Note: This series is brought to us by award-winning photographer John Slemp, who photographed over 100 surviving A-2 flying jackets from the airmen of World War II, traveling the nation and visiting museums and attics alike. An icon of World War II, the hand-painted Bomber Jackets, known more formally as the Type A-2 Flying Jacket, are some of the most celebrated artifacts of the period. Designed at first as protective clothing for aircrews, the jackets became a status symbol, an opportunity to exercise creativity in a sea of green clothing, and a way to chronicle wartime feats of courage and bravery. In his resulting book, “Bomber Boys – WWII Flight Jacket Art,” he combines the tactile beauty of the leather and artwork of these jackets, artifacts, and personal accounts to create a visual diary of a man’s service in the U.S. Army Air Corps. In this series on Vintage Aviation News, John shares stories of how he found and photographed some of these jackets. – VAN editors
When I began a personal project to photograph original A-2 flight jackets in 2014, little did I know that one day I would be inside the vault of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio doing just that.
Aware that their collection included Jimmy Stewart’s jacket, I contacted them in 2015, seeking permission to shoot there. Realizing that it would take time and manpower to fulfill such a request, they rightly asked for a letter from a publisher outlining the forthcoming book, projected publication date, and so on. I didn’t have a publisher at the time, so the request was gently but firmly denied. However, having his jacket in the book remained a goal for several years thereafter. In the interim, I had been able to photograph jackets at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, the 390th Memorial Museum, the March Field Museum, and several others in compiling jacket images and stories for the book. As fate would have it, a good friend was touring the NMUSAF in the fall of 2021 and ran into the museum’s director, David Tillotson III. His contact information was kindly passed on to me, and I contacted him shortly thereafter. Mr. Tillotson couldn’t have been nicer, and mentioned that the Air Force had an office in New York that handled such requests, and so armed with sample images from other museums, portraits, and a definite outline of the book, I sent off my request to photograph jackets in Dayton.
During those several years I suppose the growth of self-publishing, and it’s potential, had changed some minds and based upon the strength of the images and my plan, the request was approved. Originally they offered eight jackets for me to choose from, based upon my criteria of “good artwork and a good story,” and we eventually settled on ten. A plan was set in motion and on a very cold (9 degrees!) January day in 2022, I arrived with camera and lights in hand to create the images.
The first jacket photographed was Jimmy’s and just as we finished, Mr. Tillotson and the Collections Manager, Roberta Carothers, came into our makeshift studio and I showed them the resulting image on the laptop. Amazed at the detail and quality of the image, I could sense their satisfaction at a well founded decision. I thanked Mr. Tillotson and he reciprocated by thanking me for my request. In fact, Ms. Carothers said that “your request actually did us a favor.” Surprised at this, I asked “How so?” She mentioned that it prompted them to get their hands on the jackets, which hadn’t been done for several years, allowing them to check their overall condition. In fact, she mentioned that it was only the second time since 1968 that Jimmy’s jacket had been out of the display case! This was a real surprised to me, and meant that the resulting images were just that much more special, and unique. The remaining nine jackets were photographed without a hitch and finishing early, we were treated by our curator Brett Stolle, to a tour of the Indiana Jones sized warehouse that held a part of their engine collection. In all, it was a magical day, and became a cornerstone of the book in that we were able to photograph several historically important jackets including Jimmy’s. I will detail those in other parts of this series, but suffice it to say that they embody the breadth and scope of World War II.
In addition to the 104 jackets featured in the book, there are contemporary portraits and stories of WWII veterans, including the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP’s). An essay on their fashion and cultural impact written by noted fashion historian Laura McLaws Helms offers a glimpse into their continuing influence today, a section on collecting written by Antiques Roadshow curator Jeff Shrader, and a section on the care of the jackets rounds out the text. Several aircraft illustrations were provided by noted artist John Mollison. Complete with a full index, the large (12×12 inches), 398 page book offers a glance at this unique American military art form. The book has won awards in two international design competitions, and was named the “Fashion Book Of the Year” by the Ivy Style fashion blog in the spring of 2024. The full photograph of Jimmy’s jacket is available in the resulting book Bomber Boys, WWII Flight Jacket Art, which can be ordered at wwiibomberboys.com.
Read part 2 of this series here: ‘Bomber Boys’ by Photographer John Slemp Part 2: Passionate FamiliesRelated Articles
Emma Quedzuweit is a historial researcher and graduate school student originally from California, but travels extensively for work and study. She is the former Assitant Editor at AOPA Pilot magazine and currently freelance writes along with personal projects invovled in the search for missing in action aviators from World War I and II. She is a Private Pilot with Single Engine Land and Sea ratings and tailwheel endorsement and is part-owner of a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub. Her favorite aviation experience was earning a checkout in a Fairchild PT-19.
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