The Other A-2

[Atticus Finch]

I have always loved deck jackets...especially the WWII N-1 and the Vietnam-era A-2. No...you'll never see a hollywood hero wearing a deck jacket while he's saving the world from disaster and winning the hearts of beautiful women. But deck jackets are warm and comfortable in cold, windy, damp weather. That other A-2...you know, the one that was discontiuned in the middle of a huge war...yeah, that other A-2 is only warm in hot weather.

Anyhow, I picked up this early A-2 over the weekend. It was made in 1964, and it may represent the first of these jackets. I know they replaced the N-1 sometime in the early to mid sixties and 1964 is the earliest I've found.

Deck jackets often wear their history on their backs. They were normally ship's equipment and were not typically issued to sailors as personal gear. Many bear a faded stencil of its ship's number or name somewhere in the jacket...usually on the back. As you can see, this one came from the USS Reeves, first a Destroyer Leader and then a Light Cruiser. The Reeves was commissioned in 1964, the same year that this A-2 was made. There's a good chance the jacket was part of the Reeves' original gear.

OK, I couldn't resist including the last photo. Sometimes Hollywood heros do wear deck jackets...although they may be young and have yet to save the world or steal the hearts of women.

AF

 

[ButteMT61]

That's all we wore in junior high. I've started buying them again. Quote comfortable, and oddly, they seem to be in style. And affordable. Good pics. Thanks for posting.

 

[rocketeer]

many years ago I bought an Alpaca lined N1, I did not know what it was at the time, but it had some writing on it, I bought it because I liked it and it was cheap. The seller at a militaria sale primarily dealt in Royal Navy antiques from WWI back to Trafalgar era, he just acquired it with other navy based equipment.
The old jacket had worn through on just about every crease but was just wearable. I had to get rid of it thouh as due to the damage it looked pretty rough as a wearer and was incredibly itchy worn with just a T shirt. I sold it for what I had paid, just a £10.
It turned out when I showed a photo to a US Navy enthusiast it had come from a WWII era carrier named USS Lexington, saw action during the battle of the Corral Sea but was badly damaged and eventually sunk a few days later. Unfortunately for me there was no internet in those days, well I did not own a computer anyway so I guess if it is still around, someone has a piece of history.
John

 

[Lungomare]

Hi!

I fully agree with your arguments - the Deck Jacket is a comfortable a n d warm jacket for the colder seasons.

I have been wearing mine for two years now, and for it must have been NOS (apparently never used) it still looks great!

Another thin fleece jacket or a sweater underneath and I can even stand a temperature of minus 10° C (14° F) for some hours.

Kind regards,

Johannes






















First picture shows the true colour.