This auction is for the AVIREX Leather Jacket with the SACK TIME nose art screened onto the back in size MEN’s EXTRA-LARGE  by AVIREX.  

 

I wore this just ONCE, and it’s about 20 years old.  It’s in great condition with just a couple of chips spots in the leather (see photos).  It’s a heavy jacket, weighing almost five pounds. 

 

The interior lists the crew of what is, likely, a fantasy aircraft, the “JACK of ALL RAIDS!”

Lt Col Jack Taylor - Pilot

Stick Campbell – Co-Pilot

Reg Baldwin – Navigator

W.V Rodovitch – Ball Gunner

Nick Spoletto – Bombardier

Reno Carpenter – Tail Gunner

Bert Gibson – Waist Gunner

Hank Rydell – Radio Operator

Mickey Griffen – 1^st Mechanic

Bull Penn Zobrowksi – 2^nd Mechanic

Martin  Green =- Crew Chief

 

It’s the PERFECT gift for a WWII buff, a fan of the Apple TV Series, MASTERS OF THE AIR or an USAF veteran.  Includes its original, linen carrying sack.

 

The Type A-2 leather flight jacket is an American military flight jacket originally invented and developed for and closely associated with World War II U.S. Army Air Forces pilots, navigators and bombardiers, who often decorated their jackets with squadron patches and elaborate artwork painted on the back. Sometimes casually referred to as a bomber jacket, its original designation was "Jacket, Pilot's (summer)", and its wartime usage was limited neither to pilots nor to bomber crews.

 

"Sack Time" was a Consolidated B-24D, 44-50797, assigned to the 308th Bomb Group (Heavy), based at Kunming, China in 1944. The 308th undertook both day and night bombing attacks on targets in Japanese-occupied China and on shipping in the Taiwan Straits, hence the black color of the fuselage--the undersides were painted matte black to disguise the otherwise olive drab Liberators in night operations. It also carried a sharkmouth, which was rare but not unknown for B-24 units in the Pacific--the crews obviously liked the sharkmouths carried by P-40s in the theater, and emulated it.

 

The vulnerability of B-24Ds to head-on attacks led the type to be replaced on the production line by the nose turret equipped B-24J series, and D models were relegated to secondary theaters, such as the China-Burma-India (CBI) area. B-24Ds served until the end of the war, but nearly all were scrapped at the end of the war.

 

Most of the 308th's B-24Ds were turned over to the new Indian Air Force when the unit deactivated at war's end, but "Sack Time" made it home, where it was scrapped at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. The nose art became part of the Pratt Collection, which eventually went to the Commemorative Air Force and the EAA AirVenture Museum.

 

CONDITION:

Item: VERY GOOD++ Except for three chips near the cuffs, the leather’s in great condition. 

 

 

Mine is a non-smoking home, but I cannot guarantee that these items have not been in a smoking home.

 

This household is PANDEMIC-CONSCIOUS and we will not knowingly pass along anything contaminated.  All fabric or plush items are clean and will be packed considerately as well as carefully.

SHIPPING SPEED:  With USPS I will endeavor to hand it off the next delivery day.  With FedEx and UPS which demand a special trip, I hand off, twice per week: usually Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday.   And, once I hand it off, I have no control over the speed.  If it seems late, contact me and, if necessary, I’ll file a trace on it.  If you’re mad at THEIR speed, please don’t take it out on my feedback: again, I have no control over them.

FREE SHIPPING, anything shipping less than PRIORITY, or anything less than the full price, uses the most economical postage and packaging. 

 

SEE MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR OTHER ITEMS!!!

mathomend on eBay

 

I will combine my items to save on shipping, if possible! 

 

For shipments outside of the US, please check with me for Shipping and Handling charges.

 

Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions!  Don’t be shy if you’re new to e-bay!

 

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