US Wings has just announced a new addition to their already impressive lineup of authentic military apparel: authentic General MacArthur aviator sunglasses. While many people probably think of the Tom Cruise and the movie Top Gun when they think of aviator sunglasses, they originally became popular much earlier in history. America’s love affair with aviator sunglasses began when General Douglas MacArthur landed on the beaches of the Philippines during World War 2 after American troops took the islands back from the Japanese. When he stepped on the beach, he was wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses and the images that were captured by photographers helped ignite the popularity of this now-iconic eyewear.
One of the original General MacArthur photos with his signature sunglasses.
Since then, aviator sunglasses have never left the popular minds of people who were looking to promote an air of ruggedness and manliness. Called aviators due to their original intent of protecting the eyes of fighter pilots, the sunglasses have a lense that’s about 2-3 times larger than your standard pair sunglasses. They have very thin frames and a double/triple bridge (also called “bullet hole”) that go into either bayonet earpieces or flexible cable temples that can be hooked behind the ears. The original design also featured G-15 tempered glass lenses in neutral grey that only transmitted 15% of incoming light, allowing people to see much better in bright environments. The lenses are also slightly convex, not flat, so as to cover as much of the range of the eye and prevent as much light as possible from entering.
While the original glasses were tinted in grey, the famous MacArthur glasses were tinted in green and this can be seen in the faithful US Wings reconstruction. US Wings also offers two styles of “General” sunglasses. The first is the “Welcome Home” pair and is the perfect as a gift for a returning soldier or veteran. The glasses are handmade by American Optical and feature a gold frame, 52mm or 58mm lens sizes, AO’s impact resistant True Color® green lenses, and 98% UVA & 100% UVB protection. They also have the words “WELCOME HOME” on the right earpiece and “US WINGS” on the left earpiece. They come with a leather case that has “WELCOME HOME” and the US Wings logo stamped on them too. The second style is the same but simply without “WELCOME HOME” on the right earpiece; the case can also be purchased separately.
US Wings Welcome Home aviators with case.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.
If you’d like to see the glasses in the US Wings Store, the link is here.
