Hi Dmitry
I have a few questions about sizing on these jackets.
First: Do the sizes run small or large in these jackets ?
Second : What Russian size jacket would be equivalent to a US size 46 or 48 in this jacket.
Lastly : I’ve been looking at these jackets for a while and here in the US there are a lot of repros so what markings should I look for on an original Russian Air Force issued jacket.
Thanks in advance for any information on this that you can provide .
Cheers
Hi Burt. Yes, they come in large sizes.
The Soviet/Russian size system works like this. Size in numbers it is half the circumference of the chest in centimeters.
My jacket is size 48. 48x2 = 96 cm or 96 / 2.54 it's about 38 inches. This means that even with fastened warm liner this jacket will suit to a pilot with a chest size of 38 inches (I have 39 chest and this jacket without liner fits OK, with liner it would be too tight for me).
US size 46 (if it's chest circumference) corresponds to 58 size of these jackets (46x2.54/2=58)
Also one important moment. These jackets, like all Soviet / Russian gear, also have several lengths (“heights”). For the USSR Air Force, they were typical from 1 to 5, but usually in the range from 2 to 4 due to cockpit height restrictions. My jacket is marked 48/3, which means 48 size and 3 height (up to 176 cm - although I have 181 cm = 5'11" it fits me perfectly).
I think you need 4 or 5 "height".
So if you want to use it without liner you may try 54/4 or 54/5 and with liner you maybe need 56/4 or 56/5.
But as usual, you need to ask from seller measurements of particular jacket to avoid surprises.
Hope this helps.