WW II US Navy/Marine Flight gear

[tallyho]

I think this is the best spot for this. Does anyone know of any book that focuses on WW2 Navy and Marine Flight gear and jackets? I have Prodger's book which is excellent for the helmets, but I am looking for more along the lines of all the other stuff, like his Luftwaffe Vs. RAF.

Thanks for any leads!

 

[priestyboy]

Man, I'll be watching for the replies on this one. I've been dying for info on USN/USMC pilot stuff.

The USAAF enthusiast has a mecca of available materials to study from but us brown shoe guys have little to go by.

I've found a few sites that have available USN/USMC flight gear (WPG) repros. Other than that I have to piece it from various sources. I try to do a USN pilot reenactment at airshows and find I'm usually alone. You can see my impression in my avatar.

Best of luck.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Osprey Elite Series

Surely the Osprey Publishing Ltd. ELITE series must have an issue on USN/USMC pilot stuff. Check at a hobby/model shop, most of them have an Osprey rack with the ELITE series. If not, I'll bet they can order it for you!

-dixon cannon

 

[tallyho]

Surely the Osprey Publishing Ltd. ELITE series must have an issue on USN/USMC pilot stuff. Check at a hobby/model shop, most of them have an Osprey rack with the ELITE series. If not, I'll bet they can order it for you!

-dixon cannon

osprey does have one on navy uniforms that does have a bit of info on aviator stuff but it is very minimal. In their aces series they have art work of navy/marine pilots but they are usually very inaccurate and the text decription of the plates is even more wrong. I dont know how Osprey continues to make such errors.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Here's another useful Osprey Elite title...

 

[Sweet Leilani]

Gentlemen, if you'll permit a lady to weigh in on this...

Here is a photo of one of my museum display cases. This is the complete flight gear of a Navy Hellcat pilot, Lt. Jack Biermann. I've met Mr. Biermann and he has some great stories- I recall one about the pistol the model is wearing being an Army issue instead of Navy. Anyway, if you want some close-up shots of anything in particular, please let me know, and I'll be happy to oblige.