Considered one of the great air achievements of World War II, air crews supplying Allied forces over the Himalayas operated under stressful and difficult conditions and the effort fell under the Air Transport Command. The Allied forces referred to the Himalayas as the "Hump" and pilots who flew over the "Hump" were known as "Hump Pilots". Flight jackets worn by these pilots often showed a lot of character and this jacket is no exception. The jacket has a multi-piece leather CBI patch on the left shoulder and a multi-piece leather USAAF patch on the right shoulder. The left chest has a painted Walt Disney inspired squadron insignia (Donald Duck getting struck by lightning while flying a C-46 Commando over the Hump with the Roman numeral "III" at the bottom). The right chest is painted with an image of the Himalayas along with the text "HUMP" over a script "Century / Club". The Century Club represented pilots who reached the mark of 100 combat missions in the CBI theater. A Curtiss C-46 Commando with "500K / 7339" tail markings flying over the Himalayas with the "HUMP" is painted on the back. Under the large flying scene is a painted list of cities in the CBI theater: "KUNMING / MYITKYINA YUNNANYI / CHENGKUNG LULIANG / CHANYI YANGKAI / PAOSHAN CHAOTUNG". The inside of the jacket has a multi-leather blood chit on the right side and a multi-leather American flag on the left side. The personally added blood chit and flag are sewn to the lining and act as pockets. The property tag on the inside of the jacket near the collar is missing. The zipper is marked "CROWN". The USAAF CBI Air Transport Command service jacket features a bullion USAAF patch on the right shoulder and a bullion CBI patch on the left shoulder with U.S. and officer USAAF lapel insignia. The jacket has silver 1st Lieutenant bars and clutch back Air Transport Command insignia on both shoulders. The left chest has a pin back USAAF wing over two rows of service ribbons (Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with oak cluster, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three stars, Army of Occupation) on the left chest and a Presidential Unit Citation on the right chest. The jacket is missing the maker's tag. Accompanying the jacket are a pair of boots, officer's service cap, shirt, and trousers. The brown leather boots with a single strap have no maker markings and feature leather stitching at the top and a multi-piece leather CBI patch. (The boot for the right foot has a leather CBI patch on the left side and the boot for the left foot has a leather CBI patch on the right side.) The USAAF officer's service cap has no maker's label. The "pink" trousers are hand marked "HOTCHKISS / URBAN / URBAN" on the inside and comes with a green canvas belt. The olive drab shirt was made by Forward and tailored by Jackson Raymond Co. and comes with a tie. This lot also comes with the following books: Otha C. Spencer's FLYING THE HUMP: MEMORIES OF AN AIR WAR and Jon Maguire and John Conway's ART OF THE FLIGHT JACKET and AMERICAN FLIGHT JACKETS, AIRMEN AND AIRCRAFT.

The A-2 jacket is in very good condition. The leather shows some minor wear (more prevalent on at the elbows). The cuffs show some moderate wear and the waist band shows limited minor wear. The stained lining has a few small tears at the top. About 80% of the paint details on the leather remain. The service jacket is good with some moth holes (mostly on the right sleeve) and some minor wear, with a couple of discolored streaks on the back. The boots are very good, showing minor flex wear on the leather and the patches have some missing stitching but remain secured to the boots. Sweat band is missing an area of stitching, otherwise the service cap is very good with some minor stains. The trousers are very good with some minor stains. The shirt is very good plus, showing some wear under the sleeves.