Hi everyone, I am a USAAF jacket collector and discovered this forum while googling around to try to find a cure for the most horrible pungent smell coming from my newly acquired A2 jacket. It was made in 1943 and was definitely used during WW2 by an aircrewman (there were officer rank tabs on the epaulettes). It is made from Horse Hide which was originally Vegetable tanned in Russett colour. At some point later in the war it was re-issued by the quartermasters department after having been re dyed (this was common practice) with a sprayed on anniline type dye in a darker brown colour. The hide is still very soft and supple and the cotton stitching is in perfect condition. The jacket looks as if it is only a few years old!!
This is all well and good but 63 years of sweat is a heck of a lot and it really stinks in the pits!!! It's so bad I am too embarrassed to wear it in case people think I have a problem!! On advice from a modern repro jacket maker I have already tried soaking the pit areas in luke warm water to reduce the smell (after a while the water went dark green in colour) but this has not made the slightest difference - your advice/help would be greatly appreciated.
![]()