Japanese Flight Jacket Books

[Sefton]

On my recent trip to Japan I picked up these two books: Suit Up! The Flight Jacket edited by Kesaharu Imai,published by World Photo Press ISBN4-8465-2012-9. And one called Flight Jacket Shiryoushitsu (also from World Photo Press ISBN4-8465-2406-X) which among other information features the jackets and other personal items belonging to a B-29 pilot named Samuel T.Hooks. Both are filled with info (although mostly-not all-in Japanese). Even if you can't read Japanese you can enjoy the many photos and drawings and the excellent layout. I'm not sure if you can find them here although you might check ebay. One note about ebay though: I found someone there who was selling the one titled "Suit Up! The Flight Jacket". The seller claimed to have bought the last remaining copies from the Japanese distributor and was offering it as a buy now for $97! I found this same book in a new book store for less than $25...

 

[Zemke Fan]

Fabulous photos, Sefton...

Suggest you contact "Jessica" (Marilyn impersonator) and lend her a B-15. We'll all thank you profusely.

ZF

 

[airfrogusmc]

Sefton can you show the entire A-1?

 

[Sefton]

Sefton can you show the entire A-1?

I have this larger picture. Sorry that it's not quite complete but it is almost the whole jacket. Can't be too many of those A-1s left anymore....

 

[MudInYerEye]

Wow. Thanks for posting those cool photos. The A-1 was a dynamite jacket. That example looks more like horsehide than capeskin to my untrained eyes.
The photos of the women in the A-2s made me think of my father's cousin. She was a ferry pilot for the AAF, delivering single-engine aircraft to England. Never got a chance to meet her.

 

[airfrogusmc]

Sefton THANKS yeah there aren't many around.

 

[airfrogusmc]

That Monarch 422 is a sweet jacket to. The one thing thats kind cool about Monarchs is the seam down the center of the liner in the back. They kept it even on into their 7823 jackets. I think they were the only maker to do that.

 

[PADDY]

Great Japanese flight jacket reference book!

This is a gem of a find! I've seen it in a friend's private collection and although I'm not too hot on reading Japanese, the photos alone are worth it. And doesn't Marilyn look a honey in the most masculine of men's jackets...a military issue flying jacket!!

Great shot of the A-1! A jacket that I am really warming to and harkens back to an era reminiscent of "The Spirit of St.Louis." Great thing about it too is that it looks great in uniform or in civvies. Just oozes vintage style.

Thanks so much for uploading and sharing those shots. I dare say that books sales will go up now with the boys having seen it here!

 

[nightandthecity]

I have owned "Suit Up" for several years and find it invaluable. I also have some japanese denim books, equally mouthwatering and equally useful.

I also have some Japanese Flight Jacket magazines from the 80s or early 90s...Yes, it seems they have ( or had) periodicals dedicated to flight jackets, denim and other areas of vintage. When i tell people this they say it's obsessive and nerdy but I reckon it beats our magazines dedicated to cameras, cars and other modern consumer crap.

BTW, I have often seen Suit Up on ebay

 

[nightandthecity]

doesn't Marilyn look a honey in the most masculine of men's jackets...a military issue flying jacket!!QUOTE]

Marilyn would look top in anything. As far as I'm concerned she would still ooze raw sex hidden in a burkah.

In one of my denim books there are some great photos of her on the set of The Misfits wearing a B3.

 

[MikeyB17]

I think 'Suit Up!' is the best of the books currently available on Flight Jackets, despite not being in English the pics are excellent and you can usually get the gist of what's being said. I've got the other one too, which is nice to have, with some nice pictures, but a bit too much on the B-15 and with a fair bit of filler too-there's one page which just shows a load of Navy pilots in their cockpits, but on closer examination they've used the same four pics several times over to fill up the double page. The only colour pics are of labels, although there are some interesting titbits-I wasn't aware Converse made A-6 flying boots, for instance.

MB17

 

[bgbdesign]

Thanks for posting the link to that book. I've loaned out every copy I had of that book and this is a better price than I've seen anywhere else. I promptly ordered one (and will not be loaning it out!).

Here is another book that was posted on the jacket forum about airplane graveyards.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...002-8818699-3167242?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
I also bought this when buying the boneyard book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...002-8818699-3167242?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

I enjoyed them both and price was reasonable as well.

bgb

 

[ShanghaiJack]

Collection

Here's my collection of the Japanese Books:

http://www.eaglesquadrons.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=336

 

[PADDY]

Some photos of my Japanese WW2 jacket nuts..!

The Japanese are really into their American vintage style flying jackets. Ironic really, considering the history of WW2...but true!
They make up a huge market as buyers of these specialist goods! Plus there are a number of sites on the internet, but sadly, they are in Japanese (some of the pics are good though).

Many of you here will be aware of the company, THE FEW or Real McCoy Japan (RMJ), because these guys just spend the spondulics and wadds of wonga (money) on repro American WWII flying jackets (see the pic below guys, it's mad!).

But, if it weren't for these guys, there might not even be a sustainable market for the repro jackets, so it's got to be a good thing!

Yet, there aren't too many Japanese members of TFL or VLJ-III, maybe it's just the language thing.

 

[Blackgrass]

In the photo above...what kind of boots are those that the couple of guys are wearing in the front row with the white dots/circles on the soles?

 

[BellyTank]

Not Japanese but-

Picked up this 1937 Karl Ort Pilot's Supply Catalogue recently-
Thanks Scott.

...not TOO many flight jackets in there but the texts are hilarious-

B
T

 

[Sefton]

That looks great! I love the cover and the pages that you posted. Please post some more pics if you can. Acording to the CPI inflation calculator $14.77 (for the A-2) in 1937 is the equivelant of $202 today. That's still a bargain!

 

[Sefton]

The Japanese are really into their American vintage style flying jackets. Ironic really, considering the history of WW2...but true!
They make up a huge market as buyers of these specialist goods! Plus there are a number of sites on the internet, but sadly, they are in Japanese (some of the pics are good though).

Many of you here will be aware of the company, THE FEW or Real McCoy Japan (RMJ), because these guys just spend the spondulics and wadds of wonga (money) on repro American WWII flying jackets (see the pic below guys, it's mad!).

But, if it weren't for these guys, there might not even be a sustainable market for the repro jackets, so it's got to be a good thing!

Yet, there aren't too many Japanese members of TFL or VLJ-III, maybe it's just the language thing.

I agree with Paddy...we have the Japanese to thank for the availability of some really great quality repros. When I was in Japan recently I spotted a good number of men walking around wearing very nice looking A-2s. No mall type jackets in sight. The only bad part is the price tag! There I was standing before racks of dozens of the most beautiful looking repros that you would ever want to feast your eyes on....each one sporting a price of at least $1100. About 10 years ago the dollar exchange rate to yen was very good. Sadly not so good now...:cry: Oh well, it was fun to look anyway.

 

[Doctor Damage]

I will echo the recommendations in this thread for the "Suit Up" book. I just received a copy today and it's an excellent book. It ranges from very early leather jackets up to the nomex flight jackets, with everything in between. The photos of jackets are top notch and they cover many variations, plus they've got tons of black and white photos of actual servicemen during the wars and deployments. I think it's safe to say that anyone who is keen on US flight jackets should get this book. It's like getting the Sears Christmas toy catalogue when I was a kid!

 

[Superfluous]

Over a ten year old thread revival -- thats gotta be a record.