Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 357:
Description
WWII USAAF Type B-3 Pneumatic Life Preserver, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., dated March 1942, Contract W-535 AC 23620, Specification No. 94-3065-B, AN acceptance stamp, with T.O. 13-1-5 C.W. inspection stamp dated 3 March 1945. Offered here is an early-production Type B-3 pneumatic life preserver, the flotation vest issued to United States Army Air Forces flight crews and airborne personnel in the opening years of American involvement in the war, before it was gradually superseded by the improved Type B-4 and AN-6519-1 patterns. Its documented history rests entirely in the manufacturer’s and inspector’s stamps struck into the fabric itself, which securely date its production and record its continued service inspection nearly three years later. The Type B-3 is the vest that gave rise to the enduring nickname "Mae West, " a wry reference to the exaggerated, bust-forward silhouette the wearer assumed once the twin chest-mounted flotation chambers were inflated – gallows humor that stuck fast among aircrew facing the very real prospect of ditching over open water. Vests of this type were standard USAAF equipment during the early Combined Bomber Offensive, the Pacific island-hopping campaigns, and the countless ferry, transport and patrol flights conducted over hostile water, where a reliable preserver could mean the difference between rescue and loss. This example’s dated manufacture of March 1942 places it among the earliest wartime production run, supplied to the Army Air Corps under contract by Goodyear, one of the principal makers of the type; the presence of a March 1945 depot inspection stamp indicates the vest remained in active service inventory through nearly the entire war. The vest is constructed of vivid yellow cotton canvas over internal rubberized bladders, with a stenciled placard reading "VEST, LIFE PRESERVER, TYPE B-3," Spec. No. 94-3065-B, "DATE OF MFR. MAR. 1942," Order No. W-535 AC 23620, and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. maker’s identification, all struck in black ink and legible despite fading. A circular AN acceptance stamp appears twice on the garment, and the interior flap carries the T.O. 13-1-5 C.W. inspection stamp dated 3 March 1945 alongside a partial stenciled lot/serial reference and a numbered inspection indicator.
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