Leather Flight Jacket

Object NameJacket, Flight

Historic Owner Paul Livingway

Date1954–1963

PeriodCold War

Mediumfabric, leather, metal

ClassificationsPersonal Artifacts

Credit LineCollection of the Intrepid Museum. Gift of Paul Livingway. 2019.70.03.

Object number2019.70.03

DescriptionJacket, Flight: Brown leather flight jacket with brown fur trimmed collar, brown fabric cuffs and waistband, and metal zipper closure. There are two button flap closure pockets on the front and one snap closure pocket on the interior proper left side. At the collar there is a single button and strap on the proper left side and two buttons on the proper right side. On the lower proper right interior zipper flap, small holes have been punctured in the leather to form the letters “USN.” Interior fabric is light blue. At the interior collar there is a brown leather hook loop and a black label sewn to the fabric with white lettering that reads “Jacket, Flying, Man’s // Type G – (missing) // Spec. MIL-J-7823 (WEP) // Bureau of Naval Weapons USN // Irvin B Foster Sptswear Co. // Contract No. DSA-1-2071-63-C // Size 42.” There are seven colored patches sewn on the jacket.

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 left chest is circular and depicts imagery of a globe with north, central and the top portion of South America visible. The water is blue, and the land is green. There is a white, yellow and red image of a stork in the center holding a dark blue plane in a white sack hanging from its bill. The patch is associated with the Naval Air Ferry Command.

The embroidered patch on the proper right shoulder is the insignia for Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66). It is circular with 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.”

The embroidered patch on the proper right shoulder is the USS Intrepid seal. It reads “U.S.S. Intrepid-CVS-II // Fighting I” surrounding a circular insignia that reads “USS Intrepid // CVS-11" and the Latin motto "In Mare // In Coelo” (In the sea, in the sky). The seal’s imagery is divided in the center by a six-pointed gold star. The left half of the circle is dark blue with an image of an aircraft carrier below latitude and longitude lines. The right half is light blue with six four-pointed gold stars.

Three circular embroidered patches have been sewn to the back of the jacket in a triangular orientation. The top proper left patch has a yellow central circle background with a black outer circular band around it. Gold text reads “Phantom // Phlyer.” In the center is an image of a white ghost with a brown shadow holding what appears to be a red and black gas can. The patch refers to an airplane, the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II.

The top proper right patch has a dark blue central circle with a white outer circular band around it and dark blue stitching around the edge. Red sewn text in the outer white band reads “McDonnell // Phantom II.” In the center is a white, red and blue image of the F-4 Phantom II.

The bottom center patch has a white background with black central circle outline and black stitching around the edge. Red sewn text along the top black outer edge reads “Demon Driver.” In the center is a red figure who appears to be wearing a red cloak with white flames at the bottom. The patch refers to an airplane, the McDonnell F3H Demon.

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