Anti-Blackout Suit

Object NameSuit, Flier's

Historic Owner Paul Livingway

Date1950s

PeriodCold War

Mediumfabric, metal, leather

ClassificationsPersonal Artifacts

Credit LineCollection of the Intrepid Museum. Gift of Paul Livingway. 2019.70.02.

Object number2019.70.02

DescriptionSuit, Flight: U.S. Navy drab green anti-blackout suit, also called g-suit or anti-g suit. Flight suit has a folded collar and diagonal metal zip closure that extends from the proper right side to center collar with green fabric pull-tab. At the interior side of each leg are central zip closures extending the entire length of the leg to give access to the interior of the suit. A hose extends from the proper left side of the waist. It is covered with drab green fabric and has metal and leather on the end. Connecting to the hose and inside the suit are plastic balloon like bags at the waist and legs. There is a snap opening to the interior suit at the groin. There are six pockets on the suit, one zippered pocket with green fabric pull-tab at the proper left chest, one snap closure pocket at the proper right chest, a vertically zippered pocket near the thigh of each leg, and a horizontally zippered pocket at the shin of each leg. There is a black leather nametag affixed with four black covered snaps at the proper left chest. The nametag has a gold embossed naval aviator insignia with gold text that reads “P. A. Livingway // Ens. USN.” There are embroidered squadron patches at each shoulder. At the interior collar there is a green fabric hook loop and a black sewn on label with yellow text that reads “Suit: Anti-Blackout // Type Z2 Coverall // Spec. No. MIL-5-5085 (aer) // Size 40 Long // Contract No. N383-2358A // The Berger Bros. Co. Inc. // Property Of US Government.”

The embroidered patch on the proper left shoulder is in the shape of a triangle, with the base at the top and vertex pointing down, with a white background. There are six embroidered stars across the base. In the center is a knight wearing a helmet with a shield in front and a lightning bolt on either side. The shield has scalloped top edges angled diagonally toward the center and is split into four different colored quadrants: yellow, red, blue and orange. This patch is associated with Carrier Air Wing 6.

The embroidered patch on the proper right shoulder is the squadron insignia for Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66). It is circular and has a black background and red stitching around the outer edge. There is a red, yellow and white rooster in the center holding a black and white smoking anti-aircraft gun. Below the circle is a white banner with black text that reads “Attackron 66.”

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