Mae West Survival Vests

The USAAF Pneumatic Life Vest - affectionately dubbed the "MaeWest" vest (after the amply endowed film star) - was a pneumatic life vest that saved the lives of thousands of pilots during WWII. The yellow rubber vest inflated using CO2 cartridges, with a back-up manual inflation tube.

The MaeWest was worn by fighter pilots, bomber crew and even transport crews. Whether it was flying over the English Channel, the Adriatic or Mediterranean, up the slot in the Solomons or across the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, the MaeWest was a life preserver.