Can anyone help me ID the jacket my grandpa is wearing on the far right?

[Kimchi99123]

He was a detective in Korea and said they always wore leather jackets. Apparently it had grey fur on the inside. Someone said it was an A-2 but wouldn't it have the big pockets on the front?

 

[mulceber]

What year was that photo taken? It's definitely not an A-2, due to the pocket issue, but assuming that's sometime in the '50s, it's likely a civilian "bomber jacket" (a genre of jacket styles developed in the wake of WW2 that borrowed a bunch of different features from different flight jackets that manufacturers had made for the military during the war). From your description, I'd say the manufacturer in question took the design of an A-2 jacket, replaced the patch pockets with slash pockets like a B-15, and added in the alpaca pile lining ("grey fur") from the B-10/B-15/B-15A. If you're interested in getting a reproduction, there are people out there who could do it.

A-2 jacket:

B-15 jacket:

 

[Kimchi99123]

What year was that photo taken? It's definitely not an A-2, due to the pocket issue, but assuming that's sometime in the '50s, it's likely a civilian "bomber jacket" (a genre of jacket styles developed in the wake of WW2 that borrowed a bunch of different features from different flight jackets that manufacturers had made for the military during the war). From your description, I'd say the manufacturer in question took the design of an A-2 jacket, replaced the patch pockets with slash pockets like a B-15, and added in the alpaca pile lining ("grey fur") from the B-10/B-15/B-15A. If you're interested in getting a reproduction, there are people out there who could do it.

I appreciate the reply! I think it was taken sometime in the 60s. Here's some more photos of him in it. As far as getting a reproduction made, any references?

 

[mulceber]

60s would be a reasonable time period for the bomber style as well. Good photos of him - was he in the military? If so, it might actually be a jacket that was issued to him.

The cheapest option would be to go with Five Star. Shawn could probably offer you one for a good price, provided you're okay with faux fur instead of the pile lining. If you have a big budget for this, you might be able to interest John Chapman of Good Wear leather. No idea if he'd be interested in recreating a totally new jacket based on a vintage photo, but he's been known to do it in the past. If he took this project on, you'd get a masterpiece of a jacket.

 

[Kimchi99123]

60s would be a reasonable time period for the bomber style as well. Good photos of him - was he in the military? If so, it might actually be a jacket that was issued to him.

The cheapest option would be to go with Five Star. Shawn could probably offer you one for a good price, provided you're okay with faux fur instead of the pile lining. If you have a big budget for this, you might be able to interest John Chapman of Good Wear leather. No idea if he'd be interested in recreating a totally new jacket based on a vintage photo, but he's been known to do it in the past. If he took this project on, you'd get a masterpiece of a jacket.

He was part of the Navy's UDT. All Korean men serve mandatory 2 years. After his service he went on to work in law enforcement...came to the states in 1976! He probably was issued it somewhere along the way.

And thank you for the info! I'll check them out.

 

[B-Man2]

Doesn’t look like it would be difficult to reproduce this jacket . It basically looks like a 5 * Sky King without the Mouton collar .

 

[bfd70]

Aero happy days

 

[mulceber]

Ooh yeah, good thought. You could get it with their shearling lining and that would be pretty darn close. £675 for the Happy Days, £110 for the shearling lining, and you're done!

 

[Southoftheborder]

Aviation Leathercraft do some nice flight type jackets which are issued to civilian and military flight crews. This one is sold in black like your grandfather's jacket. Their modern Irvin might be an awful design but their flight jackets are well made and good value in today's market.

Unlike some companies they don't charge VAT on exports either.

https://www.flying-jacket.com/jackets/leather-flying-jackets/squadron-jacket-type-79012/