Aviator sunglasses

AN6531 sunglasses with Type 1 AN6531 lenses made by American Optical

In the second half of the 1930s and early 1940s, a group of American firms were developing sunglasses. The military "flying sun glasses (comfort cable)" were standardized in November 1941. They were produced in huge quantities (several million pieces) for pilots and sailors. 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 This tint proved insufficient to protect pilot’s eyes from sun glare so this lens was superseded by the darker AN6531 Type 2 lens in rose smoke. Various contractors made the frames and ground the lenses. These included American Optical, Bausch & Lomb, The Chas. Fischer Spring Co., Willson Optical and Rochester Optical Co. Frame and hinge design varied slightly from contractor to contractor.[2] Despite being designed for utility, these glasses had advanced properties: teardrop-shaped and convex lenses, plastic nose pads and a prominent brow bar and featured flexible cable temples. The nickel plated frame was made of a copper based alloy to prevent offsetting compasses. the "teardrop" shape lens of the AN 6531 was designed to accommodate Air Force pilots who were constantly looking down at their instrument panel while in flight, and influenced all future Aviator style lens shapes. After World War II AN6531 Comfort Cable aviator sunglasses were available for civilians on the surplus market.[2]

The AN6531 Comfort Cable aviator sunglasses model kept being issued by the U.S. military as Type F-2 (arctic) and Type G-2 aviator sunglasses after World War II but fitted with darker lenses until their substitute the Type HGU-4/P aviator sunglasses became available.[3][4]

Subsequently, civilian models and options appeared without a frontal brow bar and with plastic earhooks. Since everything military was in fashion in those years, these glasses became popular among the people and the two companies got their bearings on time and began to promote such glasses for civilian use in the 1940s and 1950s.

In 1929, US Army Air Corps Colonel John A. Macready worked with Bausch & Lomb, a Rochester, New York-based medical equipment manufacturer, to create aviation sunglasses that would reduce the distraction for pilots caused by the intense blue and white hues of the sky.[5][6][7] Specifically, MacCready was concerned about how pilots' goggles would fog up, greatly reducing visibility at high altitude.[8] The prototype, created in 1936 and known as "Anti-Glare", had plastic frames and green lenses that could cut out the glare without obscuring vision. Impact-resistant lenses were added in 1938.[9]

F.W. Hunter, Army test pilot, Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, California with AN 6531 sunglasses(1942)

General MacArthur's signature look included his ornate hat, corncob pipe, and Aviator sunglasses.[10][11] (1944)

The sunglasses were redesigned with a metal frame in 1939 and patented by Bausch & Lomb as the Ray-Ban Aviator.[8] According to the BBC, the glasses used “Kalichrome lenses designed to sharpen details and minimise haze by filtering out blue light, making them ideal for misty conditions.”[8] At the time Ray-Ban was a civilian division of Bausch & Lomb. This style of sunglasses is credited with being one of the first popularized style of sunglasses to be developed.[12] In its military usage, the sunglasses replaced the outmoded flight goggles used previously, as they were lighter, thinner, and “more elegantly designed”. Writing about the transition of aviators from military gear to a commercial product, Vanessa Brown wrote that, “The War was a … revelation of the sheer might, scale, power, and horror of the modern world … [which] necessitated a new kind of military demeanor and gave rise to new definitions of the heroic stance which was to have a profound influence on modern fashion.”[13] Eventually, the aviator sunglasses produced by Bausch & Lomb were trademarked as “Ray Bans”.[14]

Aviators became a well-known style of sunglasses when General Douglas MacArthur landed on a beach in the Philippines in World War II[15] and newspaper photographers snapped several pictures of him in October 1944 wearing them that became a lasting image of the Second World War.[16] Bausch & Lomb dedicated a line of sunglasses to him in 1987.[11]

The first advertisements for Ray-Ban Aviators stated they would provide “real scientific glare protection” and were sold as sporting equipment. At this time, they had not yet taken on their name of “aviators”, the Second World War having not yet begun. In addition to popularity in the 1950s, aviators were popular in the 1970s and 1980s, being worn by public figures like Slash, Michael Jackson , George Michael, Tom Cruise, Freddie Mercury, Jeff Lynne, Roger Waters and Elvis Presley.[17] During the 1950s, aviator sunglasses were a part of the cultural style, mimicking military style.[18]

Besides flexible cable temples and bayonet temples non-military issed glasses often feature traditional skull temples.[19][20][3]

Ray-Ban 3139 Shooter model (G-15 lenses)

Ray-Ban W1663 Outdoorsman model (B-20 Chromax lenses)

Besides the standard model there are several different Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses variations designed as functional, technical and recreational sunglasses . The Ray-Ban Shooter variant was inroduced in 1938 and the Ray-Ban Outdoorsman variant in 1939. These sunglasses both feature a large brow bar above the nose intended to keep sweat and debris from inhibiting the wearer's vision.[21] The brow bar and temple end pieces of the Shooter and Outdoorsman variants have been covered through years with different materials. Aimed at the sports enthusiast and outdoorsman, The Ray-Ban Shooter variant incorporates a cigarette holder, a circular device located at the center of the nose bridge. Originally intended to support the sportsmans cigarette, whilst taking aim or needed the use of both hands, in the 21st century the cigarette holder is often referred to as a vanity bullet hole. In 1953 Ray-Ban introduced G-15 tempered glass lenses. These neutral green/gray lenses transmit 15% of incoming visible light whilst providing 'true' color and contrast distribution.[22]

American Optical Original Pilot Sunglass (Flight Goggle 58)

Randolph Engineering HGU4/P conform sunglasses

U.S. Army tomb guards wearing HGU4/P sunglasses

In 1958 American Optical created the Flight Goggle 58 according to the than new U.S. Air Force Type HGU-4/P aviator sunglasses standard.[4] Type HGU-4/P sunglasses feature lenses with less lens surface area and are lighter compared to the preceeding Type G-2 sunglasses and additionally feature bayonet temples designed to slip easily under a flight helmet or other headgear and were more compatible with oxygen masks. The are commercially know as "Original Pilot Sunglass", and were issued by the US military to pilots since 1958.[3] By 1982, Randolph Engineering had become the prime contractor for military-style Type HGU-4/P aviation flight glasses for the United States Department of Defense.[23]