White aircrew polo neck sweaters

[B-Man2]

Certainly looks the goods B-Man 2 but woo-wee that's a fair whack of coin!

Right you are Smithy!
Fortunately for me it was a gift from a relative.

 

[Smithy]

Right you are Smithy!
Fortunately for me it was a gift from a relative.

Well played! Get some other poor mug to pay for it

 

[stanier]

Very nice sweaters on the North Sea site. I’d like one of the Engineer type in Navy and Ercu but they’ve been out of stock for many months in my size

 

[Dubpynchon]

They have submariners in black now, not authentic but I like the look of them.

 

[B-Man2]

I like the length of them.
They are very warm.

 

[Smithy]

Thought I'd put in a short review for the Outdoor Knitwear RN Submariner jumper as I was rugged up in mine today and it was really the first properly foul weather I've worn it in. I teamed it up with a very heavy Aero Barnstormer and today's snow and sleet were no drama, the Barnstormer kept the snow and sleet off and the submariner kept me very nice and toasty. Very highly recommended and the pattern is very, very similar to wartime examples. A very high quality submariner jumper, accurate and and for a very good price. Can't go wrong!

 

[Smithy]

As we're on the subject of RN submariner jumpers I just thought I'd post these here, some photos of one of my childhood heroes (and in truth he still is today), Cobber Kain wearing his. I grew up hearing about Cobber, my father was RNZAF just after the war and Cobber and his exploits were still legendary and talked about even then. As an aside I was very lucky and honoured to be in correspondence with his sister Judy for some time, who shared much about who Cobber was. I'll always cherish Judy's emails and thoughts about her big brother. Anyway here's some photos of the best RAF fellow who wore a submariner jumper...

 

[B-Man2]

Great photos ... Guys like these were colorful , hard charging , heros of the greatest generation who were one of a kind. They were in the right place at the right time.

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Knitted in Scotland and just restocked in time for Christmas http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/products.php?cat=aerocloth&sub=aknit

 

[Silver Surfer]

those sweaters [jumpers] look pretty damn nice. i especially like the raglan type shoulders that eliminate that personal bugaboo of mine, namely over lapping shoulder seams.

 

[B-Man2]

These sweaters look great!
Just wondering why no one reproduces them with the original style "Frock" neck rather than the "Turtleneck".
Wouldn't that make them just a tad more authentic. ( Not complaining , these look very nice, just asking)

 

[Smithy]

These sweaters look great!
Just wondering why no one reproduces them with the original style "Frock" neck rather than the "Turtleneck".
Wouldn't that make them just a tad more authentic. ( Not complaining , these look very nice, just asking)

BM2, the reason probably why no one makes the Frock is that it's really not that wearable by anyone other than reenactors. The real deal is actually exceedingly long, it'll cover your bum and then some, fairly shapeless and the collar tends to be fairly loose and floppy. Not nearly as good looking as the submariner which is just as easy to wear for everyday life as it is reenacting. RAF airmen wore the frock, submariner, RAF comfort committee jumpers as well as all sorts of other jumpers that had been home knitted or purchased privately.

 

[B-Man2]

Make sense. Never thought about it from the marketing side. I always found these sweaters to be a unique piece of kit. Never saw many on this side of the ocean after the war. As a kid growing up in the early 1950s you could find all types of uniforms , jackets and field gear but not many of theses found their way to the US. I imagine there aren't many original WWII survivors in the UK. Or are there?

 

[Smithy]

Original WWII RAF frocks are rare and usually command a decent price as reenactors and RAF collectors like to have them in their collections.

Here you go I just scanned this now for you. This is the frock as worn by Sqn Ldr Garth Slater:

 

[B-Man2]

I see what you mean. Very long in the body and very baggy in the neck. I see why they were baggy in the neck, the pilot had to wear a silk scarf underneath the wool or your neck would get the skin worn off it from turning back and forth and looking behind you every minute or so. Thanks for the photo.

 

[Steve27752]

I have this ELC 4 Sale.
http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/eastman-r-a-f-aircrew-sweater-4-sale.20266/#post-188106

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Knitted in Scotland and just restocked in time for Christmas http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/products.php?cat=aerocloth&sub=aknit

Now in stock in London at Son Of A Stag, Dray Walk, E1

 

[Smithy]

I've been literally living in my Outdoor Knitwear submariner for the last week now. Weather has been around the -2 to 5 Celsisus mark for the last week but with strongish winds and it really is a cracking jumper and a very good take on an original. Best purchase I've made in quite sometime.

High of 2, low of 0 tomorrow so looks like I'll be wearing it again. Another positive and a very good one at that is that the better half is very keen on it, and that's never a bad thing

 

[B-Man2]

72 degrees here in Jacksonville FL. At this rate I'll be lucky to wear a long sleeve polo this winter

 

[Smithy]

I feel for you BM2!

Get sending those CVs out to businesses in Alaska. You too can live in ice and snow and flying jacket heaven

Joking aside how cold can it get in Florida? We grew up with Miami Vice and seeing girls running around in bikinis and blokes with their suit sleeves pushed up it was so hot!

I always imagined it is similar to Queensland in Oz.