Good Wear Leather Coat Company: Sale I. Chapman & Sons Type A-2 Flight Jacket

This item has been sold.
I. Chapman & Sons Type A-2 Flight Jacket
Price: $1,100.00 (new condition) — note shipping costs below
Fit: this jacket has comfortable fit in the correct size
Leather: russet brown goatskin
Lining: mustard cotton
Zipper: M-42 nickel Talon reproduction
Thread: reddish-brown cotton
Knits: mdi-brown wool
Size: 44

Several months ago, we re-patterned our I. Spiewak & Sons original A-2, and we have this web site example available to purchase. We had first made a pattern in 2008, when we were making jackets for the movie Red Tails, and one of our Spiewak jackets was used by an officer in the movie. That pattern was good, but we knew a few adjustments would clean up the design. This jacket is the best copy we've made of this design.

Our pattern comes from an original in size 44, which was in quite rough condition. We carefully took the jacket apart and copied each panel to get an accurate rendition of Spiewak's design. The original Isaac Spiewak company is still operating today, which is why we've chosen I. Chapman & Sons as our name.

We used goatskin from Pakistan, the tannery of which has been and excellent source for solid goatskins. But they're just one of several we like to source from. This jacket is an accurate representation of an original Spiewak A-2, both in weight and color. It's hefty leather, but still very comfortable.

In the early 1940s, the collars of many civilian jackets were made with a new fashion of pointed collars. Earlier jackets of the late 1930s tended to have a conical shape around the neck, with blunt collar points, but around 1941, we see much more of a flattened and pointed collar which sits on the chest. Doniger used that design with their A-2 pattern. We find this a bit odd, as with leather, it can be quite difficult to pop out the points (it's much harder than you may think), and it tends to stretch the goatskin at the tips. But this was their design, as was Doniger, and to some degree, Dubow. The fashion of their time was important. The Army was quite willing to have A-2s made with pointed collars.

The patterning from Spiewak was excellent. The torso is athletic with defined shoulders, and arms easy to move, being patterned with inset sleeves. As with several other A-2 makers, the Spiewak design leads in comfort. The slightly shorter measured front length is from the shape of the low collar hole more than the jacket being "short" in torso length. A similar sized Rough Wear would be 24", with a collar hole higher in the front. This is one of the many reasons one should not compare one A-2 maker to another assuming both will fit identically with similar measurements. The pattern can be varied in so many ways.

Originals had both Crown and Talon zippers. They also had both ball-stud and ring snaps. This jacket features original United-Carr blackened ring snaps made in 1943.

One interesting point about Spiewak originals is that they were made with epaulets that were a bit too long for the shoulder span they were attached to. This led to the epaulets often bowing upward, and collapsing in the middle. Almost every original we've seen is made in this manner. Our copy also has epaulets that are a bit too long, but not quite as extreme as most originals. Note how they pop upward when viewed from the back.

This jacket would ideally fit someone in the range of 5'10" to 6'1", with a chest of 41" to 42.5", and a weight of about 180-200 pounds. The jacket is shown with a wearer who is 6 feet tall with a 41" chest.