Wear and Tear; Lets see your most Battle worn Bomber Jackets Fellas! :D

[scotrace]

..excuse me, One last thing now, how may I put a Capitol D on my profile name, I dont see an option for that in my personal Setting, perhaps one of you could be so kind as to Direct me how, or Take the liberty if they could if possible

Done.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Ahhh, Thanks Awfully!

and pleasure to make your Aquaintance!

:yo:

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Also wanted to Say Ive noticed a common Incedence with fragile jackets, I noticed a Newbie Trend with a vintage sheepskin, is people think they are a little more Sturdy and Unsuspecfully wear them a little hard when in fact they are probly ready for a Dummy (and I dont mean the wearer)..the result is what I refer to as a;

*fat guy In a little coat*

*RRRRIIIPPPPP*

and *GASP IN HORROR*

whoooooOOOOPpsssiiieeeee!!!

at what they have done, and the panic Lumps in the back of their Throat, and the loathing of self induced Guilt comes over them and they immediately pass the jacket on, for not knowing what else to do to rectify the Loss, well, I picked up a few like that, ones that were BRAND new NEVER worn, say like a private purchased B-3 Where a guy was stationed in the pacific and didnt Need it, just a well off guy or a higher paid-higher ranked Lt. who has bought himself a B-3 just for status of ownership and never wore it. Then it sits around for 60 years getting dry, and THEN someone puts it on thinking its still Solid and ply and is a little too big for the jacket... Big mistake...allow me to mend your Gussets, I make invisible patches and seamless stitches, I will have to post what Im talking about of course, give me time.

just wondering if you boys ever got that too..

 

[rocketeer]

Most of my disasters were ok at first but after a little wear I notice the 'White' showing through the 'dark' as I flexed my arms so they had to go. I knew if the arm ripped then my £300 original jacket then it would take a big hit so, call me selfish if you wish, I just sold them to let it be someone else's problem. I only sold these jackets directly to the buyer, that is to say a face to face transaction, so the buyer had time to inspect it. Had 3 like this and luckily did not loose a penny.
One dealer had the same thing but his were hanging up. I was in the market for an ANJ4, he showed me the two he had and one had an large tear at the top of the shoulder, someone had tried it on, ripped the sleeve and put it back saying nothing. Now that is not very nice.
The only advice I could really give is if a jacket feels damp or sticky it is probably fragile, and if the leather is too dry or damp, then no amount of conditioner will bring it back to life.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Two words;

DRY ROT.

my mortal Foe.

The Jacket in my Avatar unfortunately has a few bad spots on it.

If I could find a place that did a faithful Re-production of the Coastal command I would be sleeping with it. :drum:

 

[aswatland]

Two words;

DRY ROT.

my mortal Foe.

The Jacket in my Avatar unfortunately has a few bad spots on it.

If I could find a place that did a faithful Re-production of the Coastal command I would be sleeping with it. :drum:

You said money is tight for you so a reproduction CC Irvin would cost you far more than a wearable original. Aero has made CC jackets in the past. Here's a link to a well-preserved original. http://irvinsalesandrepairs.co/shop/coastal-command-jacket-with-history/

You can get them cheaper on Ebay.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Im afraid I would not be able to afford it for even half that.

Ive only had time and money to buy 3 in the last Decade. Im only 28 years old, I have been buying jackets since I was about 11 years old, but have been obsessed with Planes since much younger.
(mom thinks I am Re-incarnated from a Flyer.)

I dont have much prospect monetarily speaking either.

haha, Im seriously going to add that anyone casually wearing original Jackets like that on a Daily basis should hit themselves for me.

I dont know about you, but Wearing something like that is ok once in a blue moon, I would like one that I can Beat the living crap out of.

theres no way I could sleep at night wearing out a Jacket like that, I know a guy who had one and he was punishing the poor thing and asking WAY too much for it in the shape it was in, it was CRIMINAL he was selling it for 1500 CAD, and the actual VETERAN GAVE IT TO HIM!!! Shame on him. He didnt believe me I had one, he said BullS*t Right to my face, when I said HEY I got one of these too!

saying;

no you dont.

-Yes I do

NO...you dont...

I mean some people in this business are MUTANTS!

I brought in that pic in my Avatar and showed the ba***rd.

anyway I guess I better Define that To wear a jacket is to LIVE inside of it.

I mean I put my Repros through the Ringer, I want a jacket I could do that to. Im better off Taking a New IRVIN and Just making my own Custom Hood on it prettymuch, The type of Jacket I would be Using everyday, and I dont mean on my way to the office, I mean to get down and Dirty with.

No way an Original could survive those type of Rigors, and I just couldnt live with myself for ruining a peice of history.

The most important thing is preserving an original to me.

This was me and my First Model Airplane!

 

[aswatland]

Well I better hit myself over and over again! I wear original Irvins and A2s on a fairly regular basis without any issues. My daily wears are repro A2s, but provided one is careful originals can still be worn. The trick is to have a robust jacket in the first place.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Felt I should add that I know of that Webpage and I believe that CC Jacket has been there for quite some time, at that price I can See why.

Also add the Shipping for me too.

I just dont go there.

Im not a glutton for that kind of punishment.

also you dont look like you Get into barfights and tangle with local Rednecks in your Prized Jackets.

I tend to get beat up like my Jackets do. You gotta understand why I wouldnt Risk it.

I think youre probly more of a Casual Wearer, Im the kind of guy who works under bikes and gets into some pretty grubby places.

My jackets Get abused and so Do I.

 

[aswatland]

This CC jacket is over priced and is unlikely to sell. However Simon, the owner of the site may be open to offers. As to buying jackets, I certainly did not have any spare cash when I was 28 to buy jackets, so you have done better than me at the same age.

 

[rocketeer]

I can sympathise with both of you. I paid £185 for my Lucky 7 Seven A2 back in the early 80s, that was more than a weeks wages back then but I had to have an original. And yes I wore it most days when not at work, old military leather jackets were a bit unusual at the Rockabilly and Hep Cat clubs at that time. Like Andrew says start with a good wearable jacket to start with helps, I just give it a once over every year with my favourite leather dressing and the jacket is still in pretty good condition.
I never got into any fights wearing it ,though I did ride my motorcycle in it, someone at the time commented what if I had come off the bike, I would have ruined the jacket, I just replied that If I was not wearing the jacket and had come off it would have ruined my skin.
Dave! Love the pic with your model, me and my dad also put together a model plane when I was about 7 years old, it was a B17 too.
J

 

[GriffDeLaGriff]

This was actually in the war, worn on my grandfather - a navigator on a bomber.

As for amazing stories: once they supposedly flew lost because of the clouds, and when it finally cleared up they saw a significante fleet that they didnt know about, so they turned around and told about what they had seen and it gave us some sorta "heads-up" that was of importance.

 

[mihai]

My Luftwaffe jacket



I think that fit, appearance when dressed with it surpass even a vintage CHP jacket, repro A2, Schott "Brando". Just a personal opinion.
I like to purchase vintage clothing but only if they are in a pretty good condition - such as not to have rips, holes, excessive fading. Vintage militaria clothing is very captivating and having a more extensive collection(containing also unwearable items) would be nice. However because of limited means I prefer to stick to very few items that can also be practically used. The "item saw some action" factor would be great also but it comes often for a price I can not afford. Besides nice wearable vintage militaria I stick to quality repros as Aero, LW, Eastman... that are just fine providing great value for the money. They can be used prob for next 30-40 yrs.

I think that WW2 vintage military leather jackets reached some really astonishing prices. There are other interesting military items from that period at more decent prices.

 

[rocketeer]

WoW Is that an original Luftwaffe jacket? it is very similar to Eastman's though there are definite differences.
I see the swastika has been removed from the wing badge as I imagine you cannot really wear German WWII military insignia anywhere except at re enactments and shows etc.
Nice jacket, John

 

[mihai]

WoW Is that an original Luftwaffe jacket? it is very similar to Eastman's though there are definite differences.
I see the swastika has been removed from the wing badge as I imagine you cannot really wear German WWII military insignia anywhere except at re enactments and shows etc.
Nice jacket, John

hi rocketeer,

Yes, it is an original. This is my favorite jacket, by far. With all the respect I due to Eastman I think that although the basic elements are present on their jacket, the overall fit is not very accurate. Browsing around FL/eBay I saw pics of people wearing Eastman repros and I must say the real thing has different, more refined fit. I will post pics wearing it soon.
From what I know you may wear German WWII military insignia but without Nazi symbols. Or at least have them censored.

 

[rocketeer]

I think the main problem with the standard Eastman Luftwaffe jacket(not the Hartman) is the shoulder area tends to make the jacket very baggy for the chest size. I also have an A2 from the early 1990s and it is the same, though I d believe Eastman have now corrected the 'Off the Shoulder' look of some of their jackets. I had one made as a bike jacket without the pleated back. It is an excellent jacket reminiscent of old British bike jackets of the 1960s despite the rather big shoulder area.
The wearing of Nazi insignia is a very delicate area. One reason I believe is that the UK and also the USA were not invaded and never had to put up with the enemy occupation. Despite so many experts out there, young and old, no one knows of the terrors and problems that go with said occupation during wartime other than those that experienced it.
The German re enactment groups in the UK tend to be one of the more interactive groups I personally have met. The members I met explained all about their equipment and how it was used to my 10 year old son(he is 24 now) who's questions were endless, especially about the machine guns and 'Funny cars that go on water' VW Schwimwagens, where as some other groups tended to like posing around in their gear ignoring us general public(War & Peace show). Not enough Luftwaffe stuff in my opinion
Come on! lets see you wearing that jacket! if you feel awkward posing catalogue style, grab a can of beer as a prop and adopt a relaxed posture
Seeya, J

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Heres one from Camden on my travels through london 2006 (not the best pic but all I had for now), Was a little pricey but I caught the store owner split the back pannel a bit while he was in a hurry to stuff it into a plastic bag before I saw what he was doing and I Went bananas! so he took it down from 250 pounds to 175, even in this condition I think thats the most Ive ever paid for a WW2 Bomber jacket, I WOULD LOVE to know the Year this was made, the patch inside is dated 41, but I THINK that could have been a falsification because someone wanted more money for it. pretty sure it wasnt the original Tag.

On the Fragile side, but I patched it up, the leather from under the collar is gone, just canvas now, someone had done a sub-par Job of patching it, I had to Re-patch all the old patches. I believe Eastman is doing a Run of these now, they were the Red dyed batch (forget their special name now to be honest, but I think it was for a special Squadron) they have a suede like finish, THIS one looks like It had been worn to some Hippie Freak-outs in the 60s and 70s, had been home to a mouse at one point Im sure.

nice and warm, I did a LOT to restore it, The Zip was a Re-tread American heavy guage Crown but the sleeve zips were D.O.T.

Lovely jacket really, Shame the leather needed a Serious Feed, I used Neats foot oil and That seems to work well enough, soaks in deep.

came back well enough as could be expected.

BTW those are Great photos Lads, keep em coming!

 

[Dumpster Diver]

By the Way, before I forget, when I get a Nice bomber jacket with a Zipper that is Corroded but cant get an Original matching one with the Cotton style tape, What I usually do If Sanding the Teeth is not enough and its beyond Resto, is Cut the Rusted Teeth off the old zip and Bust only ONE seam of the zipper tape, then TUCK the New zipper UNDER the old tape and Just Stitch it up, MUCH faster and easier than finding an original zip and completely changing the Aesthetic. Its my handy dandy little sneaky Trick. :bounce:

you cant even spot that job, I like the grungy Greayness of the original tape to match with the Jacket.

amazing to note the Leather always outlasts the metal parts isnt it!