WWII USAAF A-2 Flight Jacket, Order 1756 Perry, CBI Chinese Dragon Back Paint, Photo Squadron Patch, 1st Lt, Size 36

A First Lieutenant's A-2 on the unmarked order 1756, attributed to Perry Sportswear, with a full-height yellow Chinese dragon on the back and a painted camera-bearing squadron disc that points to photographic reconnaissance in China, Burma and India.

The A-2, From Standard to Scarce

The Type A-2 became standard issue for the Army Air Corps on 9 May 1931, built to specification 94-3040, seal brown horsehide, and to Drawing 30-1415. It was the aviator's jacket of the 1930s and the first years of the war, and it was produced by a small group of contractors whose labels collectors now read like hallmarks. In 1942 General H. H. 'Hap' Arnold cancelled further A-2 contracts in favour of cloth jackets, and on 27 April 1943 the A-2 was made limited standard. The orders completed in the fiscal year 1943 were among the last A-2s made for the war.

Those last jackets went everywhere the Army Air Forces flew, and some of the most distant postings were in the China-Burma-India theatre, at the far end of the longest supply line of the war. There, issue clothing was precious and hard to replace, and an A-2 was often kept and worn for the whole of a man's tour, gathering local patches and painted art as it went.

Order 1756: Perry's Last A-2

Like contract 27753, order 1756 is one of the unmarked-maker A-2s. Its label reads 'TYPE A-2 / DRAWING NO. 30-1415 / A.C. ORDER NO. 1756 / PROPERTY AIR FORCE U.S. ARMY' and names no manufacturer. The full number is W33-038 ac-1756, placed in fiscal year 1943, and collectors attribute it to Perry Sportswear of Newburgh, New York, as Perry's third and final A-2 contract.

The 1756 pattern has a clear identity: slim and tapered, with high armholes and a pointed collar with a rounded stand. Its seal brown horsehide was sprayed over a paler ground, so that wear brings up a lighter tone beneath, a feature that has been carefully reproduced by makers who specialise in the contract. Among the A-2s of the Second World War, 1756 is one of the most admired cuts.

Dragons Over the Hump

In the China-Burma-India theatre, the dragon was everywhere. Airmen stationed in Assam, Bengal and southwest China adopted it as an emblem of the country they were fighting for and from, and local artisans in Calcutta, Karachi, Kunming and Chengdu supplied painted leather, embroidered insignia and jacket art to American fliers. The CBI dragon is unmistakably Asian, long and serpentine, whiskered and clawed, quite unlike the winged dragons of European heraldry.

The dragon on this jacket belongs firmly to that tradition. Painted in a single shade of yellow, it runs the full height of the back, its body coiling through clouds with a lightning bolt beside it. The choice of an Asian rather than a European dragon supports a CBI or Pacific association, and it is the kind of design that Japanese and Asian collectors recognise at once.

Camera, Moon and Lightning

The left chest carries a painted leather squadron disc: a red winged figure, perhaps a fox, a devil or a demon, holding a camera, on a turquoise field with a crescent moon, a star and a lightning bolt. The camera points strongly to a photographic squadron, and the moon may indicate night photography. The previous owner attributes the jacket to a CBI photographic reconnaissance squadron.

We have not identified the squadron with certainty, and we do not name one. The candidates in the photographic world of the theatre include the 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron of the Tenth Air Force, for which CBI-made patches are known; the 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron of the Fourteenth Air Force in China; and the 40th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron and 24th Combat Mapping Squadron of the 8th Photo Group in India. None has yet been matched to this design. The reconnaissance units flew unarmed or lightly armed aircraft over vast, poorly mapped country, and their photographs guided much of the air war in the theatre.

Photographic squadrons were among the most inventive in their heraldry. Cameras, eyes, owls, foxes and devils recur across their insignia, often with moons and stars where night work was part of the job, and theatre-made versions of those designs were painted and embroidered by local craftsmen. The disc on this jacket belongs clearly to that family, and a specialist in CBI insignia may yet place it.

Until then we describe it as what it shows: a camera-bearing winged figure, painted on leather, worn over the heart of an officer's jacket.

An Officer's Jacket

A silver bar painted on each epaulette marks the wearer as a First Lieutenant. Inside, the lining carries the laundry or identification stencil 'G-9665', which follows the usual GI form of surname initial and the last four digits of the service number; that reading is an inference, but it is a promising one for anyone who wishes to research the wearer.

Why the CBI Speaks to Japan

Japan is the deepest collector market in the world for original flight jackets, and CBI jackets hold a particular fascination there: they belong to the war in Asia, they carry Asian imagery painted by Asian hands, and they connect directly to the history of the region. A dragon-back A-2 on a 1756 order is a combination that collectors in Japan and across Asia seek out. This jacket came from an American collector into a Japanese collection around 2010.

The dragon also carries a resonance in Japan that a European motif cannot. To a Japanese eye, the serpentine, whiskered creature on this back belongs to a shared East Asian visual language of clouds, water and thunder, painted here on an American jacket for an American airman in China. That meeting of traditions, on one panel of leather, is a large part of why CBI dragon backs are so keenly collected.

The Piece

This is an A-2 on order 1756, tagged size 36 (the tag could be read as 38), and generously cut for the size. The seal brown hide is thick and supple, with small marks and the sprayed-over finish typical of the contract. The Conmar zip runs smoothly, the lining is in good order without significant damage, and the knits have been replaced and are in good condition.

The back is entirely given over to the yellow dragon: a single-colour composition of real elegance, serpentine and whiskered, with clawed feet and a lightning bolt. On the left chest, the painted leather disc of the camera-bearing winged figure on turquoise, with crescent moon, star and lightning bolt, is crisp and beautifully preserved. Silver First Lieutenant's bars are painted on the epaulettes.

Inside, the stencil 'G-9665' offers a research thread for a buyer who wishes to pursue the wearer. With its admired contract, officer's rank, CBI dragon and photographic squadron disc, the jacket brings together several of the features collectors value most. The jacket can be worn, but we would encourage its next owner to treat it as a document first, hanging it on a broad padded hanger out of the light, where the dragon can be seen at full length.

Details

• Type: Type A-2 leather flight jacket
• Maker: Unnamed on label; attributed to Perry Sportswear, Newburgh, New York
• Contract / label: Drawing 30-1415 · A.C. Order No. 1756 (W33-038 ac-1756, FY1943) · 'Property Air Force U.S. Army'
• Era: 1943, Second World War
• Leather / shell: Thick seal brown horsehide, sprayed finish typical of the order
• Hardware: Conmar zip, working
• Lining & knits: Lining in good order; knits replaced, in good condition; lining stencil 'G-9665'
• Decoration: Back: full-height yellow Chinese-style dragon with lightning bolt. Left chest: painted leather disc, winged figure with camera on turquoise, crescent moon, star, lightning bolt. Epaulettes: painted First Lieutenant's bars
• Tagged size: 36 (could read 38; cut generously)
• Measurements: Shoulder 43 cm · Chest (pit to pit) 47 cm · Sleeve 64 cm · Length 59 cm

Condition

• Leather thick and supple, with small marks
• Conmar zip working smoothly
• Lining in good order, no significant damage
• Knits replaced, in good condition
• Back dragon and chest disc well preserved
• Squadron not identified; size tag may read 36 or 38

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

Authenticity & Care

The label, contract and size tags, leather, stitching, zip and hardware, paint and insignia 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. Store on a broad padded hanger away from sunlight and heat, keep any leather conditioner off the painted dragon and disc, and allow the jacket to breathe.

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.

Every figure above is taken by hand with the garment laid flat, in centimetres. Lay a shirt or jacket you already love beside them and allow a centimetre or two of margin, the quiet safeguard on a final sale. Our size guide to tops and jackets turns pit-to-pit figures into US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes, and for anything it leaves open the curator team replies within one Tokyo business day.

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