A majority of the flight officers took with them two bags on every flight with the exceptions being the navigator and the bombardier, who carried three each.
A-3 Kit Bag (aka AN6505-1 bag)
The U.S. Air Force Flyer kit duffle bag is also called the A-3 Flyers kit pilot flight bag. it was designed to hold all the gear a pilot would need and found to be a great size for traveling. (source)
The men would put their parachutes in their A-3 so that that wouldn’t have to carry three bags. Other items that might be put inside when not actively flying could include gloves, headset, oxygen mask, helmets, flak vests, etc.
“The B4 bag is called the "two-suiter," and has a leather strap and reinforcements and a heavy canvas outer with a couple of pockets.” (source)
It was generally used to carry clothing, so not all men would have the need to bring them on missions. For shuttle missions, these were especially common as they were used to carry extra clothes and other items needed during their time away from base. They would also be used as suitcases when traveling to places like flak houses or to London on 3-day passes.
“I picked up my navigation kit, two bags, one like a briefcase and one like a zippered notebook. Just to make sure Ernie Warsaw hadn't borrowed anything I looked inside: E6B computer, Weems plotter, two triangles, pencils, eraser, a collection of U.K. maps, plotting charts, my logbook. Check.” (Harry Crosby, A Wing and a Prayer)
Note that in the image of Harry Crosby above, Crosby can be seen carrying his briefcase-like navigation bag. The bag that appears similar to a “zippered notebook” is likely stored inside of this briefcase.
Bearing the designation “Case, Navigation; Dead Reckoning/Type A-4”. The case is accompanied by multiple navigation instruments: “Computer, True Airspeed, Type G-1”; Time-Distance computer Type D-4; “Computer, Dead Reckoning, Type AN 58351” and “Computer, Dead Reckoning, Type AN-C-74-A”. (Source)
Bombardiers had to take the bombsight with them wherever they went once they checked in out of the bombsight storage. If they were forced to land at a different airfield, procedure stated that the bombsight must be placed in a vault or safe with an armed security. If in enemy territory, the bombsight is to be destroyed as seen in Masters of the Air.
Bombardiers were to keep the Norden bombsight in its case and out of sight until they were inside the aircraft because they were technically the only personnel authorized to be near it. Of course it was impossible for the navigators not be near it due to their proximity.
“I got the bombsight out of the nose and we took the machine guns apart and left them in the waist of the plane. … So we grabbed our B4 bags and me lugging the bombsight and we headed for Dijon.” (Robert Fitzgerald, source)
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