Holy Grail of B-3s, the 1937 undyed sheepskin contract!

This is a first for me, as I have never owned a pre-War undyed B-3! They are as rare as hens' teeth, especially in the condition of this one.

This beauty came from a collector in Japan. It was made in the 1937 fiscal year under the 37-2063-P contract. I do not know the precise size of the contract, but if the known size of A2 contracts for this period is any guide, between 375 and 500 would be a reasonable guess.

The fleece is remarkably soft and the undyed skin is strong and very supple. It is a really decent size 44 and can be worn, with care as she is an 80 year old lady!

The workmanship is excellent and it is annoying that the maker is unknown. Why they did not put their name on the contract label in 1936-7 really is a mystery. Perhaps the contract labels were made prior to the maker being confirmed.

The jacket really is in an amazing state of preservation, with all the stitching being strong and secure. There is wear to the right cuff, but the hem and the left cuff are pristine. The straps are perfect as are the buckles. I have photographed two ways of using the chest buckle and the United Carr collar snap.

The zip is a M-34 Talon, no.7 and works faultlessly.

Sadly I do not know to whom this B-3 was issued as the name strip has been removed and there are no other clues to ID him.

This is a truly remarkable early B-3 and I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story!

Congrats I am familiar with this particular jacket and have seen it in photos before. You must be pleased, it is a rare jacket indeed.

Great jacket. When you posted about it, while the auction was on, I thought you had decided not to bid. I'm glad it found a good safe home.

Thanks. I did not expect to win it and only decided to bid near the end of the auction.

Andrew,
Is there a corresponding snap on the right breast for the collar snap ?

No John. There are no snaps on the breast to fix the collar down flat. There is just the chest buckle!

Outstanding!

That sure is a beaut! Glad it made it back stateside to the hands of a true preservationist.

Thanks very much Xopher. It completed it flight to England over a week ago.

Congrats on the rarity, Andrew! This is indeed a really good example. Every one of these I've owned and seen have been very consistent in workmanship and appearance, and I find this one to be quite "textbook" for this contract and type of B-3. I should add, interestingly, that every one I've seen has been no smaller than a size 44!

I'm sure you're enjoying learning about the various features that differ on these vs. later B-3's and even the depot-made B-3's of the same era.

The chest buckle is for keeping the collar from flapping around in the wind when the lowermost strap of the collar is passed through and the collar worn fully down; this was the design application prior to the press studs appearing on both collar ends and each upper breast on the B-3's of 1938. If you pass the strap into the buckle in the overall layout as appears in first pic of the B-3 front you posted here, that's the prescribed method for wearing with the strap engaged in the buckle. The two collar straps can also be used with the collar fully up, just as on later B-3's, while the nickel-plated press stud is used to secure the collar ends together in the down position, and, of course, it's always possible for some airman to have played around and used the straps as he may have wished, but I see no greater function beyond what was prescribed.

The specs. for the jacket stipulate that the label should contain either the contractor name or just the contract or P. O. number; this is no different than what we see with some flying jackets and trousers of later vintage.

While this and all I've seen would seem very wearable, please be extremely careful and do not be lulled into false security that they really are wearable: I sold one in the '90's to a friend that was seemingly quite new and he blew out both shoulders within a short period, thus selling it off in Manion's Auction for a fraction of what he paid. These skins and assembly thread are old and the storage conditions unknown for most of the many decades since production; I'd seriously hate to see another of these gems damaged and my memory of the auction listing did show a patch applied to the upper back of this one.

I do not recall the production number for this contract (and I'm too lazy to look in the file right now), but I'd expect a number of not more than a few thousand (I think it was about 1, 500 on this one). Production of sheepskin suits was very specialized, unlike the A-2 Jacket, so the contracts could be larger for something such as the B-3/A-3 suits because there was no one else making these at that precise point in time.

Please enjoy this and status of ownership that is as rare as the jackets themselves!

Maybe Gary will surprise us soon with an ELC B-3 like the one above.
Great jacket! Great post!

Thank you Charles for you helpful comments. Do have access to the contract paperwork for this contract to confirm the size of the contract and the maker? I bought this jacket as a collectable, not as a wearable jacket!

Cooper A-2 said:

Maybe Gary will surprise us soon with an ELC B-3 like the one above.
Great jacket! Great post!

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ELC already produce something very similar if not the same.

http://www.eastmanleather.com/type-...-p-289.html?osCsid=bsg6ptjjl747q47018isnch7l0

Marv said:

ELC already produce something very similar if not the same.

http://www.eastmanleather.com/type-...-p-289.html?osCsid=bsg6ptjjl747q47018isnch7l0

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You are right, but not 100% the same, the chest buckle is different, but yes, very similar and btw very nice!
Thx for your observation.

Real McCoys have been producing this model for several years with the chest buckle.

John Lever said:

Real McCoys have been producing this model for several years with the chest buckle.

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Nice, however, I and my 1 dime opinion love the ones with the chest buckle, besides RMC became balistic price-wise. Preference for ELC and AELC.

Wonderful. Simply wonderful. What a treat to see this jacket in such pristine condition from so long ago - and to know it is with you, Andrew, is a bonus and a relief. It deserves to be with someone such as you who can both wholly appreciate it and afford to acquire it -- and keep it safe for the future -- and significantly, someone who would take the time to share it with us here. Thank you for taking the time to compose some very nicely taken photographs.
It's mainly because we see originals like this - and in this way - that we can all better judge/scrutinize the reproductions of this jacket (and others like it) like we can and we are able to determine historical accuracy and thus gain a better a sense of value and craftmanship.
A great post. Thank you!

aswatland said:

Thank you Charles for you helpful comments. Do have access to the contract paperwork for this contract to confirm the size of the contract and the maker? I bought this jacket as a collectable, not as a wearable jacket!

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I know I don't have the sort of contract data I located for the vast majority of B-3 and A-2 contracts, which are summary statements and award announcements of each contract loaded with information; these are what Gary Eastman largely used for his A-2 Jacket book. What I recall finding for this B-3 contract was a reference in a document that, I think, cited the number contracted for and the maker. This would take some time sifting through papers to find because it forms more of the history of dialogue on the B-3 vs. a pure contract reference (and I should have cross filed this with contracts and don't think I did).

Cooper A-2 said:

Nice, however, I and my 1 dime opinion love the ones with the chest buckle, besides RMC became balistic price-wise. Preference for ELC and AELC.

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The RM ones do have the chest buckle.