Leather U Boat Jackets

[Stand By]

Great video! Thanks for sharing, Stand By. Yes, rightly an ok weapon for guarding prisoners who likely won't escape; these can be seen as shipboard-Marine weapons off the coast of Normandie in 1944, but nothing you'd want to have to service in combat on Guadalcanal. I'm surprised there was no mention of clips falling out, something Marines complained frequently about; if I recall correctly, one of the members of the ill-fated Goettge patrol had the clip drop out of his Reising. And that was most definitely more like 800 rounds per minute and not the slow fire that was purported back in 1942.

Nice to see, though!

The first handgun I ever fired was in the US at a friend's range and it was his dad's vintage USN Colt .45 M1911 from WW2. It was just fearsome and he took it along K-9 search and rescue duty calls into the badder parts of Washington DC (back when it was the murder capital of the USA). It felt, well, so industrial - and the darn thing hurt my palm to fire. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would! That was when I learnt to appreciate the power of a .45 shell and I know it's too much for me (I'm 5' 7" and I'm not a big guy. A .38 special suits me best) - and yet, I cannot imagine what a fast stream of those shells must feel like out of a machine gun! I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end ...!!! Fearsome. It'd leave a mark all right. Well, as you say, assuming the thing works when you desperately need it to!

 

[Peacoat]

A 1911 .45 was also my first serious handgun to shoot. It belonged to a buddy who had found it buried in the dirt when he was 6 years old. His Dad let him have it back when he was about 17 or 18. I think we were 20 when I first shot it. Fell in love with it. I learned to really shoot a .45 in the Army and scored expert. A few years ago I was at my buddy's house and was looking through his gun safe. There was the original .45 fitted with target sights. I asked him about it, and he said it was a tack driver. He used it in competition. That .45 came a long way in life.

I have never shot a Reisling, but the muzzle flip and recoil appear to be minimal in the video. I would think it is very controlleable in fully automatic. I have fired a Thompson .45, and there is no felt recoil with that weapon. Every round can easily be placed on target. It is a fun weapon to shoot. And yes, I would very much hate to be on the receiving end of a .45

My carry weapon of choice these days is a small lightweight 9 mm. It goes with me everywhere. With the proper ammunition the 9 mm is almost as good of a stopper as the 45.* Why? Bullet speed and expansion. Remember the truism: The weapon you have (whatever weapon it is) is better than the weapon you left at home.
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* Some recent studies (maybe FBI) have shown they are approximately equal, but I'm not buying it. I still love my .45; it's just too much to carry on a regular basis.

 

[Doctor Damage]

A 1911 .45 was also my first serious handgun to shoot. It belonged to a buddy who had found it buried in the dirt when he was 6 years old. His Dad let him have it back when he was about 17 or 18. I think we were 20 when I first shot it. Fell in love with it. I learned to really shoot a .45 in the Army and scored expert. A few years ago I was at my buddy's house and was looking through his gun safe. There was the original .45 fitted with target sights. I asked him about it, and he said it was a tack driver. He used it in competition. That .45 came a long way in life

Off topic -- actually all of this is, lol --but were you issued a 1911 .45 in Viet Nam? I would have imagined they'd have moved on from those by the 70s.

* Some recent studies (maybe FBI) have shown they are approximately equal, but I'm not buying it. I still love my .45; it's just too much to carry on a regular basis.

"Under test circumstances" probably. But if you were in a dark alley or some situation in which you needed your opponent to go down with one round, and you had a choice, which would it be?

 

[Doctor Damage]

click for larger pics

 

[Peacoat]

The Army didn't go to the 9mm until the mid 80s, if I remember correctly. And it was a mistake. The 9 is effective only because of the hollow point bullets. The Army can't use those so they are stuck with 9mm ball ammo. Not effective.

I was issued a .45 in RVN, then about 5 months later someone realized we were pilots and all pilots were supposed to be issued .38s. That is just the way it was. So I turned in my .45 and got a worthless .38.

As to being in a dark alley and wishing to put someone down with one round, it certainly wouldn't be the .45 because it would be at home in the safe. If I were careless enough to be in a dark alley it would be the 9mm because that is with me all the time; however, in real life it would be neither of them because I don't go in dark alleys or any other place where I might have to use my weapon.

Yes, this is off topic, but then most threads degenerate into thread creep after about 4 or 5 pages. This one is right on target (no pun intended). I blame the Reisling video for this. No blame to you or me.

 

[Old Mariner]

I happened to come across this thread while doing a Google search on WWI U-Boat leather jackets. It (this thread) has been an interesting read, despite containing information I already knew. I am trying to find out if there was a similar, or even same, pattern jacket (3/4 length) during WWI. I am aware of the leather trousers having been available, and to my current understanding, black leather, rather than the grey, was predominant.

 

[zebedee]

I second the Aero Mariner. I got mine in dark seal Vicenza and it's a serious beastie. I preferred the Vicenza as it's slightly lighter (and more like goat) than heavier horsehides while still being really tough.

 

[abbaralph]

The only ww1 I have seen pictures of were the single breasted u boat jacket that was also used in ww2. But Eastman makes the wwi pilot jacket that is similar in many regards

 

[Old Mariner]

The only ww1 I have seen pictures of were the single breasted u boat jacket that was also used in ww2. But Eastman makes the wwi pilot jacket that is similar in many regards

I noticed that as well, looking at some photos and paintings. May have just some slight differences, but overall similar.

 

[Edward]

In a similar vein, I rather like this design from the History Bunker:

Purports to be a German WW1 despatch rider. I can't comment on accuracy, but I can well imagine myself wearing this with a collar and tie in place of a suitcoat, Howard Hughes style.

In terms of the longer coats, I'd tend to veer away from the overtly military look of those a few posts ago as being a bit limited. THis, however, I very much like:

They sell this one (also in black) as a "Gestapo" coat, though as the Gestapo had no official uniform (albeit that in some situations in occupied territories where it was necessary for them to be readily identified as with the Reich authorities, I believe they wore a version of SS uniform), the coats they wore were civilian items, bought pp. Best coat I ever had for rainwear was a long, vintage leather coat. I can very much see me wearing this over a suit on a wet day in late Autumn or even the Winter.

 

[Old Mariner]

In terms of the longer coats, I'd tend to veer away from the overtly military look of those a few posts ago as being a bit limited. THis, however, I very much like:

They sell this one (also in black) as a "Gestapo" coat, though as the Gestapo had no official uniform (albeit that in some situations in occupied territories where it was necessary for them to be readily identified as with the Reich authorities, I believe they wore a version of SS uniform), the coats they wore were civilian items, bought pp. Best coat I ever had for rainwear was a long, vintage leather coat. I can very much see me wearing this over a suit on a wet day in late Autumn or even the Winter.

I do like that coat. That would definitely help on bitter cold windy days as well as dreary-wet Autumn days.

I have a 3/4 length long vintage leather coat (brown) that was given to me. It has a zipper for a lining, and I managed to take a faux fleece/fur type lining from one other coat (with the London Fog label) and put it in that coat. Was glad the zipper sides fit together.

 

[Edward]

I do like that coat. That would definitely help on bitter cold windy days as well as dreary-wet Autumn days.

I have a 3/4 length long vintage leather coat (brown) that was given to me. It has a zipper for a lining, and I managed to take a faux fleece/fur type lining from one other coat (with the London Fog label) and put it in that coat. Was glad the zipper sides fit together.
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Nice.

It would be interesting to consider buying one of those trenches a size too big and having a heavier lining added... Combination of a stout wool for warmth and leather for keeping out the wind and the wet would be hard to beat!