Original German WWII Luftwaffe Pilot's Brown Leather Shearling Flight Jacket & Trousers - Dated 1942
In stock
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Original Item: Only One Available. Development of protective flight uniforms and equipment began with the advent of military aircraft in WWI and continued on into the Weimar and the Third Reich eras, resulting in three distinct one-piece combination pattern flight suits being approved before WWII and worn for the duration of the war. There were also numerous variations of privately purchased leather flight jackets, often custom made to order.
This lovely leather pilot's shearling flight jacket & trousers are in very good condition, showing signs of moderate use during the war, although there is some damage. The jacket is a very high quality, German made private purchase, non-regulation, multi-panel chocolate brown leather construction flight jacket, with a lovely shearling lay down collar. It is the standard waist length, and the leather is in very good condition, showing no tearing, holes, or other major wear. We checked inside and out, and there are two small tags along the waist which are now entirely washed out and unreadable. The left cuff does show heavy damage and wear-down of the material, but otherwise the leather has held up pretty well. Both front pockets retain their snaps. The front zipper is in good shape with a spring to keep the zipper tab in the down position for easy access.
The trousers are gray leather with a great shearling interior, with a retained tag reading:
LI2(?)
24. VII. 1942 A
This likely denotes July 24th, 1942. The snaps and zippers appear all retained with the small cloth straps at the pant holes retained as well. The primary zipper on the trousers is marked “RITSCH”.
A fantastic shearling set for a Luftwaffe pilot, ready for further research and display.
Approximate Measurements:-Collar to shoulder: 11"Shoulder to sleeve: 26”Shoulder to shoulder: 18"Chest width: 22”Waist: 21.5"Front length: 27"
Pants:-waist: 21"Inseam 29"
Regulations of July 4TH 1940 and April 24TH 1941 introduced two piece protective flight suits for fighter pilots designed to increase the wearer's mobility and not be as restrictive in the close confines of a cockpit. The two piece flight suits consist of separate jacket and pants and was commonly referred to as the "Kanalanzug", (Channel Uniform).
Officers and certain senior NCO’s were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms and were allotted a clothing allowance. Generally speaking officers bought nice quality, private purchase, uniform items but they could also choose to buy their uniforms directly from the military clothing depots. Besides the standard issue flight garments Luftwaffe personnel also utilized a wide variety of private purchase leather jackets in contradiction of regulations. These private purchase jackets appear to have been quite popular as they can be commonly seen in period photographs.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
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