The First A-2 - P. Goldsmith Sons 1931 Discovered!

It is documented the first A-2 contract was awarded to P Goldsmith Sons Co in 1931. It was contract number 31-1897 and was for only 25 jackets. These 25 jackets have never been seen in person and none are known to exist in any collection or museum.

Details have always been sketchy on this jacket. The jacket was thought by many to have smaller pockets than later versions. It would have had buttoned pockets and a riveted Hookless zipper. We know this from the Security Aviation Togs jacket that came out one year later in 1932, before those features were changed. I have always wanted to do a reproduction of this jacket but never had enough details. We have never even had a photo of this mythical jacket.......... Until now!


Over on the Vintage Leather Jacket Forum, a member posted the photo above of Hap Arnold wearing an early button pocket A-2 at a luncheon event. He is on the right. Thankfully it is a hi res photo. I downloaded the photo and when I zoomed in, I saw something protruding from the collar on the left side. It was a button loop! Then I noticed that the collar had no snaps and there was a button visible under the right collar. The epaulets seem to be far back, placed over the shoulder seam, and the pocket was.....smaller!

I had never seen these features before on an A-2 and thought "It must be the Goldsmith!!". I posted my findings on the forum and Ken from Aero agreed that it could well be the Goldsmith. The forum community jumped into action in an epic thread! Many discoveries were made by contributing members and we nailed down the
details very thoroughly. I am happy to announce that Headwind Mfg Co will be making a reproduction of this "Holy Grail" A-2 jacket.

The epic thread. The discussion starts at post #54
http://vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/buttoned-pocket-flaps-a-2-jackets.20145/page-3

Golly!

Wow!

Might need to edit thread title - I for one thought that an actual jacket had been discovered (rather than the image identified).

Dr H said:

Might need to edit thread title - I for one thought one had been discovered (rather than an image).

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That would be fantastic! Lets see the photos.

That VLJ thread is so hardcore. Digging through the National Archives and such. Jacket MVP trophy of 2018 goes to those gents IMO.

I lost my interest in A-2 because the aesthetic doesn't really work with my style and I don't do military dress up but that's one hell of a cool A-2 leather jacket, in my opinion way cooler than the one with snaps in the collar and pockets.

Amazing

Ironically, it’s a bit like buses, you go for decades without seeing one, and now both Headwind and Aero are making a Goldsmith pattern. Anybody else, John C?
An interesting pattern, with some quirks (the button/loop fastening is a nice transition from the A-1). Probably one for a small minority of buyers though given that the distinctive early ‘30s design is quite different from the iconic wartime look.

willyto said:

I lost my interest in A-2 because the aesthetic doesn't really work with my style and I don't do military dress up but that's one hell of a cool A-2 leather jacket, in my opinion way cooler than the one with snaps in the collar and pockets.

Amazing

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I’m at a similar stage Willyto. Finding fewer reasons/occasions to wear flying jackets, I am concentrating on ‘20s/‘30s ‘workwear’ designs.

Interesting. Do you know what the back looked like?

Seb Lucas said:

Interesting. Do you know what the back looked like?

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According to the documentation, it followed Drawing No. 30-1415 so it would have had a one piece back like the later manufacturer's jackets. 100% sure on the one piece back because of the same DWG no. It is too big of a feature to be different than the other 1930's SAT, Werber, and the later jackets.

Fascinating detective work by the community! Excellent read.

Updates on the Headwind Mfg Co Goldsmith A-2 Project.
We have all the parts ready to go and we are now finishing up the pattern on this historic jacket. We are now offering a Pre Release sale option on this jacket for only $525!!
This offer has been up for about a week and the line is forming, so get your spot in the production Que today! All the details can be found on the site.
http://www.headwindmfg.com/goldsmith.html

Be sure to check out our other deals during our "End Of Summer" sale going on now!
Regards,
Jay

Hi, I don't play in the jacket area, as I post mostly in hats, so I'm not certain if this is the best or most appropriate thread to put this in, but what the heck.

I work for the USAF as a contractor, and this came through in my email today from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center History Office.

That's a pretty cool discovery. Even if it is just a photo, that's still impressive and quite interesting.

Maybe they have one on display at the USAF Museum? Next time I'm out there, I'll keep an eye peeled.

Aero did a limited edition of this jacket not long ago.