Customer Reviews

Gear Up!: Flight Clothing & Equipment of USAAF Airmen in WWII (Schiffer Book for Woodcarvers)

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2 star:		(2)
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There are at least a couple of books devoted to the subject of WWII combat flight gear. Taking nothing away from the others, Gear Up! is a superb reference. Every page is crammed with excellent quality photographs, both period and recent, most in full color depicting the authentic gear in use and on display. The depth of coverage obviously reflects the author's enthusiasm for the subject: sixty pages on head gear alone--from helmets to sunglasses, fortyfive pages on jackets and trousers, chapters on gloves, footwear, paper items, flak armor, ground crew gear...very little is overlooked.

This is a pictorial history. The text is limited and is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise on the innumerable variations of individual items of gear. But, anyone with an interest in WWII aerial warfare will not be disappointed with this fine reference.

I thought this would be a good collector book but in fact its extremely weak. The book "only" consists of pictures with limited captions,no detailed info,no pics of different views of the items showing tags (a few lables are shown),manufactures info,constuction detail,etc. I expected to read about gear and equipment but theres nothing but captions.I would love to know the different manufactures and characteristics but theres none listed.Everything in the book you can see on the internet or ebay.If you just want single frontal pictures and maybe a couple side views than this book is your thing. My "opinion" not collector material,sorry.

A great collectors guide. Plenty of clear pictures giving a good coverage of WW2 aviation items. Additional text isn't extensive or going into much detail. No stich counting as such on A-2 jackets, that kind of information must be found in other books like "Hell bent for leather" or other flight gear books. The wonderfull photo's are the strong point of this book and personaly I was waiting for such a book for a long time.

If you want to know how US airmen dressed during World War Two, then this book will be a great use to you. Divided into sections on headgear, clothing, boots, oxygen masks, rescue/survival gear and ephemera, the reader gets a good overview of the various types of equipment used. While it should come as no surprise, it is still quite interesting to see how - even within as staunchly conformist an organization as the military - individual style won out. This seems to have particularly been the case in the UK. The photos in this book show numerous cases of US airmen wearing RAF equipment; sometimes even using tape to makes things fit correctly. It leads to a conclusion of sorts that a re-enactor could wear most anything with another item, provided the person did not wear something ahead of their notional moment in time.

However, this book should not be purchased if the reader seeks information on the design and evolution of the items depicted. What one has here is a scrapbook of sorts, one with quite of bit of value to anyone interested in flight gear, but nonetheless not much more than a collection of photographs.

After 20 years of collecting USAAF items I can't believe I missed having this volume years ago! It is a high quality reference that now is one of the premier reference books in my library. Not only that, but it is just plain fascinating to go through. If you like or collect WWII military aviation you just have to own this book. Thanks Jon for putting it all together between two covers.

very beautifull book who show by detail the use of USAAF flyng clothes and uniform during world war 2 with picture

Wonderful reference on U.S. Military Air Corps Uniforms and Insignia. Very informative, great photos. A must have for any collector or historian. Very well worth the money. Another hit!

Great book! Tons of pictures! Which is very nice since the book is about WWII....

Information is just right and I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest with regard to WWII flight gear and clothing.

This is a great book. It contains many high-quality photographs, and provides a good overview of the many types and variations of gear the AAF used. An excellent value.