LUFTWAFFE jackets - Eagles who Dare to Wear..!

[nightandthecity]

just a couple of comments....

In Marcel Carne's superb "Le Jour se Leve" (filmed 1938, released 1939) Jean Gabin wears a perfect "ELC Hartmann" jacket when riding his bike at start of film, and when about to commit suicide at the very end. If you scroll to the very bottom of this page you will find a photo....

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews27/le_jour_se_leve.htm

this picture shows the pockets well, and if you watch the film you'll see the jacket has an almost identical buckle to the ELC and even has the side slits. Point being that this is the style of jacket that Carne in 1938 expected a young French factory worker/ cyclist to wear. Doubtless he would have ben astonished to find copies being marketed as "Luftwaffe" or "Eric Hartmann" jackets in the 21st century..

Top film by the way, along with Carne's "Le Quai des Brumes" essential watching for anyone interested in the European roots of film noir.

Re Mr Johnson's ref to 1 Sqdn in France: I once saw some early war film of RAF pilots scrambling, in which one of them was clearly wearing a short leather jacket with leather waistband, though you can't see any frontal detail. Almost certainly a British or French civilian utility jacket. Can't remember where, but might have been in the First of the Few

 

[BellyTank]

Nice movie stills, NATC.

I always thought that ELC (Hartmann jacket)made/make the waist pockets slightly too low and the pocket flaps a fraction too shallow.
Functionality must surely be affected as much as proportion is.

I still think so, after seeing a few of these jackets and now, one more.


B
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[BellyTank]

But upon reflection, not on all examples, it seems. :eusa_doh:


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[Marcus]

Glad I found this thread. I too am looking for a LW jacket for my pilot's impression. The going has been tough since the Eastman and Aero jackets are way out of my price range. Good info on the major contenders though.

My wife and I ended up making Channel Pants, so we may end up just making the channel jacket which will be snap compared to the pants. Still...nothing beats the look of a nice leather jacket.

I finally did find a jacket that I really like. I found it at Cyrus Lee's Soldat FHQ. He had it in his collection and didn't know the maker. Probably need to take some interior shots, but here it is as part of my LW pilot impression. Need to take more photos as the impression has become more complete:

Any ideas on the maker? The square patch was some kind of repair job.

 

[Hawk_Eye]

I believe thats a jacket made by Soldier of Fortune.

 

[Marcus]

Not sure. Did they ever make a Brown version? You can't see it in the photo but mine has zippered sleeves and the SoF version looks like the buttoned type.

 

[BellyTank]

Marcus, where did you get the Kanalhose?


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[H.Johnson]

I had an early version of the jacket sold by SoF (they don't make them) and it's very similar but not quite the same. They are currently 175GBP and are of moderate quality, in my opinion. They only do it in black.

I believe thats a jacket made by Soldier of Fortune.

 

[Marcus]

Marcus, where did you get the Kanalhose?

My wife and I actually made them. It was a PAIN!! No pattern, just photos and a couple of measurements. Color didn't turn out the way I wanted, but it has all the features of the real thing. Currently want to make a summer weight version, because it's just to hot for these (fully lined) in SoCal.

I had an early version of the jacket sold by SoF (they don't make them) and it's very similar but not quite the same. They are currently 175GBP and are of moderate quality, in my opinion. They only do it in black.

I would say this is not the SoF brand. This jacket is built like a tank. Nice thick leather, fully lined and made very well. Just have no clue who made it.

 

[murena]

I finally did find a jacket that I really like. I found it at Cyrus Lee's Soldat FHQ. He had it in his collection and didn't know the maker. Probably need to take some interior shots, but here it is as part of my LW pilot impression. Need to take more photos as the impression has become more complete:

Any ideas on the maker? The square patch was some kind of repair job.

hi markus,

your picture is nice, i like it!
...i can remember that i saw this jacket on ebay, it was from a chinese maker. not the same quality like the "german repros", but that´s my mind. (i do not like this kind of repros because you see this heavily-built zippers, like YKK makers from faraway)
your kanalhose looks very well, but the blue is a tad too pale (is like the colour from a work clothing) it should be a bit more dark.
please can you show some detail pictures from the jacket?

hey charlie, congratulation to your very nice original hartmann jacket from the 30's!!! :eusa_clap
can i ask you how much did you pay for it? where is it from, do you know that?

murena

 

[Marcus]

I will try to get some more photos of the jacket soon. As for the pants, yes...the color is off. I've thought about dyeing them, but not sure how the faux shearling lining and leather straps would look.

 

[HungaryTom]

http://www.vatera.hu/item/view/index.php?cod=151064531&adult=1
this is advertised as a genuine Luftwaffe Jacket - who knows?
It is vintage for sure.
350.000 HUF equals some 1800 USD.
As all WW2 pilot jackets this also screams that it is XXXXXXXXSSSSSmall!!!!
Opinions?
Text says>PERFECT CONDITION, NO DAMAGES, 100% ORIGINAL JACKET, 2 HANGERS FOR MEDALS, WITH BEAUTIFUL SHOULDER PADS, SILK LINED SLEEVES. THERE IS A LATCH UNDER THE COLLAR THAT CAN BE BUTTONED. THE ALU EAGLE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE. GUARANTEED. NO EXCHANGING.

 

[BellyTank]

It could be a "genuine" pilot's jacket from WW2- the problem is, this jacket is a civilian model, not a military issue item- so if it has had military use is difficult to determine. Even more difficult to prove, would be whom it belonged to...


Nice jacket- the correct style- it's one of the classic "pre-war", civilian styles, favoured by LW pilots and seen in the early war years, over England and Africa.

Thanks, Tom.


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[Gorik]

Kanal jacke

Last weekend I went to the Wings & Wheels show at the airfield of Ursel in Belgium.
There I saw a replica of a German Kanal Jacke, it was from Noble-House from Germany.
I didn't look bad at all I think. They are the only reproducers of the famous jacket worldwide he said. Here you can see the jacket.
http://www.noble-house.eu/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/67/language/de

 

[Marcus]

*Drools*

Given the climate out here, I'd never wear it though. VERY nice looking.

 

[garzo]

US Wings Fighter Jacket - Jawohl!

Here's a very cool new version of the classic fighter jacket from U.S. Wings:

https://www.uswings.com/fighterjac.asp

 

[m000m000]

It seems that Eastman has updated their Hartmann design - Anyone with experience on it?

They say it has an even trimmer cut, but it'd be nice to know where they've snipped it in compared to the old design. They've also switched the leather from steerhide to nappa(goat? lamb?) - and topped it off with a 50£ price hike .

 

[GreyHaas]

Check out this website. I don't think they have the leather jackets, but they have great quality repro uniforms and other jackets.

 

[m000m000]

Thanks for the link, but I wasn't really looking into getting one - I already have an "old" version Hartmann, and was merely curious whether there was anyone who'd handled both versions and could outline the differences between them.

 

[Stearmen]

Cycle

Every one seems to refer to these jackets as Cycle Jackets, either bicycle or motorcycle. I notice that most of them do not have a wind flap behind the zipper! As a motorcycle rider I know this is vital to warmth, that is why the Brando style and Indian Ranger are still so popular today. Were these more bicycle slow speed jacket made in France?