Sz 44 WWII Painted A-2 15th AF B-24 New Old Men (2d Line) as Pub'd in Art of the Flight Jack

ARTIFACT: This is a wonderful, LARGE, painted A-2, with sprawling artwork covering most of the real estate on the back of the jacket! This jacket can be seen in Maguire & Conway's "Art of the Flight Jacket". Originally worn by B-24 Crew member T/Srgt Harold Scherer of Baltimore, Maryland, a member of the Combat Air Crew of the 747th Bomb Squadron, 456th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force B-24 Liberator "New Old Men". It was worn on missions over Southern France, Rome, the Rhineland, and NORMANDY. The jacket is a classic Dubow in a great size, not often found in decorated A-2s. The waistband is original, the cuffs appear to be old (possibly period) replacements. The leather of the jacket is supple, with some wear and tear as to be expected of a jacket worn by such a big guy crawling around inside a B-24! Overall though, the jacket has a great patina, and although the painting details have softened over the years, it is still an excellent display piece. The left shoulder decal was over-painted for effect, and 15 was added to make it a 15th AF patch instead of just the USAAF HQ insignia. On front is a painted-on Air Crew wing, over Scherer's hand-made name strip reading HAL SCHERER. On back is a huge shield covering 2/3+ of the jacket with a large B-24, the aircrafts' name, 8 large bombs, and 25 smaller bombs. The A-2 comes with lots of paperwork and photos, some original, most old copies. The air crew wing is of no special note, but the Air Medal is named to Scherer. Late in the war Scherer entered the pilot training program, and there is a great 8x10 photo of him inscribed to his parents. A great Painted A-2 with a nice concise grouping of artifacts and documentation!

VINTAGE: Circa World War II.

SIZE: Size tag: 44. Jacket: measurements to follow soon. The rest of the artifacts are of various standard sizes, call for more specific details.

MATERIALS / CONSTRUCTION: Leather with painted details (wing, patches), leather name strip, cotton/nylon cuffs, waistband, bronze, silk, sterling silver, photographs, paper.

ATTACHMENT: Zipper, hook and eye, snaps on pockets.

MARKINGS: Type A-2 Drawing. No. 30-45 Order No./Manufacturer info Chicago IL Property Air Forces U.S. Army 44.

ITEM NOTES: This is from a WWII USAAF flight jacket collection which we will be listing more of over the next few months. CON-LL-MDJJJX14 LEEJJX9/14 RET8/15

CONDITION: 7 (Very Fine): The jacket has a great patina: it is supple, with some wear and tear as to be expected of a jacket worn by such a big guy crawling around inside a B-24.