Flight Gear 1942-1945

This new book is designed as a guide to the flight clothing and equipment issued to American airmen in Europe, August 1942 (the first bombing mission over France) to May 1945. Hundreds of period photographs and hundreds of detailed pictures of surviving artifacts are included for the first time, introducing the reader to the evolution of this equipment, from the early use of British items, to local modifications, up to the latest technical breakthroughs. In the final chapter, 25 full-color reconstructions illustrate the various guises of these airmen, who liberated Europe from the sky.