United States. An Air Force “Mae West” Pneumatic Life Preserver Vest, c. 1945

A United States Air Force “Mae West” pneumatic life preserver vest, constructed of bright yellow rubberized nylon material, consisting of an inner bladder with a rubberized nylon exterior. It is in the shape of an upside-down “U” that is closed at the bottomwith two short black rubber hoses, one on the front, and one at the rear, for manual blowing-up of the life preserver. The vest fastens to the body via an adjustable belt, sewn to the vest on one end, with a magnetic carabiner at the other end that clips onto the vest. On the bottom of the vest are two compressed gas capsule containers with pull-handles for inflating of the vest (accompanied with two small gas capsules). It features an additional two pull-straps, one at the top, and one at the bottom, for pulling a victim out of the water. The vest is marked “Vest - Pneumatic Life AN6519-1 Date of MFG Feb 8 1945, Firestone R&L Prod Co. Property U.S Government” along with the Stock number and contract number” in black ink. This is an unused example in near extremely fine condition.

Footnote: “Mae West” was a common nickname for the first inflatable life preserver, which was invented in 1928 by Peter Markus. The nickname was used because someone wearing the inf.ated life preserver reminded personnel of boxum women, such as the actress Mae West. Air crew members whose lives were saved by a personal flotation device were eligible for membership in the Goldfish Club.