One of those tricky things about getting lost at sea is ensuring that you have the best chance of being found, and with all those pesky U-Boats about the British found themselves being lost at seas more frequently than normal. To best aid their rescue efforts they developed a number of garments to help airmen and sailors to be spotted from rescue aircraft and boats. This garment was developed by The Dunlop Rubber Company in 1944 and is certainly one of the more idiosyncratic pieces I've come across. A loose fitting rubberised over-jacket and over-trousers set, that both fold up and are stowed into what becomes the hood of the jacket. So many cool features, Lightning zippers, War Department acceptance stamps, manufacturers stamps etc. The jackets are rare, but the full set including the trousers are, well, this is the first I've ever seen. A great piece for serious collectors and archives.
Condition
This has likely never been taken out of it's bag until I pulled it out very carefully to photograph it. However, this is still an 80 year old rubberised garment, and that deserves care and attention. This piece is solid and no damage, but there are a few storage marks etc, however given the rubberised layer, I cannot recommend this as a piece for wearing (particularly the trousers).
Size
- One size fits all, and thats a bit big