In 1940 many of the world's nations were at war, their armies and navies supported by massive air arms, many of which were larger than the United States' then small but progressive Air Corps. That year the US Army Air Corps consisted of only 51,165 personnel and under 4,000 aircraft - though doubled over its strength of the previous year. This expansion had begun in 1939 when President Roosevelt requested Congress to fund a programme for an Air Corps of 10,000 planes. It seemed then an ambitious goal, but events would prove it a modest one. It was in June 1941 that the US Army's air organisations were consolidated under a single command, the Army Air Forces or AAF. Its expansion was rapid and massive, and its contribution to the war effort was substantial. Books abound describing the AAF's impressive combat record and detailing the characteristics of the many aircraft, but little has been published to record what the men inside the machines wore to stay alive and effective in the air and on the ground, or, as often as not, in the water. Gordon L. Rottman's discusses the flying clothes, accessories and equipment worn and used by individual airmen fighting their often desperate battles in the sky accompanied by illustrations by Francis Chin.

Contents

• Introduction
• Flying Clothes
• Special Purpose Suits
• Headgear
• Gloves and Footwear
• Flyers' Equipment
• The Plates

Osprey Elite