Flying Gauntlets 22C/988

Used throughout the war, leather gauntlets were the most expensive and coveted of flying equipment. Constructed of soft brown leather, the inner hand area was lined with thin fleece while the length beyond the wrist was soft sheep's leather. A zip fastener was included in some patterns to allow for ease of putting on and taking off. So highly prized were these gloves that thefts from factories resulted in the issuing of contracts to different factories which would produce only either the Left or Right glove, sometimes resulting in miss-matched sizes.

These examples each have a tag sewn into the gauntlet indicating Left or Right hand and the size: 8½.

1939-1945

004.044.002

Leather, fleece

Worn by F/O N. H. Bell of Brantford, Ontario.