Luftwaffe jacket

[DiamondDave]

I'm sure that we have a few that are interested in this type of thing.

I have dealt with the seller before and he seems a straight up dude.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140414719470&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[havocpaul]

At least he hasn't added spurious shoulder boards and stitch marks from a 'removed eagle' patch! I wouldn't mind one like this, looks good.

 

[Peter Graham]

Beautiful jacket but what qualifies it as a Luftwaffe jacket ?

 

[DiamondDave]

Peter,

An EXCELLENT question good sir. It is one of the reasons that I don't collect this stuff... WAY too hard to provenance. Unlike Army Air Corps stuff that always had a nomenclature tag. This certainly "looks the business" but one can never
tell. The zips are correct and the leather is lovely!!

DD

 

[FtrPlt]

Gents,
This is a postwar motorcycle jacket.

Unfortunately, every person with an old European leather jacket seems to think they have an ex-Luftwaffe example. Equally amazing how many people shell out $$ for these.

Does anyone seriously believe you can buy a Luftwaffe-used leather jacket for E$260? Think of how much wartime A-2's are going for and they were made in the hundreds of thousands. A documented, wartime-used jacket from a Luftwaffe vet would likely start at $2000-3000 and escalate rapidly depending on the degree of provenance.

For reference, a repro of a white cloth channal jacket recently sold for $6000. Ignorance on the part of the buyer as the jacket was definitely a repro but shows you the price range for Luftwaffe flight jackets.

 

[Roughwear]

I agree. It's a great looking jacket, but a bike jacket and most likely post war, which is reflected in the selling price. Provenance is everything with these jackets.

 

[FtrPlt]

This is a very murky area best left to very, very experienced collectors with equally deep pockets.

IMO, original, wartime-used LW leather jackets are so scarce that the safest bet is to presume all of them to be postwar motorcycle jackets (of which 99% or more actually are) and bid accordingly.

If you "have to have" a Luftwaffe jacket, stick to the issue items -- cloth channel jacket (heavily faked); sheepskin versions (no fakes yet); or the late-war leather jackets with the velour collar. Dig deep as any of these will run $1000+

 

[John Lever]

I totally agree and would doubt that very few if any are sold through ebay.

 

[Roughwear]

The ones which are these are dressed up bike jackets which have been referred to already. Collecting Luftwaffe jackets is not really my thing, but I do like the look of many of the leather bike jackets from the 1940s.

 

[Willy McCoy]

For the most part and from what I've read here is that there was no official "Light Zone" or A-2 equivalent
Luftwaffe jacket. That they were civilian motorcycle jackets acquired by the pilots themselves. To say that a way to judge the authenticity of Luftwaffe jackets by their going price is a lot like judging the bus you need to catch by the sign on the back as the bus pulled away. That a reproduction cloth jacket went for $6.000 kinda' shoots down that theory anyways. I would have to say that the buyer of this jacket got more for his buck than the winner of the channel jacket did many times over.

 

[FtrPlt]

I'm in no way suggesting that selling price has any bearing on originality. In my opinion, neither the buyer of the $6K channel jacket nor the E$260 leather jacket at the start of this thread got anything of Luftwaffe collecting value for their money. Both paid for something claiming to be something it was not and both ended up with reproductions -- the channel jacket an outright copy and the leather one a 1960s jacket pretending to be from the 1940s. Both may be nice jackets but neither are WW2 Luftwaffe items.

The Luftwaffe actually had a substantial range of issue flight jackets with the majority being cloth. "Channel Jacket" is a ubiquitous term and covers the lightweight white, blue and tan jackets; the insulated blue or green cloth jacket; the blue, brown, or white sheepskin jackets; and the leather jet jacket with velour collar. All known as "Kanaljacke".

The point I was trying to make is that true leather Luftwaffe jackets (of the cyclist style) are extremely rare. I think John alluded to the fact they rarely come to market and when they do, eBay is hardly the venue of choice. These jackets are in extremely high demand and word-of-mouth networks see these snapped up long before they make it to dealer sites or eBay.

The other point I wanted to make is knowing jacket styles. The eBay jacket simply isn't credible as a 1940s jacket as its styling screams late 1950s/early 1960s. Too many people have taken their LW leather jacket cues from the 1969 movie, "Battle of Britain".

 

[asiamiles]

The other point I wanted to make is knowing jacket styles. The eBay jacket simply isn't credible as a 1940s jacket as its styling screams late 1950s/early 1960s. Too many people have taken their LW leather jacket cues from the 1969 movie, "Battle of Britain".

I'm not sure I agree with you there. The BoB film jackets were made by Lewis Leathers and have a look quite distinct from the vintage jackets often advertised as "Luftwaffe" jackets by eBay sellers.

 

[FtrPlt]

I'm not sure I agree with you there. The BoB film jackets were made by Lewis Leathers and have a look quite distinct from the vintage jackets often advertised as "Luftwaffe" jackets by eBay sellers.

I'll grant you a distinct look for the film jackets but the look is decidedly 1960s. I believe the film jackets are Lewis Leathers Corsair jackets -- a design out well before the film and a typical biker jacket for the period (1960s).

 

[TankBuster]

This is a very murky area best left to very, very experienced collectors with equally deep pockets.

IMO, original, wartime-used LW leather jackets are so scarce that the safest bet is to presume all of them to be postwar motorcycle jackets (of which 99% or more actually are) and bid accordingly.

If you "have to have" a Luftwaffe jacket, stick to the issue items -- cloth channel jacket (heavily faked); sheepskin versions (no fakes yet); or the late-war leather jackets with the velour collar. Dig deep as any of these will run $1000+

Well said, and I agree on all counts. Stick to the issued jackets. Study and learn all you can before buying. It also helps to buy from solid dealers but you still need to know your stuff. Legit cloth channel jackets have come up on Ebay, but they are far and few between. There are also legit sheepskin versions on Ebay every now and then. I was lucky enough to have a advanced collector help me when I bought the couple issued LW jackets I have.

As for the late war leather jackets, I would say 1k is light if you want a nice one.

 

[asiamiles]

I'll grant you a distinct look for the film jackets but the look is decidedly 1960s. I believe the film jackets are Lewis Leathers Corsair jackets -- a design out well before the film and a typical biker jacket for the period (1960s).

I'm not sure if the jackets Lewis provided for the film were actual Corsairs or slightly adapted. The difference between the Lewis and most of the jackets sold as Luftwaffe jacket is the former tend to have a slimmer profile. The Luftwaffe type jackets were certainly worn by British bikers in the early 60's but the style seems to belong more to the preceding decades, and perhaps originates from across the Channel.

 

[JDAM]

Greetings - I concur with all the above points. Here's a rather nice Luftwaffe jacket (of the cyclist style, naturally : )