M-1965 field jacket

M65 field jacket in beige

The M-1965 field jacket (also abbreviated as M-65) is a straight front, cold weather, field coat made of water-repellent fabrics.[1] Initially designed for the US military under the MIL-DTL-43455K standard,[2][3] it is now also worn as a civilian item of clothing.

History

The jacket was introduced into US military service in 1965 to replace the M-1951 field jacket which was an improvement on the M-1943 field jacket of World War II design.[4] It has a built-in hood that can be rolled up and fits into a pouch on the back of the neck as opposed to the separate hood that attached to the M-1951. The M-65 also has velcro fasteners on the sleeve cuffs and collar.

The M-65 field jacket was widely used by United States Forces during the Vietnam War in which the jacket became useful for troops serving in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, as well as keeping a soldier warm from the cool weather conditions that came after monsoonal rains.[5] It was a standard issue to US troops in several other wars all around the globe as well.

Originally introduced in olive green shade 107, it is now produced in a large variety of colors and patterns, including military camouflage.[4] The frontmost portion of the jacket has two large hip pockets and two medium-sized breast pockets. The rearmost neck portion and collar of the jacket features a zipper which houses a protective hood.[4] The M-1965 field jacket can be combined with a button-in insulated lining for cold-weather wear, as well as a button on fur trimmed winter hood. It was made by Alpha Industries, and John Ownbey Co., inc. as well as other companies like Propper, Golden Manufacturing and many more, for the military.[6][7]

The jacket appeared in several films including Taxi Driver, Serpico, Annie Hall, First Blood, The Exterminator, The Exterminator 2, The Terminator, Robocop (1987) and True Romance. It featured prominently on Gilmore Girls. Most recently it was worn by Liam Neeson in the film Run All Night, the character James Sunderland from the video game Silent Hill 2, the character Lincoln Clay from the video game Mafia III, and is sometimes worn by the character Dean Winchester from the television series Supernatural.

References

  1. ↑ "Technology transfer highlights through the years at the Natick Soldier Center".
  2. ↑ http://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_number=23626
  3. ↑ http://ciehub.info/spec/DTL/MIL-C-43455.html
  4. 1 2 3 "M-1965 FIELD JACKET". Olive-drab.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
  5. ↑ US Army Infantryman in Vietnam 1965-73 - Gordon Rottman - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. 2005-07-13. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  6. ↑ "The M-65 Field Coat".
  7. ↑ "Alpha Industries History". Archived from the original on September 20, 2014.
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