Original Item: Only One Available. This Original M1942 Airborne Jump jacket in Olive Drab #3 offered is in very good condition. The coat features an exceptionally rare 513th PIR embroidered insignia patch, along with a 513th Airborne Jump Wing Oval and an embroidered 17th Airborne insignia patch on the left shoulder. This jacket consists of four front pockets with two button snaps on each, along with a unique dual-zippered knife pocket located on the upper lapel which was designed to contain a switchblade pocketknife, used to cut the parachute rigging if entangled. The top two pockets were also angled inward to make items easier to retrieve with the opposite hand.

The jacket is in very good to excellent condition, with the expected stains and small pulls from service. However, there are no tears or fraying, and it is totally solid, with a great faded color that shows this jacket was actually out in the field. The jacket is not named and does note have a laundry number. It does not have a size marked, but we measured it to be 38 inches around at the armpits, and 33 at the waist. The original belt is absent. Bother zipper sides are intact and appear complete but the zipper pull is missing.

The 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment (513th PIR) was an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, raised during World War II. The 513th formed part of the 17th Airborne Division and participated in the European Campaign, fighting in the latter stages of the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945 and parachuted into Germany in Operation Varsity in March, in the largest airborne drop of the war. The regiment returned to the United States in September 1945 where it was inactivated.

The 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment was constituted on 26 December 1942 and assigned to the 13th Airborne Division. It moved from Fort Benning to Fort Bragg before being assigned to Camp Mackall, North Carolina, in January 1944, but was transferred to the Tennessee Maneuver Area and, in March 1944, assigned to the 17th Airborne Division, commanded by Major General William "Bud" Miley.

The 513th PIR was not sent overseas until after the D-Day landings, which took place on June 6, 1944, and was still in training in England during Operation Market Garden in September. During the crisis of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, the division was flown into Reims, France and moved by truck into southern Belgium. In January 1945, the 513th Parachute Infantry was sent into the assault on Flamierge. During this fight, Staff Sergeant I.S. "Izzy" Jachman raced through heavy fire, picked up a bazooka from a fallen comrade and drove off two tanks, damaging one. His Medal of Honor citation concludes, "S/Sgt. Jachman's heroic action, in which he suffered fatal wounds, disrupted the entire enemy attack, reflecting the highest credit upon himself and the parachute infantry." Another Medal of Honor recipient from the regiment was Private First Class Stuart Stryker.

After the conclusion of the Ardennes campaign, the division was withdrawn in preparation for Operation Varsity. The regiment dropped with the rest of the division into Germany near Wesel in its only combat drop. In April 1945, units of the 513th were carried into action around Munster by British tanks from the Guards Armoured Division.

After conducting occupation duty the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment returned to the United States on 1945-09-14 and was inactivated on the same date at Camp Myles Standish, Mass.

Due to the somewhat fragile nature of the uniform, the M1942 pattern was often reinforced with thicker, tougher canvas on the elbows, crotch and knees. However, this example was never reinforced, indicating early issue. The M42 was worn by Paratroops assigned to Airborne units. The M42 was eventually phased out in favor of the M1943 Uniform which was a darker green, OD #7. Despite this, various individuals chose to keep their M42s in order to show their veteran status.

This is a wonderful example of a very hard to find early configuration jump jacket from the 101st Airborne.