Navy Flight Jacket?

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Posts about A2 jackets, reminded me of jacket my wife bought
for me last year. She was at a Flea Market down in Va. Guy was
selling "flight jackets" she knew I wanted one so she bought it
with out calling me. It may be some kind of flight jacket,but
on label it says, Jacket, Extreme Cold Weather, Impermable. I
think it may be bullet proof, it's made of hard nylon shell, insulated. It is Navy issue alright, but it ain't close to A2. But for
$40 bucks it's a deal, govt probably paid $500 @ for them. Just the thing a guy needs for flying over the pole in open bi- plane.
Any of you Squibs know what it was for?
 
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My brother has an earlier example that was issued to him as a deck jacket on a North Atlantic cruise. I take it she didn't get the matching pants?
 
Can't help you with that one. I still have my issued flight jacket from 1971, brown leather. I think the Navy got a bad deal, I question the quality as it has shrunk hanging in the closet for 40 years.
 
You can get the NOMEX CWU-45 & -36 flight jackets off eBay for a song. I've bought 6 or 7 used in good condition for under $20 each. Gave a bunch away to old vets. 100% GI issue. Be patient for the good deals.

You can also find the Army's Combat Vehicle Crewman's Jacket (CVC), which is about the same thing. Flame resistant NOMEX also. These were issued in the '80's and '90's. I think the Army has moved on to something else.

There's better materials than Nylon for a good flight jacket.
 
The USN leather flight jacket is the G-1. Among other things, a G-1 will have a fur lined collar and it'll also have "USN" hole punched along the leather wind flap that lays behind the zipper.

The USAF has the A2 leather jacket. It does not have a fur collar, has epaulets and the cut and pocket arrangements are slightly different. Both of these were classic WWII flight jackets and were issued until 1978 when congress discontinued them. However, both services started issuing them again in the 1990's and they are still in use today.

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After WWII, the USAF and USN started issuing the blue B-15 jacket. This had a wool collar and was initially made from cotton, but later B-15s are nylon with polyester lining.

This evolved into the nylon, polyester lined MA-1 jacket around 1949, and it had a very minimal (but very practical and comfortable knit collar). The original jackets were blue, but during the Korean war they switched to sage green, and most of them had blaze orange liners that were intended to allow the jacket to be reversed by downed aircrew for greater visibility.

The MA-1 jacket went through several changes early on (removing the tabs to clip off an unused O2 mask, deleting the guides for the helmet wires of the era, deleting the USAF decal when it started being issued to all services) and it stayed in use well into the 1990's. It was replaced for aircrew use first by the nomex CWU-17/P in 1973 and then the nomex CWU-36/P and CWU-45/P in 1977. The major reason for the change was the tendency for nylon to melt when exposed to flame (and remember this was the same time period when congress ordered the leather A-2s and G-1's discontinued).

Both services are still issued the CWU-45/P cold weather flying jacket. It's a nomex jacket with a quilted cold weather liner. They also still issue the CWU-36/P intermediate weather flying jacket, which is also a nomex jacket but without the quilted cold weather lining. These jackets have also gone through several revisions (currently on the "E" version) and can be dated by the A through E suffix after the specification number. With the exception of the lining, the 36/Pand 45/P are essentially identical.

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I like the looks of my USN G-1 jacket, but I have to say that the most comfortable flight jacket I own is my MA-1. The G-1 is stylish, but heavy. The nomex CWU-36/P and CWU-45/P are lighter than the G-1 but heavier than the MA-1 as the nomex material is a little heavier and stiffer, but the material also doesn't breathe all that well so you can quickly start feeling very sweaty even in the unlined CWU-36/P jacket, even when it is unzipped.

In contrast, the MA-1 is lightweight and very comfortable, and when unzipped still keeps you from getting overly hot or sweaty even with the insulation between the outer and the lining.
 
Drm50: that's Squid, thank you very much. Otherwise, what BB57 said. I still have my Uncle's G1. He was in WWII and Korea. When I was in the Navy, 65-69, I was not in aviation, and had different jackets depending on where I was. As an earlier poster commented, the goatskin or whatever it is shrinks. I used to wear my uncle's jacket all the time, and although it is still in fairly good condition, it has shrunk, and is now too tight.
 
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