Ce site a un article intéressant sur les blousons décorés parfois portés par les pilotes américains lors de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale.

L’article explique que la hiérarchie militaire laissait les pilotes décorer leurs blousons malgré l’importance de l’uniforme dans l’armée car les pilotes étaient des jeunes à peine majeurs qui pouvaient mourir par dizaines lors d’un seul raid aérien, alors si ça leur faisait plaisir de peindre leur blouson, les officiers les laissaient faire.

C’est d’ailleurs aussi valable pour les peintures sur les carlingues.
Les dessins représentent souvent des pinups, je vous laisse deviner pourquoi, mais aussi des personnages de bandes dessinés car ils passaient basiquement d’être en train de regarder des cartoons à la maison à aller faire la guerre à des milliers de kilomètres de chez eux en quelques semaines, ils représentaient donc des choses qui leur étaient familières.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top: Staff Sgt. Cyril Dworak, an air gunner, had a fellow airman in the 96th Bomb Group, Joe Bodner, paint his jacket. The swastika denotes a victory over a German fighter plane. Above: Officers of the 23rd Fighter Group pose with their “Shark Mouth” P-40. From the collection of John Campbell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight officer Robert J. Meer in Lipa, Philippines, with the “Glider Wolf” insignia of the 1st Glider Provisional Group painted on the front of his A-2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six U.S.O. Girls wear A-2 jackets belonging to the 90th Bomb Group, a.k.a. “Jolly Rogers,” under a B-24 bomber. From the collection of John Campbell.

 

 

 

 

Glider pilots Sam Altman, Frank Randall, and Troy Shaw of the 1st Air Command Group goof around for a photographer in India in 1944.

 

 

 

Airmen stationed in the Mediterranean would buy beautiful hand-tooled and hand-painted leather patches like this one made in Italy.

 

 

Left, this name tag for Lt. Archie Draghi, a group lead navigator for the 15th Air Force, used impressed gold leaf. Right, the issue name tag above, and a “private purchase” name tag below with the airman’s name in English and Farsi.

 

 

 

 

 

Capt. Sam Trave, of the 347th Fighter Group, wears a silver “Good Luck” bell from San Michele, Isle of Capri, attached to the collar hook on his unusually dark A-2 jacket.

 

 

 

A hand-embroidered blood chit has a Republic of China flag and a Chinese message promising a reward to anyone who helped the airman get back to Allied lines.

 

 

Glider pilot Nesbit L. Martin, from the 1st Air Commando, shows off his blood chits

sewn inside his A-2.

 

 

 

 

 

The artwork on this jacket depicts Hitler as a “Shifless Skonk.” The “Schifless Skonk,” misspelled on R.L. Parker’s jacket, was the name of a B-17G bomber of the 568th Bomb Squadron. The swastika marks a German aircraft destroyed, while the parachuter indicates Parker had to jump. From Arthur Hayes’ collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some collectors and reproduction companies obsess over the details of the A-2, including the contract numbers, stitching, and dyes used by particular manufacturers, like Aero Leather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hump Pilots in the Air Transport Command flew supplies over the Himalayas, where the weather was their worst enemy. The camels indicate missions flown, while the camel facing reverse marks a turnaround due to engine trouble. From the collection of Willis R. Allen.

 

 

 

 

Wee Willie,” a bee carrying a red bomb, was the insignia of the 21st Bomb Squadron, 30th Bomb Group. The patch is sewn to the A-2 of Captain Earnest C. Pruett, who flew B-24 Liberators.

 

 

 

This unusual A-2, belonging to Staff Sgt. James Eagan, who flew the B-24 bomber called “Final Approach” for the 458 Bomber Group, has the names of the targets painted on each bomb of the mission tally. From the collection of Leighton Longhi.