Pictured is an early US paratrooper uniform item.  It is commonly referred to as a balloon suit, balloon jump suit or balloon cloth jump suit.  This was one of the earliest uniform items specifically designed for US paratroopers.  It was designed to be worn by paratroopers as an outer garment when making their parachute jumps.   It was only experimented with for a brief time.  Most photos show it being used in training in 1941.  By 1942, it had been supplanted by other uniforms like the M42 jump suit.  Although it was only used briefly, photos taken at the time show that many of the paratroopers who would later go on to have prominent positions in the 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, 11th Airborne Division, 17th Airborne Division, and 13th Airborne Division during World War Two, got their jump training wearing this uniform.

Since it was only used for a short period of time, and also because during this time the size of the US Airborne forces were very small, very few have survived.   They are considered very rare and only a handful still exist in collections today.  I was very pleased to add this rare uniform to my military collection.