Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a wonderful example of a set of intermediate flight gear. The set consists of a lovely painted B-15 jacket and a set of A-11 trousers With their original suspenders.

The jacket is offered in excellent condition and features hand painted art that also appeared on the B-24 bombers that the 320th flew. On the front left chest of the jacket is the JOLLY ROGERS insignia with skull and crossed bombs and a black background which was correct for the 400th (319th Squadron used a Blue background, 321st used a Green background and the 400th used Black background). The reverse of the jacket bears a vibrant and detailed hand painted B-24 Liberator with a visible red background Jolly Roger and tail number 43-9051. We unfortunately have not been able to locate this tail number due to how many of them were left unrecorded, making for a fantastic research opportunity. Above the painted aircraft in large yellow text with red border is MISS FIT. We have found multiple air craft that went by the name Miss Fit, but we cannot pinpoint which aircraft this one, if any aircraft it’s tied to. The photo of the christening of a B-24 named Miss Fit is attributed to a a Seventh Air Force B-24, could it be this one? We don't know, but the 90th BG was assigned to the 7th AF. The painting on the reverse side is quite vibrant  as paint adheres to canvas much better than leather. It could also have been touched up post war, but the style, age, cracking and crazing are consistent with other we have seen.

The interior of the jacket is named on the hanging loop on the reverse with JB STONE and the left inside, just by the pocket, is the name and service number for DONALD J. WILLIAMS / 31288818. Williams, from Berkshire County, Massachusetts was born in 1919 and enlisted in 1943. A record can be found on fold3 at this link with photos of this jacket attributed to him.

The overall condition of both the B-15 jacket and the A-11 trousers are in fantastic condition.

A wonderful set of items that come more than ready for further research and display.

Measurements:
Jacket: Size 36
Trousers: Waist Size 28

400th Bombardment Squadron
The squadron was first organized as the 10th Reconnaissance Squadron at Key Field, Mississippi in April 1942 as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit and one of the original squadrons of the 90th Bombardment Group. Within a week the squadron name was changed to the 400th Bombardment Squadron. The squadron trained with Liberators in the southeastern United States under III Bomber Command until August.

The squadron moved to Willow Run Airport, Michigan for conversion training on newly manufactured Ford Liberators. Assigned to VII Bomber Command with B-24Ds, the unit moved to Hickam Field, Hawaii in September. The squadron arrived in northern Queensland, Australia in November 1942 and began bombardment missions under V Bomber Command almost immediately.

The squadron attacked enemy airfields, troop concentrations, ground installations and shipping in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Palau and the southern Philippines. The 400th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its operations in Papua between through January 1943. The unit participated in the Battle of Bismarck Sea in March 1943, and earned another citation for strikes on enemy airfields at Wewak, New Guinea in September 1943 despite heavy flak and fighter opposition.

During 1944, the 400th supported the New Guinea Campaign through the end of June, then made long-range raids on oil refineries at Balikpapan, Borneo, in September and October. In January 1945, the squadron moved to the Philippines and supported ground forces on Luzon, attacked industrial targets on Formosa, and bombed railways, airfields, and harbor facilities on the Asiatic mainland. Shortly before the end of the war in the Pacific, the 90th moved to Okinawa, from which it would be able to strike the Japanese home islands.

After VJ Day, the squadron flew reconnaissance missions over Japan and ferried Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to Manila. It ceased operations by November 1945. The squadron was inactivated in the Philippines in early 1946.

90th Bombardment Group
The group was first organized as the 90th Bombardment Group at Key Field, Mississippi in April 1942 as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit. The group's original squadrons were the 10th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 319th, 320th and 321st Bombardment Squadrons, although within a week of activation the 10th was renamed the 400th Bombardment Squadron. The group trained with Liberators in the southeastern United States under III Bomber Command until August.

The group moved to Willow Run Airport, Michigan for conversion training on newly manufactured Ford Liberators. Assigned to VII Bomber Command with B-24Ds, The unit moved to Hickam Field, Hawaii in September. The group arrived in northern Queensland, Australia in November 1942 and began bombardment missions under V Bomber Command almost immediately.

The group attacked enemy airfields, troop concentrations, ground installations and shipping in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Palau and the southern Philippines. The group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations in Papua through January 1943, The unit participated in the Battle of Bismarck Sea in March 1943, and earned another citation for strikes on enemy airfields at Wewak, New Guinea in September 1943 despite heavy flak and fighter opposition.

During 1944, the 90th supported the New Guinea Campaign through the end of June, then made long-range raids on oil refineries at Balikpapan, Borneo, in September and October. In January 1945, the group moved to the Philippines and supported ground forces on Luzon, attacked industrial targets on Formosa, and bombed railways, airfields, and harbor facilities on the Asiatic mainland. Shortly before the end of the war in the Pacific, the 90th moved to Okinawa, from which it would be able to strike the Japanese home islands.

After VJ Day, the group flew reconnaissance missions over Japan and ferried Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to Manila. Ceased operations by November 1945. The group was inactivated in the Philippines in early 1946.

Type B-15 Intermediate Flight Jacket History

The U. S. Army Air Force Type B-15 Intermediate Flight Jacket was developed from lessons learned in field use of the highly popular B-10 Flight Jacket of 1943. As early as 1942, the Materiel Division of the US Army Air Forces was seeking an alternative material to sheepskin for producing flying suits, and by October of that same year development had begun at Wright Field on the Intermediate Flying Jacket, Type B-10. Originally constructed of an outer shell made from a fine, cotton twill, and lined with an alpaca-and-wool pile lining, the B-10 Flight Jacket was standardized on July 22,1943, though it was superseded less than 9 months later by the B-15 Flight Jacket. Both the B-10 and B-15 Flight Jackets were designed as replacements for the sheepskin flight jackets of the 1930s and early 1940s, and represented the first cloth-shelled, alpaca fur-lined flight jackets of the USAAF. These flight jackets were an instant success with just about every aviator who encountered one, being much lighter and more versatile than the flight jackets they replaced. Intended for wear in climates between 25 degrees and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, the B-15 Flight Jacket was ideally suited for early spring and late fall and winter.