ABSTRACT
The A-2 Flight Jacket, standard issue in the United States (US) Army Air Force beginning in 1931, became the most popular item in the flier's entire wardrobe. By the end of World War II many of the jackets had become self-contained works of art. Fliers had taken to painting the backs with the same colorful illustrations that adorned the front of their airplanes. The appeal of the jacket-fueled by posters and World War II films starring the likes of Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. Aero Leather, one of the companies that originally made them for the government, began producing them for the commercial market. In 1987, on its fortieth anniversary as an independent branch of service, the Air Force reinstated the A-2. Blatantly obsolete in an era of enclosed cockpits and a plentiful supply of lighter, cheaper nylon jackets, the Air Force admitted to bringing the jacket back solely to enhance the morale and esprit de corps of its personnel.
