Flight Jacket - Flight Jackets in The United States

Flight Jackets in The United States

The two most historical and well-known American flight jackets are the A-2 jacket and the G-1. Although General “Hap” Arnold cancelled the original A-2 after twelve years because he wanted “something better”, the A-2 remains the most recognizable and sought-after American flight jacket. The G-1, designed by the U.S. Navy to parallel the Air Corps’ A-2, lasted until 1978, when U.S. Congress cancelled it due to its tremendous popular appeal, which was overwhelming the Navy’s supply system. Their popularity evolved into symbols of honor, adventure, and style. Hollywood films like Top Gun boosted sales of the G-1 tremendously, making bomber jackets collector and fashion items.

In addition to the A-2 and G-1 jackets, shearling jackets, originally lined with fur, are recognized for being the warmest flight jackets. Even when the fur was replaced with wool, this coat was warm enough to keep Lt. John A. Macready warm when he set a world record in April 1921, reaching an altitude of 40,000 feet in his open-cockpit airplane. Styles range from the B-3, the “bomber jacket”, to the M-445, the U.S. Navy’s shearling jacket. Also popular in the military were, and still are, synthetic jackets. These jackets first gained esteem after General Hap Arnold rejected the A-2 jacket in 1942. Styles range from the cotton twill B-series to the standardized jacket of the U.S. Navy, the CWU-series. Both synthetic and shearling jackets are worn and collected by army buffs today, but neither has the historical status of the A-2 jacket or the G-1.

Today, flight jackets are usually associated with the MA-1, a now-obsolete U.S. military jacket, which is mostly found in sage green. It is made with flight silk nylon and usually has an blaze orange lining, with the specification tag in the pocket, though earlier models had a sage-green lining and the specification tag on the neck area. It has two slanted flap pockets on the front, two inner pockets, and a zipped pocket with pen holders on the left sleeve. The lighter weight version of the MA-1 is known as the L-2B flight jacket, which in turn, replaced both the original L2 and L2A jackets, which all three differentiate from the MA-1 as they have snap-down epaulets and no inside pockets. The military flight jackets currently used today are the CWU-45P (for colder weather) and the CWU-36P (for warmer weather); both are made from Nomex.