What can I say about this jacket, quite possibly the most iconic, and certainly one of the most sought after items of clothing from WW2. Designed in 1941 by the then Captain William P. Yarborough, Test Officer for the newly formed parachute divisions. The new jacket featured four pockets, each slanted to allow easy access when wearing all of the required parachute gear, and each pocket with both bellows and a second set of studs to allow for plenty of carrying space. The 8oz cotton twill would be very light, so light infact that following experience of use in North Africa and Italy, prior to the jump on D-Day, regiment riggers reinforced many with grey canvas around areas of wear. These jackets were only produced for a year or so between 1942-43, and would quickly be replaced by the m1943 field jacket, so examples are rare, and with the popularity of airborne/special forces collecting, one of the hardest pieces to find!
This particular jacket is of the early variety and features threaded eyelets in the armpits. Based on the location of the tag, I believe this to be one of the early PQMD made versions. It comes with a Crown main zipper and Serval knife pocket zippers, all working perfectly. One the left shoulder is a WW2 original 82nd Airborne SSI & Airborne tab, and on either sleeve are wool Sergeant chevrons. All the stitching appears original, done with 100% cotton thread of the type found in sewing kits etc, there is no glow under blacklight. There is a laundry number I believe to be L-1487 but I haven't manage to find a name after some light touch searching. There is a shadow of a name tape having been removed above the left breast pocket.
Condition
This is in good, but used condition. The jacket itself is in very good shape, very strong fabric with a really rich khaki colour. There are a few stains here and there, a couple of tiny spots of wear particularly between the two right pockets and on the front lower left hem.
Size
- No size tag
- Pit to pit 20"
- Shoulder to shoulder 19"
- Shoulder to cuff 23"
- Collar to hem 28"