wartime Europe.
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