Characteristics
The MA-1 was designed by the Air Force to serve as an intermediate weight flight jacket for use all year. This was accomplished by manufacturing the MA-1 from very high quality nylon fabrics and polyester interlinings. The light weight nylon design allowed the pilot in warm weather to wear the jacket open and be comfortable; upon entering the aircraft, the pilot could zip the MA-1 closed and be afforded ample protection against the cold conditions encountered in flight.
The MA-1 has undergone various design modifications during its long history of use, but its classic, highly functional design has remained basically the same. The original design was contained in U.S. government military specification "MIL-J-8279." Changes to the MA-1 jacket were periodically made by the Air Force. These occurred because of the introduction of new textiles, new sewing techniques or new aircraft cockpit design which required a change in the jacket design. The military specification was amended to reflect the changes, which was signaled by adding a letter to the Mil. Spec. For example, MA-1 specifications progressed from the original number Mil-J-8279, to J-8279A, J-8279B, J-8279C, etc. The most important revision, Mil-J-8279F, was issued in Nov 1978. However, the ultimate revision before MA-1 phased out from US Military is "Mil-J-8279G" and "Mil-J-8279G AMENDMENT-1" which introduced in Mar 1988 and Oct 1990 respectively. These two final revision are designated for ground crew only since US Military had adopted fire-resistant CWU-36/P and CWU-45/P for aircrew.
The MA-1 was initially produced in two colors: sage green and midnight blue. Blue was the original color used by the military, but it was soon replaced by green. During the Korean War, (1950–1953) mixing flight clothing from multiple time periods and colors was not unusual. Presumably, the green was eventually adopted because it blended more easily with the environment should the pilot need camouflage protection on the ground. During Vietnam War, there were variant commerical copies of MA-1 in camouflage pattern which purchased by US servicemen. Today, MA-1 style flight jacket is no longer with US military but still popular among many US-allied armed forces as uniform jacket. e.g. Israel, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan (ROC) and Thailand.
By the pop culture from US as well as Japan, MA-1 jacket becomes legendary icon in fashion industry. Many American clothing manufacturers, who used to be military contractors, make great business to market MA-1 jacket worldwide. Fashion MA-1's are commerically available in a variety of colors, including the traditional ones and black, red, blue, silver, grey, yellow.
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