US Air Force Experimental Flight Suit - Vietnam War - This is a Vietnam era air force jumper, possibly a flight suit. The author does not have very much information about this particular item so any information provided would br helpful.

The suit is constructed from a dark blue polyester material. Every button found is the same as the ones employed in the air force dress tunics of the period. The buttons illustrated in the pictures below are found on the front top pockets and the cuff of the suit.

The suit comes with shoulder straps which also have the same type of buttons. The picture on the left illustrates the back pockets of the uniform. These pockets have flaps but no means to secure them.

A very interesting component of the suit is the tag which identifies it as an experimental sample. Particularly curious is the fact that the tag has the WWII era "Army Airforce" emblem. It may have been the case that instead of printing new labels the government decided to use up the existing supply. The tag is attached to the uniform with the same type of thread that holds the flight suit together, this implies that the piece is original. A date and the name of the officer who owned the uniform are also hand written on the tag with blue ink.
The picture on the right illustrates a belt loop however the uniform does not have a belt with it, it is likely it was lost some time ago.

Like other flight suits of the period, this sample has a zipper on its front. At the top of the zipper there are two snaps that secure the collar to keep it from moving around. Once again, any information on this piece would be greatly appreciated.

The following is an email received providing information about this suit: Hi; just happend upon your page and I came across the USAF Experimental Suit. I was in the Air Force from 1963 to 1967 and was on flight status as a medic assigned to the Flight Surgeons Office. I distinctly remember seeing General Officers wear a flight suit very similar to this. The regular K2B flight suit worn by most aircrews was sage green with numerous zippers and snaps. We used a leather tag with our wings and names printed on it in silver and it slipped into a clear plastic envelope that was sew above the left breast pocket. Officers rank insignias were sewn to the shoulders/no shoulder straps on K-2b's. This was in the days before velcro was used. I saw our base commander, a brigadier general in base operations one time after he got back from getting his hours for the month in. Of course the suit he was wearing had the general stars directly embroidered to the shoulder straps and had US Air Force and his Command Pilot wings directly embroidered over the left breast pocket and his name direct embroidered over the right breast pocket. I think the only patch that was sewn on was the Military Airlift Command patch that was sewn to the front of the right breast pocket. I distictly remember the silver buttons like we had on our dress uniform blouses. I also remember a General who was transiting through our base on a C-135 wearing the same type flight suit. Its a long time ago but as soon as I saw your pictures it popped right out. Hope this helps you. P.S. It was at McGuire AFB in New Jersey and was probably late 1966 as I recall. One thing that I do remember was that the base commander was wearing his round service cap with the thunderclouds and lightning bolts (darts & farts) on the bill. Most aircrew either wore the flat overseas hat or a baseball type cap with the squadron designation or MAC emblem. I guess the reason it caught my attention is you didn't see General Officers in flight clothes all that often.

This WWI US military collectible may be currently reproduced. It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this item. Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of the collectible.