Japanese Flight Jackets

[volleykinginnc]

I'm rather new to the whole vintage jacket thing but reading, looking and drooling I've noticed that there are fine examples of German, English and American flight jackets but I couldn't find a single Japanese one. Why is that or are they just less desirable so everyone just throws them away?

 

[ButteMT61]

I think you'll find folks here are interested in just about anything. Maybe not much of a market for them, or maybe there isn't much known about them.
Certainly interested in seeing anything that comes up here.

 

[Metatron]

Good question. From what I have seen, Japanese pilots mostly wore one piece flight suits. So no jacket component!

 

[Treetopflyer]

I would agree with Metraton. All photos I have seen with Japanese pilots, they are wearing an insulated one piece flight suit in cold weather. That is WWII and before. As for current issue, I think they wear the same gear that we do. I have seen Japanese P-3 pilots wearing current issue G-1s.

 

[Stearmen]

Summer Jacket

They did have a light weight Gaberdine jacket for summer flying. Unfortunately, I can not find a large photo of one!

 

[cuthbert]

I think that in the case of the Regia Aeronautica and the flying services of the Imperial Army and Imperial Navy the problem is the lack of documentation and surviving gear...I wouldn't be surprised to see that naval aviators wore different suits and jackets, the Army and the Navy were two separate entities very jealous of their independence, according to Pappy Boyngton and Saburo Sakai.

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

I'd be very curious to learn about japanese flight jackets. I've looked on a very well known japanese site of militaria/repros (Nakata Shoten) and it looks that japanese pilots were issued jackets, too, and not only one-piece suits; and it seems to be some difference between Army and Navy.
But the site seems to have only very short, costumer-oriented descriptions; plus, it's in japanese, which I don't read..

As for the Regia Aeronautica, their jackets have been discussed in the WWII session; no repro maker that I know, though.

ciao!!

 

[scotrace]

I thought I remembered seeing something at the Dayton museum, but my memory failed me. Confirming what has been mentioned here: full-length cloth flight suits, no leather jacket.

 

[normanf]

I'm rather new to the whole vintage jacket thing but reading, looking and drooling I've noticed that there are fine examples of German, English and American flight jackets but I couldn't find a single Japanese one. Why is that or are they just less desirable so everyone just throws them away?

American flight jackets are popular in Japan. You can find a good selection on the Japanese Internet.

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Just browsing around the Nakatashoten repro site:

Army-air force (I guess)

http://www.nakatashoten.com/japan-riku/jr-31.html

http://www.nakatashoten.com/japan-riku/jr-242.html

Navy:
http://www.nakatashoten.com/japan-kai/jk-238.html

on the site there are also repro full-lenght suits.

Also this leather G-1-esque one, I know nothing about:
http://www.nakatashoten.com/morgan/mg-504.html

and that's pretty much all I could find!

 

[normanf]

Just browsing around the Nakatashoten repro site:

Army-air force (I guess)

http://www.nakatashoten.com/japan-riku/jr-31.html

http://www.nakatashoten.com/japan-riku/jr-242.html

Navy:
http://www.nakatashoten.com/japan-kai/jk-238.html

on the site there are also repro full-lenght suits.

Also this leather G-1-esque one, I know nothing about:
http://www.nakatashoten.com/morgan/mg-504.html

and that's pretty much all I could find!

You haven't looked around enough. Go to Rakuten USA and put in the names of well known American flying jacket manufacturers. You'll find good stuff - even vintage stuff!

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

I don't know if I got it right, but actually I was looking for pictures of japanese flight jackets, not american jackets sold in Japan...

ciao!

 

[normanf]

I don't know if I got it right, but actually I was looking for pictures of japanese flight jackets, not american jackets sold in Japan...

ciao!

OK... post war though, Japanese tastes are influenced by American fashion. A legacy of the US occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952.

 

[cuthbert]

Actually these jackets are pure IAF with the old insigna ranks pre-1945.

 

[Fairlane]

As soon as I have picture posting privileges, I will post pictures of some Japanese flight jackets. I have 4 different ones, all IJA, Army, that is. Tropical, Summer, Winter and an experimental one, marked test article.
Concerning the jackets from nakata sight above, the top one is an IJA summer, pretty good copy, IJA tropical not the same as mine, IJN Navy. The Japanese used a type of gabardine for thier pilots uniforms, the tropical one I have is made out of a silk cotton blend and is a nice color green instead of a brown.
Cheers!

 

[scotrace]

Fairlane, please see the FAQ for instructions for posting pictures. You don't need privs.

 

[Fairlane]

A summer Imperial Japanese Summer flight jacket. Zippered front, fully belted, zippered sleeves.

Thank you for the help, maybe I can get the hang of this yet.

 

[Fairlane]

An IJA winter flight jacket. Fully rabbit lined, button front, rise and fall collar.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

You will. You have.
HD

 

[Fairlane]

A IJA tropical jacket, unlined silk and cotten blend, button front, button vents on the sides.

Next time I will have the pictures a smaller size.
I hope these pics help in what they look like. The summer jacket is fairly common, the winter and tropical are unbelievably hard to come by.
Cheers!