B-15 Model 1944

[Tito]

Hi guys, where I can buy this beauty, maybe in Eastman?

 

[JanSolo]

Well, you're in Europe. It wouldn't make any sense to buy this jacket from HPA /USA.
Here's their site which is good for pictorial referefence.
http://historypreservation.com/hpassociates/index2.php
Yes, contact Eastman directly. They are the manufacturer and hold the Roughwear brand name. They should be able to answer any question you might have.

 

[Justhandguns]

Get it directly from Eastman UK. It is £399.99

 

[Phantomfixer]

I agree this is an awesome jacket. The alpaca lining has got to be very warm. I never understood why the off set zipper. Any ideas?

 

[Atticus Finch]

I agree this is an awesome jacket. The alpaca lining has got to be very warm. I never understood why the off set zipper. Any ideas?

This is just my theory, but I think it was the same logic that was used in the design of the Buco, a popular motorcycle jacket of the era. The off-set zipper was thought to be easier for the wearer to operate while he was in a sitting position...as when flying in a cramped aircraft cockpit or while riding a motorcycle. Evidently, there wasn't much to support this notion as later editions of the B-15 and subsequent flight jackets, from the MA-1 series through modern CWUs, all have straight zippers.

AF

 

[Edward]

Could be that. I always considered it could also simply be a matter of 'design hangover' from the B3, which the B15 effectively replaced (yes, I know, via a couple of other sheepskin designs, but I don't think any of them were ever as widely issued as the B3?).

 

[Atticus Finch]

Could be that. I always considered it could also simply be a matter of 'design hangover' from the B3, which the B15 effectively replaced (yes, I know, via a couple of other sheepskin designs, but I don't think any of them were ever as widely issued as the B3?).

I like that theory, too. But didn't the B-15 replace the B-10? And, did the B-3 have an off-set zipper? Truthfully, I've never worn a B-3 (living in the Sunny South as I do) and don't know.

AF

 

[Fletch]

B-3s zip straight up.
B-15s replaced B-10s, but it's tricky - B-10s were intended to replace A-2s as the low-altitude outer layer (as per the legend about Hap Arnold tossing the goatskin AN-J-3 prototype to the floor).
For high altitude flight the B-3 and A-3 pant were replaced by the F-series dual-layer heated suits, or the B-11 parka and A-10 pant lined in heavy alpaca.

 

[Atticus Finch]

B-3s zip straight up.
B-15s replaced B-10s, but it's tricky - B-10s were intended to replace A-2s as the low-altitude outer layer (as per the legend about Hap Arnold tossing the goatskin AN-J-3 prototype to the floor).
For high altitude flight the B-3 and A-3 pant were replaced by the F-series dual-layer heated suits, or the B-11 parka and A-10 pant lined in heavy alpaca.

And, at some point in the later 40s, the N-jackets were introduced as high altitude, heavy weight jackets?

AF

 

[Edward]

I like that theory, too. But didn't the B-15 replace the B-10? And, did the B-3 have an off-set zipper? Truthfully, I've never worn a B-3 (living in the Sunny South as I do) and don't know.

AF

Durrrr.... ignore me, I've been wearing the Irvin more than the B3 recently, obviously confused the two. I can obviously type faster than I can think.... :eusa_doh:

B-3s zip straight up.
B-15s replaced B-10s, but it's tricky - B-10s were intended to replace A-2s as the low-altitude outer layer (as per the legend about Hap Arnold tossing the goatskin AN-J-3 prototype to the floor).
For high altitude flight the B-3 and A-3 pant were replaced by the F-series dual-layer heated suits, or the B-11 parka and A-10 pant lined in heavy alpaca.

I suppose that's the case, though it always seemed to me that the B15, like the B10 which preceded it, was not quite a direct replacement for the A2, being a much warmer jacket (I've worn my B15C this Winter interchangeably with B3 and Irvin, and it does about the same job). I certainly couldn't stick to wear a B15 in most of the temperatures for which I find an A2 ideal! I tend to think of the L2 as the A2 replacement, but I suppose that's more retrospective thinking - the L2, I know, didn't come out til later, and the B10, then the B15 did replace the A2 in the field. I'd be curious as to how the usage of the jackets changed - I have long had the impression that A2s were worn more on the ground than in the air. Were the B10/15 jackets used more for their intended purpose, being warmer?

What always amazes me about my B15-C (one of the Alpha Replica Series) is how light it is against the level of warmth it provides. Never worn an earlier spec model, though, so I don't know how the Alpaca compares to nylon lining with poly batting...

 

[Fletch]

I seem to recall veteran bomber crewmen commenting that the A-2 wasn't warm enough to be really useful, except for pilot and copilot, who had heat.

 

[Aether]

I agree this is an awesome jacket. The alpaca lining has got to be very warm. I never understood why the off set zipper. Any ideas?

I thought it was to facilitate a larger wind-flap?

 

[Atticus Finch]

I seem to recall veteran bomber crewmen commenting that the A-2 wasn't warm enough to be really useful, except for pilot and copilot, who had heat.

My father, a fighter pilot, disliked the A-2. I have a photo of him wearing one, but it must have been for the photo, only. He told me that the "horeshide jacket" was "stiff and cold". He much preferred the "green jacket...the one with the fur collar". Given that he didn't graduate from advanced training until early 1945, I'm guessing "the green jacket" could have been either a B-10 or a B-15. I'll never know for sure. When he left the service he gave back everything that he didn't pay for himself, including his flight jackets. All that I have left of his military service is his dress uniform, the private purchase pistol he carried and his hack watch.

AF

 

[Phantomfixer]

From what I have read in the history books, the B-10 was warmer and more comfortable to wear in the cockpit of a fighter/any plane. The B-10 being first, why not a slash zipper on it? It looks like the B-10 was designed after the ANJ-3a. only in cotton. Still the B-15 is a great jacket and the Eastman is a great copy. Should be very warm.

 

[Tito]

Fantastic info in this thread, folks.:eusa_clap
Thanks Jan, Justhandguns, I'll see this in Eastman.
Cheers

 

[Stearmen]

Tanker Jacket

The B10 came along because a lot of fighter pilots, [especially P-38 pilots] were switching from A2 jackets to the Tanker jackets, much warmer! My dad used one in the C-47s over Europe. As for slash zippers on motorcycle jackets, there is a large overlap on the wind flap, which works exteremly well. If you did not make it at an angle, it would not look as good with the zipper clear to one side of the jacket.

 

[Edward]

I seem to recall veteran bomber crewmen commenting that the A-2 wasn't warm enough to be really useful, except for pilot and copilot, who had heat.

That makes sense - and jives with what Atticus says about his father above, too. Certainly all the photos I can recall of bomber crews just returning from missions (as opposed to other, posed photos where they tend to be in A2s), it tends to be cockpit guys in an A2, with the rest in B3s etc. I used to much prefer the B10 over the B15, but in the last year or so I have really come to prefer the latter for the most part, I suppose because it is maybe just a touch more of a civilian design? That said, I've got a real hankering for one of those gaberdine B10 style jackets Aero had on sale - I must find out if they are likely to have one in in my size again...

 

[MissMittens]

A2's were issued from the 30's through the war, but wasn't designed as a flying jacket. It was a "knock around" jacket, the military version of the popular pre-war barnstormer leathers. They were just uniform items and not designed for primary flight. The B3 and then A9, A11,B10,B15 were all designed for flight, and part of the ensemble for some was the heater under jacket, pants and booties.

 

[Fletch]

A2's were issued from the 30's through the war, but wasn't designed as a flying jacket. It was a "knock around" jacket, the military version of the popular pre-war barnstormer leathers. They were just uniform items and not designed for primary flight.

That all depends on what we mean by "primary flight." Like the A-1 before it, the A-2 was meant as an outer layer for low-level flying in temperate conditions. That covered much of the Air Corps' peacetime flying in the days of open-cockpit, lower-powered, wood/fabric planes that lasted into the early 1930s.

Starting in 1930-'31 the B-1 and B-2 jackets, and their matching A-1 and A-2 pants, were introduced to replace privately purchased heavyweight flight suits for cold-weather and high-altitude flight. The B-3 and A-3, lighter-weight and better insulated, succeeded them in 1934.