Modern German Flieger Jacke

[Wholenineyards]

No worries, Erwin, there are so many options and tastes out there. We should wish for everybody on this forum to find their one holy grail jacket... or multiple ones! And pray for cool weather to actually wear them! Nothing is as depressing as a stowed away flight jacket!

 

[Erwin]

Indeed, but I'm not sure what is better.... chasing or finding THE jacket I'd vote for chasing it..... with a positive outcome. Hopefully You or any other spectator haven't found my opinion harsh, or too direct. About the weather.... C'mon, fingers crossed for a t-shirt weather a bit longer!

 

[Pilot]

Beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder. Granted. Keep in mind, though, that those kind of jackets were and are worn by people who have passed the grade, getting in aircraft to conduct assigned missions in all types of weather, times of day and night and opposition forces with the risk of ending up in a place of the Hanoi Hilton charme. A lot of Navy/ Marine pilots don't even care for their low quality ugly leather and faux fur collar, except: They signed the ledger of the quartermaster when they were given the RIGHT to draw an issued jacked from supply. They had made the grade. The same is true for the German air crew I know. No matter the subjective ugliness of a garment one has the RIGHT to receive it. In my youth it was listed in the Bekleidungsnachweis C (Sonderbekleidung), parallel to the Mk 10 immersion suit, the famous Frankenstein suit of very dubios beauty. The gray leather jacket was too hot in the high summer, too cold in the winter, but everybody wanted it because when the ill mooded supply civilian in the warehouse of Sonderbekleidung gave you yours you knew you were at least in the doorframe of the club. To stay alive on the job and advance in seniority in the club is another matter altogether. By the way, way back when, quite a number of US CWU-36/P owners wanted to trade their plastic into German leather. In the end the German procurement got rid of the gray leather and told everybody to hand in their garment to be sold in bulk to military and pawn shops. Almost immediately all of the Luftwaffe started a riot because they wanted to keep their well worn and beloved knightly armour. So, bowing to the pressure of all of the flying folk across the Bundeswehr, they folded. Everybody who had a gray leather flight jacket listet on his or her Bekleidungsnachweis C was given the chance to buy one's own jacket for 50 Euro. So, ugly or not, that's part of the history of the German air crew leather flight jacket. Airbus Germany now supplies an enormous amount of ex military gray to their employees. It's part of their identity and uniform. Attached is the picture of Grazia Vittadini, ex Airbus Chief Technology Officer. Leading in gray.View attachment 157587
Cheers, W

Mine from Airbus..
..And the Pelagos…