Toys McCoy AN-J-3 Leather Flying Jacket 'Glenview NAS' Felix the Cat, Horsehide, Size 38, Unworn

Toys McCoy's reproduction of the wartime AN-J-3, an Army-Navy jacket that joins the A-2 and the G-1, decorated for the carrier qualification unit at Glenview Naval Air Station with Felix the Cat as sheriff.

The AN-J-3, a jacket for two services

In 1943 the Army and Navy set out to standardise their flying clothing under joint 'AN' designations, and the AN-J-3 was the leather jacket that resulted. It sits between the two great types: the knitted waistband and cuffs of the Army's A-2, with the Navy jacket's bi-swing action-pleated back and flapped pockets. Leather was by then in short supply and cloth jackets were favoured, so very few were made, and the AN-J-3 is often described as a phantom among collectors.

Glenview, Lake Michigan and IX-81

Naval Air Station Glenview, north of Chicago, was the home of the Navy's Carrier Qualification Training Unit in the Ninth Naval District. Its pilots made their first deck landings on Lake Michigan, aboard two converted paddle-steamers commissioned as training carriers: USS Wolverine, IX-64, and USS Sable, IX-81, commissioned in May 1943. Thousands of naval aviators qualified on those decks, George H. W. Bush among them.

The stencil on this jacket's back, 'CQT. Unit 9, IX 81', names that unit and USS Sable. Felix the Cat, a favourite of naval aviators since the 1920s, appears on the chest dressed as a sheriff, and the nameplate reads 'R. J. Cogburn, Lt. USN', a sly nod to the marshal of True Grit.

The Piece

This is a Toys McCoy reproduction from the spring-summer 2014 collection, style TMJ1403, with an original retail of ¥239,800, and it is unworn. The woven label reads 'Jackets, Leather Flying AN-J-3, Size 38, Toys McCoy & Co., Chicago, Ill.', Chicago being the nearest city to Glenview.

On the right chest Felix stands in a cowboy hat and sheriff's star above 'Glenview, NAS.', printed by hand. On the left is a leather nameplate gold-stamped with naval aviator's wings, in the manner of wartime Navy name tags. The back carries the CQT Unit 9 and IX 81 stencil above a G-1-style action-pleated back.

The horsehide is seal brown, vegetable-chrome combination tanned with a pigment finish, with brown knits, button-flap patch pockets, a shirt collar and a reproduction Talon zip. It wears with the trimness of an A-2 and the freedom of a Navy jacket, a good combination for daily use.

Discontinued since 2014 and sold out at the maker's stockists, an unworn AN-J-3 is uncommon, and this one ties together a rare jacket type, a little-known chapter of naval training and some of Toys McCoy's wittiest decoration.

Details

• Maker: Toys McCoy Product Co., Ltd., Japan
• Season: Spring-summer 2014
• Model / ref: TMJ1403, AN-J-3 'Glenview Naval Air Station'
• Label: Jackets, Leather Flying AN-J-3 · Toys McCoy & Co., Chicago, Ill.
• Material: Horsehide, vegetable-chrome combination tanned, pigment finish; Talon-type zip
• Colour: Seal brown
• Made in: Japan
• Tagged size: 38
• Measurements: Shoulder 46 cm · Chest (pit to pit) 52 cm · Sleeve 65 cm · Length 64 cm
• Included: Jacket only

Condition

• Unworn
• Leather, prints and nameplate as new
• Knits full and tight
• Light storage creasing only

Condition grade S on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.

Authenticity & Care

The labels, materials, stitching, hardware and construction are examined together and documented in Japan before dispatch; anything that cannot be confirmed is stated plainly in the description. Every piece carries the Japonista authenticity guarantee. Hang on a broad shoulder hanger away from heat and sun, and condition the plain horsehide sparingly, avoiding the printed areas.

Delivery from Japan

Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything before you buy, and see our published policy.

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