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.
Condition
This one is a little salty, the cotton is in good shape, but the rubberised layer has stiffened a little. I've softened it up a a fair but and there is a little dust from the rubber coming off it. As ever with an 80 year old garment made from rubber, this is delicate! There is some staining througout and I've made some very light touch repairs to some of the seam tapes around the collar.
Size
- One size fits all, and thats a bit big