The flight jacket, or bomber jacket is a garment originally created for pilots, which eventually became part of popular culture and apparel. In the First World War most airplanes did not have an enclosed cockpit, which necessitated a garment that could keep pilots sufficiently warm. While serving in France and Belgium, the Royal Flying Corps pilots had already begun wearing long leather coats in 1915, and the trend caught on. The US Army established the Aviation Clothing Board in September 1917 and began distributing heavy-duty leather flight jackets; with high wraparound collars, zipper closures with wind flaps, snug cuffs and waists, and some fringed and lined with fur.
Leslie Irvin first designed and manufactured the classic sheepskin flying jacket. In 1926 he set up a manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, and became the main supplier of flying jackets to the Royal Air Force during most of the Second World War. However, the demand during the early years of the war was so great that the Irvin company engaged subcontractors, which explains the slight variations of design and colour that can be seen in early production Irvin flying jackets.
As aerospace technology improved, the altitudes at which aircraft operated increased. Most heavy bombing raids in Europe during the Second World War took place from altitudes of at least 25,000 ft, where ambient temperatures could reach as cold as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit). The cabins of these aircraft were uninsulated, so a warm, thick flight jacket was an essential piece of equipment for every member of the crew.
The two most historical and well-known American flight jackets are the A-2 jacket and the G-1. Although General “Hap” Arnold cancelled the original A-2 after twelve years because he wanted “something better”, the A-2 remains the most recognizable and sought-after American flight jacket. The G-1, designed by the US Navy to parallel the Air Corps’ A-2, lasted until 1978, when Congress forced its cancellation because its tremendous popularity was overwhelming the Navy’s supply system. Not only were these two jackets useful to the serving men who wore them, but in their popularity they became symbols of honor, adventure, and style. Hollywood films like Top Gun boosted sales of the G-1 tremendously, making these once-specialized jackets collector and fashion items.
Stylish flight jackets, however, are not limited to the A-2 and G-1. Shearling jackets, originally lined with fur, are recognized for being the warmest ones. Even when the fur was replaced with wool, this coat was warm enough to keep Lt. John A. Macready warm when he set a world record in April 1921, reaching an altitude of 40,000 feet in his open-cockpit airplane. Styles of shearling jackets range from the B-3, the “bomber jacket”, to the M-445, the Navy’s own Shearling jacket. Also popular in the military were, and still are, synthetic jackets. These jackets first gained esteem after Gen. Hap Arnold rejected the A-2 jacket in 1942. Styles range from the cotton twill B-series to the standardized jacket of the Navy, the CWU-series. Both synthetic and shearling jackets are worn and collected by army buffs today, but neither has the historical status of the A-2 jacket or the G-1.
Today, flight jackets are usually associated with the MA-1, a, now obsolete, U.S. military jacket, which is mostly found in sage green. It is made with flight silk nylon and usually has an blaze orange lining, with the specification tag in the pocket, though earlier models had a sage green lining and the specification tag on the neck area. It has two slanted flap pockets on the front, two inner pockets, and a zipped pocket with pen holders on the left sleeve. The lighter weight version of the MA-1 is known as the L-2B flight jacket, which in turn, replaced both the original L2 and L2A jackets, which all three differentiate from the MA-1 as they have snap-down epaulets and no inside pockets. The military flight jackets currently used today are the CWU-45P(For colder weather) and the CWU-36P(For warmer weather), both are made from Nomex.
Flight jackets have been popular with skinheads and scooterboys from the 1980s onwards. In 1993, it was worn as the national costume of the United States for the APEC meeting held in Seattle, Washington that year. In the early 2000s, the jacket was popular casual wear in hip hop fashion.
The jacket has also caught on with several police departments across the United States for its sturdy design, and heavy insulation.