Who really made those WWII aviator sunglasses? Part 5 of our investigation
Well it’s been quite a journey so far. We reviewed the history of aviator sunglasses from their roots in 19th Century bicyclist’s shields, up to the first Army Air Corps aviator sunglasses. Here are links to the previous posts:
Now it’s time to look at the classic style of aviator sunglasses we’re most familiar with. The “flying sun glasses (comfort cable)” standardized in November 1941.
The lenses were made to a joint standard shared by the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Navy. As a result the lens carried an “AN” (Army/Navy) specification number: the AN6531. The U.S. Government specified the shape of the lens and the color, which was initially a 50% green tint. This tint proved insufficient to protect pilot’s eyes from sun glare so this lens was superseded by the AN6531 Type 2 lens in rose smoke. Examples of both can be seen below:
The two frames to the left are B&L frames with Type 1 AN6531 lenses. The frame at the upper right is made by B&L and has Type 2 AN6531 lenses. The frame at lower right is made by Willson and has Type 1 lenses.
Various contractors made the frames and ground the lenses. These included American Optical, Bausch & Lomb, The Chas. Fischer Spring Co. (which primarily made AN6530 Goggles) and Willson. Frame and hinge design varied slightly from contractor to contractor. This ad for surplus AN6531 aviator sunglasses, from the June 1948 Popular Science, notes the different manufacturers:
Ad from June 1948 Popular Science magazine for military surplus, including aviator sunglasses with Bausch & Lomb, American Optical and Fisher AN6531 lenses.
You’ll notice Ray Ban is not included. This is probably because, to the best of my knowledge, not a single pair of Ray Ban branded sunglasses was issued by the U.S. Government to Army or Navy aviators during WWII. Ray Ban was a civilian division of Bausch & Lomb. I have no access to information about the quantities of Ray Ban sunglasses produced during the war, but in general production of civilian goods ceased.
After the war Bausch & Lomb marketed facsimiles of the AN6531 sunglasses to the general public, as did most of the other contractors that produced them. They did so under the Ray Ban brand. The Ray Ban brand is no longer a part of Bausch & Lomb.
For some reason, however, I keep reading that Ray Ban “invented” aviator sunglasses. I have no idea where that information originated but it seems to be inaccurate. Probably the best remedy would be to repost this post and the others in the series so anyone that’s curious can learn the actual origins of aviator sunglasses.
A bit more about aviators next week. PLEASE take a moment to scroll to the top of the sidebar and SUBSCRIBE so you’ll know about it when it’s posted. In the meantime here’s a photo of Lt. Mike Hunter taken in 1942. He appears to be wearing flying sun glasses (comfort cable), with AN6531 Type 1 lenses, made by… American Optical!
October 1942. “Lieutenant ‘Mike’ Hunter, Army test pilot assigned to Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, California.” 4×5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.
Great article. Very interesting and educational!
Why, thank you. I do my best.
Very interesting, my investigations are the same, i have a own small optician and eyeglass museum in germany..;-)
Very interesting. I wore my dad’s WW II vintage aviator glasses in 1968 when no one else in Detroit would be caught dead in them. A year later, when “Easy Rider” popularized them, my pair had broken and become unusable!
I’m not sure if Easy Rider popularized the style, but those were Ray Ban Olympians anyway. Great style, but your father’s service aviators were way more iconic and cool.
My father was a Navy aircraft mechanic onboard a carrier in the Pacific during WWII and always wore aviators. I made due with whatever was available at the drugstore until Easy Rider came out. I had to have those sunglasses!! I figured it was the first step to owning a motorcycle. Weeks later after I’d saved enough, I plunked down the princely sum of $85 (a lot of money for a high school kid in the 60’s) and bought a pair of gold Ray Ban Shooters with dark green polarized glass lenses and stems that wrapped around my ears. They were heavy and the stems would hurt my ears after a few hours of wear but I loved them and I thought I looked cool. Since then I’ve only worn Aviators, just like my Dad. 😉
Excellent taste all around.
I have a par of AN6530 Goggles trying to find out more about them.
B&L produced the sunglasses worn by McArthur. They become popular and so B&l started to produce them in a large scale under the brand Ray-Ban (the name says it clear, they ban the sunrays).
Could be. It’s hard to see the brow bar well enough to tell: MacArthur always seemed to have it hidden under the bill of his peaked cap.
I have a pair of Monarch Cal-o-Ray antiglare sunglasses, My father used them in ww2 in the air force, (Canadian) I can’t find any info about them, Can you help me please, Thanks
I believe there was an American military contractor named Monarch during WWII that made flight jackets. I don’t know much about Canadian gear from the period, or whether there was much overlap with RAF gear.
“Cal-o-ray” sounds like a distinctly consumer facing brand name. Syncretic, too: a portmanteau of Calobar (what American Optical called their green lenses) and Ray (coming from either Ray Ban or Cool Ray, which was what Polaroid called the line of polarized sunglasses it introduced in the early 40s). I guess the Cal also suggests California.
I’ve never come across a pair, so I can’t really speak to them.
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Sounds good. Will investigate.
Mr. Lipow, thank you for your posts on aviator sunglasses. I am hoping your expertise may help me identify some aviators which are definitely vintage and very, very similar to the AN6531 spec, but not exactly the same. If it were possible to post a photo or email it, that would be immensely helpful. Thank you for your consideration.
I’m glad you like the posts. Add the image as a comment and we’ll take a look.
Apologies this has taken so very long; I was oblivious that you’d answered. Most unfortunately, I can’t find a way to insert an image into the comment box.
Perhaps a link to something like Photobucket or Imgur?
Great article on the history of eyewear. I was just gifted a pair of original B&L Aviators from WW II, with Type I AN6531 lenses. I have to wear them. I own and fly a World War II Stinson L-5 ambulance.
I’m glad you liked the series. You might like the WWI series I did, as well. I enjoyed collecting the designs, in which the functionality seemed to enhance the good looks.
Interesting about owning the Stinson. What’s parts interchangability with the post-war Stinsons? I’ve always considered maintenance the prohibitive element in owning a vintage aircraft. Especially if you’re a DIY oriented enthusiast.
Who made 12k gold filled LC Aviators from ww2 era?
What does LC stand for?
when I was a kid still riding a bike (1967 or so) we use to buy surplus aviators for 3 or 4 bucks. They had the spring wrap around ear piece. Can these original issues still be purchased?
If you look hard enough, they’re out there. The U.S. Government produced a lot of materials during WWII. There are still a lot of deadstock clothing items, in smaller sizes. Flea Markets, eBay, etc. will have the sunglasses come up from time to time. Often sellers don’t know what they are, so you can get a good price if you know what to look for.
They’re very solid, beautiful pieces of wearable history and great design. I put my own prescription in a pair.
Great article. I have sunglasses marked U.S.L on it. It look like Shuron Macarthur sunglasses from WWII. I have see Army AirForce Type case with wings and a shield under the wings with U.S.L.in the shield from 1940s. Any idea what is U.S.L.?
You usually see 2 basic types of AN6531 cases. Leather ones made by AO and metal ones made by B&L. I don’t know what U.S.L. is an acronym for. The only defense department related thing that comes up is “Underwater Sound Laboratory”, and I doubt they needed sunglasses. 😉
I come with the similar idea about U.S.L. However it shoudl be more then 2 types cases made by AO and B&L. How about other contractors (The Chas. Fischer Spring Co., Shuron and Willson) what types cases they have made? Also interesting to know how many manufacturers get order to supply the US Army during WWII.
Very good article. The information is so helpful.
Thanks.
Thank you for the info! My Father recently passed away and I found his aviator glasses from his WWII AAC pilot days. They’re in great shape, except missing the “pads” that rest on your nose. Now I know they are the Type 1 and B&L.
Glad to help.
Dear Mr Lipow,
I cannot find your email address. I trust you are well and florishing.
I want to ask you about a certain (well-known) Essilor Nylor frame, and its relationship to two Cutter & Gross rimless frames.
You can view a photograph of the model I mean at ratticollector.com: Essilor Les Lunettes 257 00 000. The two Cutler & Gross frames each have numbers, I can locate only 0422.
Thank you very much.
Kind regards
Peter O’Connor
Hello,
The site didn’t load for me. All I can tell you is Nylor was an early maker of eyewear that used a filament to hold lenses into a frame. I can’t say for sure who the actual first to use filament was, as I have various examples from the period. Might be Nylor. Cutler & Gross was formed afterwards. I know a couple designers for C&G and they’re very nice and approachable. You’d probably get a more informative answer by calling C&G and asking the company directly.
Hi, would you be familiar with a sunglass brand that used the initials AP?
I have a beautiful pair of vintage celluloid sunglasses with that marking on a gold insert set into each of the temples.
Thanks!
I don’t think logo hardware was seen on eyewear until the 1960s at earliest. That narrows the age of the glasses down a bit. Otherwise, AP doesn’t ring a bell. If it was a watch I’d suggest Audemars Piguet. But it’s not.
Good morning, Mr. Lipow, as a collector who loves detail, I congratulate you on your website, it is helping me to study a sunglasses from my collection.
The question is if you can guide me on them, I have seen places where identical glasses are sold as genuine from the WWII, but I have my doubts.
These glasses belonged to my father, he always wore them, he worked at the US Naval Base in Rota in Spain, in the late 1950s, and he most certainly acquired them there.
They have an inscription: “Ray-Ban B&L 1/10 12K GF” and a circle on the front, they are dark green lenses.
Remaining grateful.
Rafael Fernandez.
From Spain.
I don’t have a picture, so I can’t speak with specificity. I’m guessing they were sold at the PX, and weren’t issue. Ray Ban was a commercial brand owned by Bausch & Lomb, who did do contract work for the U.S. military.
Otherwise, if you found these posts were useful or enjoyable I’m glad.
I have a World war 2 aviator sun laseses with side shields, very good condition
The frames and side shield are brass
Inside the left lens at the top has the letter ” M ” etched in the green tinted lens, also there is a circle symbol along side of the ” M” with a design of some kind inside of the circle.
The first WWII goggles with side shields that come to mind were issued by the RAF, and weren’t aviator sunglasses per se. I’m familiar, but it’s not a field of particular expertise. I’d guess the M was a maker’s mark for whoever the subcontractor that made them was, but I don’t really know. Sorry.
I have found out: U.S. Lens Corp. (U.S.L.) G-2 type
I just did a search for a U.S. Lens Corp. and didn’t find anything. Of course, if they’re long defunct nothing would show up easily. How did you find out that information?
I have browse around some military auction and find some “sold” glasses with (probably) original box. The frame has also stamped with “USL”
on the box stamp:
“Glasses, Sun, Type G-2 Spec. MIL-G-6250B FED. S/N8465-261-6906 contract: AF 33(602)-7888 U.S. Lens Corp. U.S.”
Very good information. Thank you. Keeping track of every military contractor can get involved. In the post about AN6531 aviators (linked in the post), I limited myself to those who made the style under contract during WWII.
I have found also this (after WWII) document what maybe interesting too: https://erikscollectables.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/hgu-4p.pdf
Thank you. I have an excerpt from this document in the blog post above.