Air Force Museum
Col. Lew Sanders A-2 Jacket
This is the A-2 flying jacket worn by the donor, Col. (Ret.) Lew Sanders, when he reportedly became the first person in U.S. uniform to shoot down an enemy aircraft in World War II. Flying a P-36 of the 46th Fighter Squadron, he was one of a handful of USAAF pilots to get off the ground during the Pearl Harbor attack.
In depth
The second front was the factory and the flight line
Air power required far more than aircraft leaving a factory. Engines, radios, weapons, fuel, spare parts, tools, trained personnel, and suitable airfields had to arrive together. A machine grounded by a missing component could contribute little, however impressive its specifications. Maintenance and supply determined how much of a force was actually available on a given day.
The Second World War made this relationship visible on an extraordinary scale. Production expanded while aircraft designs continued to change. Training organizations had to turn large numbers of recruits into competent aircrew and specialists. Units then operated in climates and conditions very different from those in which the machines had been designed. Improvisation on the flight line worked alongside formal technical orders and a vast replacement system.
The smaller artifacts deserve attention within that story. A tractor moved aircraft and loads around an airfield. A jacket or oxygen mask helped a crew member function in an exposed environment. A trainer allowed procedures to be practiced without consuming a combat aircraft's life. These objects connect the spectacular mission to repeated daily work. Their history broadens the meaning of service: victory depended on people who built, supplied, repaired, taught, recorded, and cared for others, as well as those whose actions became famous in combat.
