Masters Of The Air - Flight Gear Worn By The USAAF

Good Show. 12 O'Clock High is a Fine Movie.

Thank you for the video! Very interesting. I loved Masters of the Air. Could you suggest any other WWII aviation films or series featuring period-accurate jackets and clothing?

Fantastic. Exceptionally thorough, comprehensive & insightful presentation. Excellent job - very well done!

Do you have any brand suggestions for military overalls ,such as the ones they use in the series .Thank you in advance !

My grandfather was general Leslie Groves he said that He is and was an army All the way but B-17 was army airforce but he said that they had worse mortality rate than the marines he said that there blood should be bottled he always told me that they look death in the face nearly everyday He was so impressed with these guys

Was the shirt you where wearing OD51?

It has always bewildered me how the downed pilots kept their officer's hats even after bailing out of their planes. You'll see them as POWs wearing their caps as well as other uniform/gear that would have been lost when they jumped out of the plane.

My father was ground crew safety equipment RAF
Bomber Command WW2.

From 1940-43 he was based in England then from mid 1943-46 the Middle East .

Thank you for your channel I remember seeing the Nae West and parachutes

Hi,which is the name of the company of your crush cap replica?Thanks

My gfs grandfather was a Lancaster navigator, flew his 25 and more. Props to all those young men

I like how „Masters of the air“ sparks the interest on details of topics i have been wondering about ever since i watched „Memphis Belle“ as a kid. Thank you so much for this detailed and nicely made video! I appreciate all the information and the passion that went into making it! Best wishes from Germany!

Very helpful information. Thank you.

JUST AN OUTSTANDING JOB--MATE JUST THE BEST-!!-THANK-YOU !!

I've been watching the Show. So far up to Episode 4. It's a really good show. I highly suggest watching it.

Thank you Awesome job.

The body armor saved so many lives.

terrific tutorial ... many thanks!!!

Excellent information. Very informative video. Thank you for your time making this video! Never forget those Brave Men that went to battle!...

Sir... the map of the air bases at 55 sec mark. Can you tell me where I can purchase such? By the way,, your content is amazing. Thank you!

While you showed the much valued British flying boots, you neglected to cover the Irvin flying jackets worn by seemingly most of the cast. If you look at Combat America that you did reference, almost all of the crews were wearing A2 jackets, and there was no sign of Elvis in aviators. But the Hollywoodisation of the story demands a dash of glamour and a love interest(with a contemporary hairstyle). Can't wait for Peter Jackson's flick on Bomber Command, if it still a thing.

My late uncle, Lt Philip D. Pitts, USAAF, was killed on September 11, 1944 on his ninth mission in Rhuland, Germany.

Well done

In fact, I believe flying the B-17 and B-24 was a strenuous experience because of the fact you flew in an unpressurized cabin with temperatures often well below 0° C. at altitudes over 23,000 feet. This contrasts quite a bit with B-29 crews, who before they switched to low-altitude bombing flew in a pressurized cabin with much more modern flight suits at altitudes as high as 30,000 feet.

If you know the owner of that A-2 jacket, it should go back to the real owner or family. I'm sure the family can be found. That something the family can cherish and pass down for years to come. I have my father's flight jacket from Korea (F-94) 68th FS. I will stay in the family.

My grandfather, CW Sellon, was a co-pilot in the 350th squadron of the 100th BG. I've got his uniform and two of the crusher caps, cloth maps, checklists and other items he used. Thanks for this video, it's so interesting to see everything.

Could you give me the manufacturer's reference for the crusher cap?

Well-done! And it's obvious you take a lot of care to keep it right, and take pride in your collection! My dad served in the 8th in the 50s. Thank you!

Pretty soon the British part in WW2 will be completely written out by American writers.....

It is, I always try to imagine B17s out on the old runway when I stand looking out. My dad took me to Thorpe Abbotts years ago, I can remember looking at the photos of the aircrew, who were my age at the time I visited. It brought home the reality of war to me. It’s an amazing tribute to the men who served there. The 100ARW based at RAF Mildenhall, are now closely affiliated with the 100BG. They have even added the square D box to the tail fins of their KC135s. Some planes have also had nose art added to the tankers. I know they also visit Thorpe Abbotts, and are proud of their 100BG heritage

Great video!

That was terrific, thank you! My wife and I just watched the 1st 2 episodes of Masters of the Air and were wondering about the different pieces of equipment.

Thank you sir for doing this. My grandfather was a B-17 pilot. He was killed in the Scheinfurt raid in October 1943. I hope to visit the bases in England someday along with viewing his name in the book behind the alter at St. Paul’s

Really interesting! I thoroughly recommend visiting Thorpe Abbotts too.
I watched an old interview with a Spitfire pilot the other day. He was talking about life jackets. He said around the time of the Battle of Britain, RAF pilots preferred the German pilot’s life jackets, and often wore them if they could get their hands on one. He said they were more comfortable. The only downside being that the back of the neck was really high and rigid which meant you couldn’t turn your head around very easily when sat inside the cockpit of the plane. Something that he discovered during a dog fight over the Kent countryside!

Another job well done, thanks very much . Very well thought out scripts , great audio recording .

So interesting and well done. Thank you!

This was brilliant. Thanks

This was a super cool video! So much information gained in this!

Outstanding video!

I’ve been waiting for this series for 15+ years from “the mighty eight “ to “master of the air” from “HBO” to “Apple TV” ,

Love it, so much amazing information. Thank you for taking the time to create such an amazing piece of history!

Thanks for the report. I would also like to know where you got the crusher from. Thank you.

Where did you get the crusher from?

Great video, very informative. Looking forward to more detailed info about the Masters of the Air series .

Thank you. I once asked a B-17 bombardier from Missouri what his kit was when he was shot down over Germany in 1944. "We had whatever they gave us" was the answer. I appreciate this tour through the gear they gave him. And also, "Bill" would probably blush if he could see this video. He didn't think he was anything special. He was just doing his job so somebody else didn't have to and he could go home. About the crush hat. My Dad brought home the khaki one from his time in the Pacific along with his formal dress hat. He told me the regulation hat was issued with a celluloid band inside for proper shape and that flying officers took them out for comfort. It was against regulations but the look caught on and after a while everybody took them out and that became accepted except for dress uniforms. Well...that's his war story anyway. Cheers.

My Father a 449th Bombardment Group B24 Navigator had all his Unforms custom made by a Friend of the Family John Di Tullio a very talented Tailor. Had a complete set made while home on leave before deploying to Italy in 1943. John used the best fabrics he could source and did not charge him a dime, although my Dad had an allowance to pay for them. They were all shipped home when my Father was shot down in January 44. John considered it a privilege to outfit my Dad and was at my Father's coming home party after he was liberated, hospitalized and returned to the States in June 45 Had another set made by a Scottish Tailor while hospitalized in England after liberation. He was 5'9" and only 118 lbs. when liberated. As soon as he gained enough weight to pass a Flight Physical, he was flown back to the States. My Father delayed his 90 day POW uncharged leave to rejoin his Group at the request of the Group Commander and train on the B29 to deploy to the Pacific. Just a regular Guy doing a job for His Country! He did like to dress nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too bad I'm not subscribing to Apple TV just to see a movie. They should be ashamed of themselves for making us do that.

Thanks for the presentation. At minus forty the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales meet--but minute forty is life threatening however you slice it. Flying at altitude was one of several measures used to protect aircraft and aircrew from antiaircraft fire. This video was interesting to me because I gave two WW2 history lectures at the Hill Aerospace Museum in Utah, USA--the first was Aircrew Survival and Training and the second was Airbase Defense.

Looks as if I'll have to supplement my "12 O'Clock High" habit with "Masters of the Air."

For political reasons America's Bomber Mafia had to discredit the effects of fighter-interceptor aviation and anti-aircraft artillery. I'm avoiding the German term FLAK because globally ack-ack had several names--postwar it all became flak. One defense against ack-ack was bombing undefended targets. It always takes time to crew the cannons, so arriving unexpected and undetected over targets was another defense--Curtiss LeMay used this when he burned Tokyo to the ground in March 1945. Then there was flying high--requiring protection from frigid temperatures, breathing oxygen, and supercharged engines. Engines have to breathe, too! Even at extreme altitudes enemy anti-aircraft fire could reach out and touch the bombers, it just took thousands of shells to down a bomber. Anti-aircraft fire's main effect was reducing bombing accuracy. It was nice to get bomber and crew back home--those fly boys were a small fraction of available manpower, the fraction that could be trained in the sciences and arts of getting bombs on target, and air forces wanted them back after every mission. Airplanes sprouted armor plate and puncture-resistant fuel tanks to protect vital aircraft systems--and keep the crew from being punctured, too. First aid kits hopefully patched up injured crew so that these men could be used again in the future. To prevent the crew from getting injured personal armor was added to aircraft armor. When the aircraft were unable to make it all the way back to base, the air crew had equipment and supplies to return them to Earth's surface with a minimum of breakage, to keep them afloat on the 70% of Earth's surface that is liquid, and to stay alive until rescued by a vast network. Part of my lecture on aircrew survival was the mystery of how American fliers got from occupied France to Portugal through neutral but Axis-aligned Spain. I covered the gold barter kits--and was able to impress even the few WW2 vets in my audience.


There is no way to cover ALL of the clothing and equipment worn by USAAF bomber crews operating over Europe because there was a lot of it, evolving as experience demonstrated what worked and what didn't. One item carried in USAAF survival kits over Europe was a package of photographs of the individual airman. MI-9 found that it was far easier to forge identity documents if the downed aviator had passport-sized photos of himself because camera equipment and film were restricted items in Germany and in occupied Europe--cameras were more dangerous to the Germans than were guns. Speaking of guns, American air crew were instructed to surrender to Luftwaffe personnel when necessary because being captured by an unarmed civilian mob was hazardous to one's health. Understandable--nobody likes having bombs dropped on them. I know from personal experience during the Cuban Missile Crisis what it's like to sleep in fallout shelters. I've experienced multi-ton explosions at a mile or two distance (demolition pits) and what a few pounds of explosives at ten meters feels like when I was on the other side of a barricade. Surviving the mob long enough to get rescued by German soldiers was the purpose of the pilot's pistol and seven to twenty-one caliber .45 cartridges--not for fighting off an infantry squad.

I'm bragging to you because I really like your presentation and I am guessing that if you know my knowledge on World War Two, you can appreciate praise that much more. I don't know everything, and my goal is learning new things every day. Thanks--you showed me new things.

You did not mentioned the Blood Chit like the one you seem to be wearing inside your A2

It wasn't called the Air Force until 1947