Bomber dax

[dr greg]

A while back I mentioned a shop that had a pair of WW2 bomber crew woollen leggings (?), they still have them for $1200!

 

[Windsock]

In the words of Darryl Kerrigan: "Tell him he's dreaming"

Greg, i'm not so sure they're Irvin trousers, they look more lioke AAF A-3's to me. It's hard to make out but the zip puller also looks like it might be a talon or conmar.

 

[STW]

Maybe this comment goes better in the WWII forum, but these leggings, Irvin or AAF, remind me of John Culshaw's memoirs, Putting the Record Straight, 1981, where he describes his time as a navigator in WWII with the Royal Naval Air Service (the Fleet Air Arm) in open cockpits, I think. He describes the stuff they wore to stay warm, and various inventions they came up with to try to relieve their bladders during the long hours in the air. Interesting to think that this stuff which was equipment to them, and a pain in the neck, is now a $1200 collectible (prospective anyway). Culshaw's memoir is mostly about his years as a producer for Decca records; he's the guy who made the great recordings of the Ring with Solti, and recorded so many other opera firsts. But he spends quite a bit of time on those war-time flying years, showing again that no matter where the WWII vets went afterward, their service was a big part of their lives.