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Nation's Attic

Amazing P-61 Black Widow
WWII Flight Jacket Historical Grouping!

Up for auction is a very rare opportunity to purchase a very complete and historic WWII grouping. This grouping is new to the market and is the accumulation of an Army Air Force officer. This officer was part of a crew on a P-61 Black Widow in the 547th Fighter Squadron.

This jacket and related items were purchased from the son of the veteran and his contact information will be passed on to the buyer. The veterans name is George Arthur. Along with the mass of items in this grouping, Lt. Arthur is also shown in the book titled Queen of the midnight Skies: The Story of America's Air Force Night Fighters.

In addition to the A-2 jacket the grouping also includes the following:

- detailed service diary 42 copied pages, 2 pages per sheet (great details)
- Type A-4 Navigation Case: Dead Reckoning
- Type B-2 Size 7-1/8 leather cap
- Leather boots, very high quality in great condition
- Officers crusher cap
- Green jump suit with Black Widow Patch and AAF decal
- Type A-11 Leather Flight Helmet Size Large
- Tan paints with name stamped inside
- AAF Dress Coat - Sax Fifth Ave
- Ike Jacket
- Tan overalls
- Tan dress shirt
- Tan shirt with 5th AAF patch
- Tan officers hat
- Green officers hat
- Ike jacket - 5th AAF patch, sewn observer wings
- Leather Gloves
- Single leather glove
- 2 original photos of Lt. Arthur
- 3 copies of newspaper articles about the P-61

Below I have taken more detailed photos of many of the items. If you have any questions please feel free to call 316-371-1828 or email. 

The set of photos directly above show the super cool A-2 flight jacket. The jacket was made by Aero and is a size 38R. We have included a lot of detailed photos of the jacket to detail its condition, authenticity and historical details.

First, the overall condition of the jacket is very nice. It was obviously used on many secret night missions and has probably seen some amazing things during the war - if only this jacket could talk. The leather is still soft and supple, no dry rot. There are some blemishes in the leather, but no gaping holes or marks that shouldn't be there.

The rust colored waste band does appear to be original and in good condition. The knits on both sleeves are probably replacements that do show some war time repair. We have close-up photos of each above.

 The jacket does retain the original lining with the A-2 tag present. There are no major or noticeable holes or tears in the lining. There is the typical wear near the collar that is thin or has small tears, but nothing really bad or that would prevent the jacket from being worn on the rare occasion.

On each epaulet the Lt. bars can be seen. On the left shoulder is a sewn CBI theater patch which is in great condition. The other shoulder does not have any patches or marks.

The back of the jacket does have a painted American flag. The painting is faded but also still visible. The leather on the back of the jacket is very nice!

The front of the jacket features some very cool and rare patches! Lt. Arthur's leather name patch is on the left breast. Directly below that is a rare leather 349th Night Fighter Squadron patch. This squadron was actually a training squadron that Lt. Arthur was part of and documented in his diary.

Also documented in his diary is his transfer into combat duty. This is when he covered the 349th leather patch with a 5th AAF felt patch. The original photo shown above that comes in this grouping shows the 5th AAF patch sewn over the leather patch. That patch was found in the pocket of the jacket and will come with it!

On the left breast of the jacket is the super rare felt 547th fighter squadron patch. This was an un-official insignia used by the squadron, therefore any original patches are very rare. Not only does this jacket have one, there is a 2nd one included in the grouping and shown below!

Also shown above is the stitching behind each patch on the lining. The 547th patch is 100% original and has never been removed or replaced from the jacket. The 349th patch is also original and never removed from the jacket. The stitch holes from the 5th AAF patch are evident on the leather 349th and to be expected since it was covered up when he was sent to combat duty.

Overall, this A-2 jacket is really nice and has the look and feel of a leather jacket that has seen real action during the war. The addition of the photo documentation, patches and art work really put this jacket over the top in regards to its historical, visual and just plain cool factors!

The next gem in this treasure of history is the amazing grouping of other items Lt. Arthur was issued during the war. We have listed all of the items earlier in this auction, all of which are shown directly above.

Generally almost all of the dress uniforms are in excellent condition with no noticeable moth holes or damage from time. There are some nice patches on the uniforms including three 5th AAF patches and a near mint sewn observer wing patch.

Probably the most impressive patch that is sewn onto a green work suit is the Black Widow 547th patch. The suit and patch appear to have never been used. It would be safe to say this patch may be the nicest example of this rare patch in existence hands down!

There are lots of other great items that are shown in the photos above. It's always a rare treat to find groupings like this, with this many mission used pieces like the leather A-11 skull cap with plug-in still present or the Type A4 brief case, which is rare just by itself! Just how many classified documents on night raids did this brief case hold during the war?  

Lastly, also shown are a collection of various medals, buttons, patches and other items. There is one small French pendant that is 10k gold. The two large bracelets appear to be silver, one is marked Mexican silver. The patches are un-used and in excellent condition.

The last few photos above show the entire copied "My Life In the Service" diary book and copies of 3 newspaper articles pertaining to the P-61.

The diary is simply amazing. Lt. Arthur did an excellent job of documenting his entry into the AFF, training, family issues, friends, details about different parts of the country where he was sent and his overall feelings about military life. The diary has a page where it documented his military record, all his friends and fellow officers. There are mentions in the diary about receiving his flight jacket, dislike of flying, personal doubts, getting his B-3 coat stolen, dancing in Hollywood, CA with Betty Grable and dealing with family and girlfriend who turned into his wife.

One of the more striking elements of the diary is when he is sent into combat. Lt. Arthur goes into great detail about his time in the US but as his time in the Pacific grows, so does the dark tone of his notes. The living conditions were rough and as he experiences more night time combat missions, the stories are more grim. Towards the end of the diary there are mentions of friends dying, rough missions and then it ends on May 1st, 1945.

We were told by Lt. Arthur's son that his dad had been part of a large number of missions by 1945 and was growing quite battle hardened. He didn't talk much about the end of the war afterwards, but he was certainly a true American hero who operated in a then secret aircraft that was rarely talked about afterwards.

This grouping of items chronicles the WW2 career of veteran of the AAF during an amazing time in history. Detailing the first day he learned to fly, to being in serious combat protecting the United States in a P-61 Black Widow is a special thing. While I did my best to show everything please contact us if you have any questions. Our number is 316-371-1828 or email via eBay with any questions. I'm happy to email more detailed photos of anything you see.