IRVIN NUTS?...the ULTIMATE thread for those who love 'em!

[krasno35]

A little descrition, as I think there are not a lot of soviet VVS there:
- Irvin 1942 pattern
- Leather helmet soviet re-make of the LW LKpW101
- Flying goggles (not the usual tanker pattern!!)
- PL3-M parachute
- m1940 leather navigator mapcase
- leather breeches

...nice outfit isn't it?

jerome

 

[Smithy]

Très bien! Or should that be Очень Хорошо!

 

[krasno35]

Отлично Smithy!! You're ready to come protect convoys in Arkhangelsk!!

 

[Smithy]

Отлично Smithy!! You're ready to come protect convoys in Arkhangelsk!!

It's only a hop, skip and a jump away from here after all

 

[krasno35]

Sure Smithy...a longest way for me!!

Another RAF one...not too hairy this time!! I look for original pictures of crew wearing their Irvin, some very nice ones on this forum...hope there will be more posted!

Jerome

 

[wildbluesea]

Wow!! Hey, krasno35, that's my favourite pic on this site so far - two up - walking in the field with the map bag etc.!! Nice setup!

And further to my previous postings on my B9 - I went over it in detail today before deciding to return it or not and, looking closely, there were a lot of woolen fibres on the outside, like bits of wool that had been left when the jacket was cut. Tried to brush them off and they wouldn't come off. Thought they were stuck to the jacket in the tanning process. Started pulling them one by one and they are twice as long and come right out from the inside of the jacket!! Can't imagine that happening on a new Easman or Aero!!! Think I'll send this back after all. What do you guys know about Cirrus jackets in the UK? Any good?

 

[krasno35]

TY wildbluesea!

I've read your account on B9....wool fibers on the outer side can happen. I've seen it many times on original and repro jackets. look at pictures on Eastman website, you will see that some wool can show up on the outer side.

I've just purchased their redskin B3, hope to receive it quickly!!

 

[Smithy]

What do you guys know about Cirrus jackets in the UK? Any good?

Do a search in this Outerwear section Wildbluesea, there was a recent thread about them. They are popular with the vintage car crowd but their sheepskin jackets are not super accurate repros. They must sell a few as they've been going for years and advertise a lot in the classic car mags.

Another top pic Jerome, keep it up!

 

[wildbluesea]

I've done a search on the Eastaman site and I can't see fibres poking out of their outer skins. But, what I find dissapointing about many of these online companies is that the pictures of their products are low res and often you can't even see the whole jacket. A member of my staff has her own website selling craft, and the pictures of her pens and paper are 100% on the quality of the pictures of these jackets. I mean, Eastman has only drawings of many of their jackets, but they want us to invest close to $1,000 in in them. Come on, am I alone here, or should we expects hi-res multi angle pictures before we hand over our dollars. Besides, we all have something in common here - we like looking too!!

 

[Spitfire]

I perfectly understand your thoughts, Wildbluesea. But if you do yourself the favour and scroll back in this thread, maybe even way back - it's a huge thread loaded with interesting details, knowhow and love for the Irvin - you will read a lot of very positive stuff about Eastmann and their Irvins. And you will also be able to see pics of them. Real world, real people and real pics.

 

[Smithy]

Wildbluesea, I own an Eastman 1940 Pattern Irvin and I cannot recommend it more highly. Beautifully made with superb fleece, and arguably the most accurate Irvin repro one can buy. Gary at Eastman is a joy to deal with and will answer however many questions you have in order to make sure you get the right jacket.

Their materials, workmanship and customer service are, from my experience, impeccable. There should be photos of mine on here if you go back to about August and September last year.

 

[krasno35]

Wildbluesea, look on eastman website on the B3 redskin cuff...you will see what I meant.

i also recommend both their m42 and m40 Irvins...don't know what look like their "rough finish" m42 as mine is a standard version.

Jerome

 

[Smithy]

Hi Wildbluesea, I just realised that I had deleted the photos of my Eastman in the older posts so here they are again so you can get an idea of what an Eastman Irvin is like. The first three are fresh out of the box, the others are after a month's wear.

 

[ethanedwards]

pics

Just a couple of pics here, any excuse to post an Irvin! But does anyone know
what jacket the airman with the cuppa is wearing? Or is it a one piece Sidcot?
Hard to make out, for me anyway.

How's that Irvin looking now Tim? Tour expired? What did happen to jackets of tour expired aircrews - returned to stores for redistribution?

 

[krasno35]

For sure it's a sidcot: we can see the map chest pocket and the 2 handwarmers legs pocket...a very dirty sidcot!!

Jerome

 

[Smithy]

How's that Irvin looking now Tim? Tour expired? What did happen to jackets of tour expired aircrews - returned to stores for redistribution?

To the best of my knowledge (at least in terms of Irvins) Ethan, aircrew held onto them once their ops tour ended. A couple of the best stories I know of from back home are two former Spitfire pilots who returned to farming in the South Island of NZ and used their old Irvins as cold weather gear when mustering sheep on horseback in the high country!

 

[aswatland]

To the best of my knowledge (at least in terms of Irvins) Ethan, aircrew held onto them once their ops tour ended. A couple of the best stories I know of from back home are two former Spitfire pilots who returned to farming in the South Island of NZ and used their old Irvins as cold weather gear when mustering sheep on horseback in the high country!

I would agree with this although some did get returned to RAF stores and were later sold cheaply at the end of the war.

 

[BellyTank]

To the best of my knowledge (at least in terms of Irvins) Ethan, aircrew held onto them once their ops tour ended. A couple of the best stories I know of from back home are two former Spitfire pilots who returned to farming in the South Island of NZ and used their old Irvins as cold weather gear when mustering sheep on horseback in the high country!

My late Mother was given my Uncle Jack's(NZ Lanc. Navigator serving with RAF) Irvin and boots, some time after his return to Auckland after the War.
Mum was a serious horse rider and wore the jacket and boots in the winter in the '50s. Uncle Jack was a small chap, guess he must have had small-ish feet but the boots must have still been big on Mum. Photo somewhere.

She rode from Auckland to Wanganui once.
We lived on a farm, next door to Whenuapai airbase.
Dad was in the RNZAF '52-'64.


B
T

 

[Smithy]

Fantastic BT. Be nice to see that photo if you dig it out.

She rode from Auckland to Wanganui once.

That's a little bit further than riding out to the stock sales

 

[ethanedwards]

I would agree with this although some did get returned to RAF stores and were later sold cheaply at the end of the war.

I always thought they would remain RAF property, but I wonder when they were no longer issued. Did guys in Shackletons and Lincolns wear them I wonder, I don't think I've ever seen a post war picture of an Irvin being worn by service personnel. In Kaplin's superb 'Little Friends' there's a photo of some 65 BoB veterans, taken in 1990, with several of them posing with their (wartime?) Irvins.