That's an Odd One

Once in a while in this hobby (or should I say addiction?) you'll stumble upon something that's just plain odd.

Case in point, while browsing an online vintage shop I ran across a strange sports coat.  The seller described the jacket as being from the 1940s and made of navy blue flannel material.  It is dated but the date is incomplete: "4-1-?8".  I believe that jacket is from the late 1920s or possibly even the 1930s, though the former is most likely.  Looking at the photos provided by the seller we see some unique characteristics.

-Fishmouth lapels
-French cuffs
-Pleated patch pockets
-Multi-pleated and bi-swing back but lacks a belt
-Dual vents in the back, something fairly unusual to find on vintage sports coats

click images to enlarge

The buttons were obviously moved at some point in time.

You might expect to see this kind of odd sports coat sold in a fashion forward city like New York City or Los Angeles.  But no, it's originally from ol' Indianapolis, smack in the midwest.  I've found in my searches that some of the craziest, most unusual and 'Hollywood-esque' vintage actually comes from small town USA.

I purchased this jacket and when it finally arrives I'll post photos up, so keep an eye on this blog.

Forget Atomic Fleck: Meet the Nuclear Jacket

This is a very cool item, though it doesn't fall within our usual time period.

While searching a local shop I glanced over and noticed the below jacket. Now, it's obviously a modern (from the 1990s) military cold weather jacket of some sort so it didn't really grab my attention and I nearly walked by it. However I noticed a name with rank and a vessel name and I became intrigued. Out came the Android and voilà: within seconds I had amazing results.

click images to enlarge

This jacket belonged to Larry Davis, the first captain of the USS Connecticut, a U.S. Navy fast-attack 'Seawolf' class nuclear submarine. Sweet!

The Seawolf class of subs was meant to succeed the older and larger 'Los Angeles' class submarines. Below is the USS Connecticut:




Capt. Larry Davis commanded the Connecticut from 1996 to 1999. He was captain of the vessel during its successful sea trials.

Though Davis was not the captain at the time, in 2003 the Connecticut surfaced through the ice in the Arctic and its vertical fin was 'attacked' by a polar bear, which gnawed on it for a while before 'disengaging'.



The back adds some more info.
The '761' stands for the USS Springfield (a Los Angeles class sub) so it looks like Davis (or at least his jacket) may have served on that vessel as a LTJG before eventually being given the Connecticut.


Here are some more photos of the USS Connecticut.

While the jacket fits me well it is fairly thick, as stiff as a board, and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods. Even so, it will proudly remain a permanant part of my collection.

A find like this is rare. How often do we get a chance to view a jacket used on a nuclear submarine by the captain, let alone own one?