Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 341:
Description
WWII U.S. Army Air Forces Electrically Heated Flying Suit Ensemble – General Electric Type F-3A Jacket, United Thermo-Stable Corp. Type F-3 Bib Trousers, General Electric Type Q-1 Heated Shoe Inserts, and the Original Illustrated Instruction Flyer, circa 1944 This lot presents a well-matched USAAF electrically heated flying-clothing group, comprising a General Electric F-3A jacket, United Thermo-Stable Corp. F-3 bib-style trousers, a pair of General Electric Type Q-1 heated shoe inserts, and the increasingly scarce original color-illustrated instruction flyer issued to explain the system. The woven specification labels identify different contracted manufacturers for the jacket and trousers, a mixed-maker arrangement the period literature specifically anticipated and endorsed. No individual airman or unit assignment is identified with the group, and its documentary interest rests in the surviving specification tags, contract numbers, and the graphic instructional booklet preserved alongside the garments. Introduced in 1944 to replace the bulkier F-1 and F-2 heated suits, the Type F-3/F-3A assembly was developed to keep USAAF bomber crews functional through the brutal, unpressurized cold encountered at operating altitude, where outside air temperatures could fall to 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Worn as an intermediate layer beneath outer flight gear such as the B-10 jacket and A-9 trousers, the suit drew 24-volt current directly from the aircraft’s electrical system through Amphenol quick-disconnect plugs, permitting crewmen aboard B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators to retain dexterity and endure long missions without the stiffness and bulk of earlier shearling-lined clothing. The accompanying flyer details the proper maintenance and connection procedures for the ensemble.
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