Original Item: Only One Available. During World War II the U.S. aviators and the Royal Air Force servicemen had available to them a vital piece of American-made equipment for emergencies that had only been in use for a few years: an inflatable (Mae West) life preserver. This wonderful example is complete and clearly marked:

VEST, LIFE-PRESERVER, TYPE B-4
SPECIFICATION NO. 3135
DATE OF MFR. OCT 21 1942
ORDER NO. W-535-AC-29306(8383)
REPUBLIC
PROPERTY
AIR FORCE, U.S. ARMY

This example is VERY early production, and 1942 dated examples are extremely scarce. It is in good display condition, and it is mostly complete though one of the rubber tubes has broken off. It is the USAAF version, in a yellow-tan color. It has all of the original tie down straps, and the original C02 inflation valves are still present, and the screw caps are retained. Only one of the original pull cords are intact, the other being gone, and there are no spent C02 canisters.

Both of the manual inflation valves are retained but the tubes are hardened and broken off with one side retaining a small bit of it. The securing straps are still present and functional, and all are in very good condition, with a functional spring clip but there is some fraying in the straps.

Inflatable life preservers became essential equipment for American aircrews operating over water during WWII. Their relatively compact deflated form allowed aviators much greater freedom of movement than earlier bulky cork-filled flotation devices, while the CO₂ inflation system allowed rapid deployment in an emergency.

The nickname “Mae West” came from the pronounced shape created when the front flotation chambers were inflated, a resemblance that quickly entered wartime service slang. The general concept had been developed before WWII by inventor Peter Markus, whose inflatable life-preserver designs helped establish the basic form later adopted in large numbers by the U.S. military.

By WWII, life preservers of this type were widely issued to U.S. Army Air Forces and Navy aviation personnel and became one of the most recognizable pieces of Allied aircrew survival equipment.

The combination of the very early October 21, 1942 date, Republic manufacturer, Type B-4 designation, readable USAAF property label, original CO₂ valve assemblies, surviving pull cord, complete securing straps, and original hardware makes this an especially strong early-war example. Although the oral-inflation tubes have hardened and broken with age and the CO₂ cartridges are absent, the vest remains a highly representative and increasingly scarce piece of WWII U.S. Army Air Forces survival equipment.