WWII USAAF trousers

[Wolfmanjack]

Look what I found at a thrift store. These appear to be genuine vintage WWII flight trousers. They seem to be quite complete, with virtually all the zippers, snaps, leather tabs, etc., still intact and working. The suspenders still retain their stretch!

Can any of you WWII experts help me authenticate these trousers? What can you tell me about them, their history, typical use, etc.? Were these actually worn by WWII USAAF flight crew members?

Why do they have the double zippers? The trousers have a whole assortment of pockets, some with snap closures, some with zipper closures. the left side pocket has sewn-in straps inside the pocket that are there for some specific purpose. Can anyone tell me the purpose of these?

Is this a rare find, or do these turn up often?

I'm very eager to hear from you WWII experts about these trousers. Regards,

 

[Zemke Fan]

Jack...

Wish I could be helpful, but the ONE Jon MaGuire book I DON'T own is the one dealing with the flight-gear. Paddy seems to be on an extended hiatus, or I'm sure he would have chimed in by now... You might also want to PM Wingnut. He's a real flyboy!

 

[The Wingnut]

They're exactly what the tag says. I've got a pair myself. The A-11s are the companion intermediate high altitude trousers to the B-10 and B-15 jackets. Same outer shell, same alpaca lining. Maguire's Gear Up! doesn't list them at first glance, so I can't give any specifics on date introduced / standardized. They're the replacement for the A-3 trousers, and I'd assume that they were standardized in '43 along with the B-10, which replaced the A-2.

You should be able to find a vertically zippered pocket on one of the thigs, I can't remember if it's the right or the left. You'll find white cotton webbing inside, a loop near the top and a basketlike arrangement at the bottom. This is to hold a bailout bottle. The pocket on the upper left thigh I believe is for a first aid pouch and the snapped flap on it is a keeper for mic and headset cords. The other pockets are map pockets, or general use.

The zippers down the front are great. Set the pants on a chair, seat of the pants in the seat of the chair, legs hanging down. Unzip the zippers completely, sit down, pull the center section up between your legs, zip the zippers up. Bingo, you're in. Disassembly is the reverse of assembly. Sit down, zip, zip, you're out.

I used mine as ski pants for a number of years until I realized what they were! They're pretty good for it, sadly, falling down on the slopes left me with some areas that look scuffed up. They were mint when I bought them as a kid. I just thought the AAF logo near the waist looked cool.

 

[PADDY]

Nice pair of AAf pants.

Just back from Ireland and 15 pages to get through here!! eeek.

Those frontal zips just make it easier to get the pants on and off as guys were wearing cumbersome flight boots and loads of layers underneath. Braces come as standard issue with them and they would be the matching trousers for the alpaca lined jacket (as mentioned before). As you'll already know, they are pretty weighty and warm and not ideal for walking around in, even at airshows! (unless it's very chilly!!).

You are starting to get into the late-mid to late war era with these babys and already they are pointing towards a new era in aviation wear/look. Make these out of nylon and they start fitting into the jet age of Korea and later Vietnam. (funny how things speed up and develop so fast when you're at war).

Often (sadly I guess), people will buy them up for the zips these days, as some will have WW2 Talon and Crown (spring loaded) zips that are worth more than the sum total of the trousers!!

Match those up with a B-10 or B-15 and you'll look the bee's knees in them!

 

[BellyTank]

A-11 and A-11-A flight trousers matched the B-15 and B-15A flight jackets.
The A-11-A flight pants are extremely late-war. The next model was the nylon version matching the B-15-B jacket- forst produced in 1945.

B-10 jackets had the A-8/A-9 pants as companions. There was also a simliar pant; the A-10, which was the cloth mechanic's pants. All of the pants mentioned are the later-war cloth variants. I have a pair of each- the cloth flight pants are not rare, especially the A-11-A's you have. But they're cool.

B
T

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Some Good News and Bad News

Wingnut, Paddy & BT, Thank you for your replies to my questions. You chaps are a veritable fountain of fascinating information about WWII garb and equipment! This is just one example of what a true privilege it is to be a member of our erudite club, The Fedora Lounge.

Often (sadly I guess), people will buy them up for the zips these days, as some will have WW2 Talon and Crown (spring loaded) zips that are worth more than the sum total of the trousers!!

Paddy, my A-11-A trousers have Crown zips, which would make them vulnerable to being cut-up for the zips. What a pity this would be! This leads to the Good News and Bad News I have to report?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù

The Good News:
At Size 30 these trousers are way too small for me. They are sized to fit over a lot of clothing, so they would fit easily on a 32" waist, if you're wearing just one layer of underclothes. So, I am offering The Fedora Lounge members the opportunity to have these USAAF A-11-A trousers for just what I paid ($5.00 USD) for them at the thrift store, plus my actual cost to ship them to you via priority mail, insured. N.B.: In addition, I require your solemn promise that you will repair them and wear them; and not cannibalize them for the zips. Wingnut, Paddy & BT, you get first refusal. Send me a PM if you're interested.

The Bad News:
You will look very authentic in these WWII USAAF A-11-A trousers, viz.: (1) The right thigh has some very light soiling where the skipper would rub the palm of his right hand to dry it, so it wouldn't slip on the stick. I urge you to leave this just as it is. (2) The suspenders are torn and frayed a bit at the X in the back. I urge you to repair this by hand-stitching it, just as the original owner would have done. (3) One of the knit cuffs has un-raveled just a little. Use your own judgment as to whether you want to darn this or just leave it alone.

Apart from the above problems, these trousers are perfect, all the leather tabs, webbing, snaps and zips are intact and still work, they smell clean and fresh, except maybe the slight tang of aviation fuel. I would really like to see a Fedora Lounge member repair them and wear them. You will look like you just climbed down out of a BOEING B-17G "FLYING FORTRESS" recently returned from a 1944 daylight strategic bombing mission over Germany.

I posted this offer in Classifieds as the thread WWII USAAF A-11-A Flight Trousers just a few moments ago, so send me a PM promptly.