I hear the holy grail of flight jackets thrown around a bit, but honestly this is a strong contender. And if not the holy grail, then definitely the Cadillac. When the Air Force became its own service branch in 1947 they wanted to distinguish themselves from their Army cousins, and chose to change to an all blue uniform. This included the new nylon flight jackets that had recently been introduced... A true classic was born with the beautiful L-2A.
Tried and tested in the air above the Yalu River as well as the bars in Seoul, the L-2A was not only comfortable in the cockpit, but stylish on the ground and well liked by pilots... Until they realised that blue wasn't the most inconspicuous colour for escaping when shot down in snowy Korean mountains, and the now classic sage green was introduced in 1955.
Condition
If you've never seen one of these in person, then an L-2A never disappoints, with a rich deep blue colour that really could never be properly captured by any repop. And this one completely lives up to that. The body is completely solid, with perfect working original zips, no holes, a beautiful colour, and a very faint US Air Force emblem beneath the label. The knits unfortunately have seen a few too many moths, however these are super easy to replace if you head over to Mash Surplus for the hardware and a tailor change them out easily. If this is a worry or concern, please contact me and I can help get this done for you (though this will be an additional cost).
Sizing:
- Tagged Size 38
- Pit to pit 60cm
- Shoulder to shoulder 48cm
- Shoulder to cuff 66cm
- Collar to hem 59cm