Flight Suit

Date1950s

Mediumfabric, metal

ClassificationsPersonal Artifacts

Credit LineCollection of the Intrepid Museum. Gift of Paul Livingway. 2019.70.01a-g.

Object number2019.70.01a-g

DescriptionSuit, Fliers; U.S. Navy orange flight suit (a) with bear charm (b), Dzus tool (c), French Canadian Outdoorsman Saw (d) and paper tag (e), and two Caplugs plastic plugs (f-g).

Full body orange flight suit (a) has a folded collar and central metal zip closure with orange fabric pull tab. There are seven zip closure pockets throughout, one on the proper left shoulder, one on either side of the chest, one at each knee and one at each shin. On both the shoulder pocket and the proper right shin pocket there is a panel with slots for four pens sewn on top. There are two zippers at the hips that allow access to the interior of the suit. At the cuff of each arm and ankle of each leg there are zippers with additional fabric to allow for a looser or tighter fit. There is an orange fabric waistband attached with Velcro at the front waist, the rest of which goes into a sewn panel at the back waist. At each armpit there are four small hole openings that are reinforced with orange thread. At the interior collar there is an orange hook tab and a sewn tag that reads “Coveralls, flying, indian // Orange, Type II // Spec. MIL-C-5390F (WEP) // Contract No. 5167 // Size: 42 Long.” The flight suit shows signs of wear, including soiling.

Brown plastic charm (b) in the shape of a bear standing on four legs. A brass metal ball chain is attached through a circular loop that is a part of the bear at its back.

Dzus turnlock fastener tool (c) with black plastic handle with two metal rivets. The top metal key is “Snoopy” shaped, with a large circle bisected by a smaller circle angled toward the top with an engraving on one side that reads, “Marco (circle with checkmark) USA”. The bottom of the key has a small rectangular point protruding from the edge.

French Canadian outdoorsman saw (d) with wrapped steel wire, triangular cutting barbs and a circular ring at either end. The wire is tightly coiled into a few circles. Previously housed with paper label (e), see processing notes for additional information.

Blue round paper label (e) that has advertisement and instructions written in brown ink for saw (d). Text on the front side reads “French Canadian // Outdoorsman Saw // Wieght ½ Oz. // Made in Germany of finest quality steel. // Carried by Mounted Police, trappers, voyageurs, // miners, bush pilots, hunters, fishermen and guides. // Has saved countless lives. Will saw through 4 inch // tree in 2 minutes and large bones with ease. Used // for butchering of big game, cutting firewood, // building lean-to, cutting snow blocks for igloos, // cutting tree boughs to make bed, etc. // Beware of interior imitations // Distributed solely by // Herter's Inc., Waseca, Minn., U.S.A. // Since 1893 // Foreign Customs Note: Saw made in // Germany. Pkg. made in U.S.A. // (Over).” On the reverse there are two drawings of the saw in use depicting a hand holding a tree limb with saw attached and a hand holding either end of the metal rings. Text on reverse reads “Fig 1 // Make a saw from a limb // Fig 2 // One or two men can use saw like this // General instructions // If alone, form a saw using a stiff piece of limb as // shown in Figure 1, or simply put your index finger // of each hand through the two loops and saw. Keep // the saw as straight as possible while sawing, as // this will greatly prolong the life of the saw. // When with another person, each put a finger // in one of the loops and saw. // Keep the saw blade lightly covered with // oil or grease to prevent rusting. // Carry in plastic case. // 108627Q.” Previously housed with saw (d), see processing notes for additional information.

Red cylindrical plastic Caplug plug (f) with small flat rim around open end. Bottom of plug has imprinted text that reads “Caplugs // 9.”

Green cylindrical plastic Caplug plug (g) with flat rim around open end. Text imprinted around rim reads “Clover / 5/8.”

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