Irvin Sheepskin Flying Jacket.
By Jonathan Campbell
The most iconic RAF flying jacket ever made, the Irvin is an iconic part of British culture and heritage. It's a symbol of the struggle and eventual success against all the odds. An amazing design, the jacket provides huge amount of warmth, comfort and most importantly for airmen—manoeuvrability […]
I’d always been interested in cars, but it was a school detention that cemented my love of them – as well the Irvin Flying Jacket.
My school was a bit rough, but it was built around the beautiful Grade II* listed Southgate House, which dates to the 18th century. In the attic was a tiny library—that’s where I served my detention.
It was full of old Classic and Sportscar magazines. So, I sat there reading through them. I obsessed about the featured cars, how they performed and why this one was better than that one. It really was an education. But in every magazine, there was something else besides the cars: a single-page press ad featuring a classically handsome Englishman standing beside a Spitfire, wearing an Irvin Flying Jacket. I wanted one.
As aviation technology improved, the planes could climb higher and higher. That meant it got very cold inside them. An American aviator called Leslie Leroy Irvin invented a new, very warm, super-soft but heavyweight sheepskin flying jacket. He had previously invented the Irvin parachute, which he manufactured in Letchworth, here in the UK.
The Irvin Original Sheepskin Flying Jacket is an amazing design providing huge amount of warmth, comfort and most importantly, manoeuvrability. The airman had to be able to move freely inside the planes, after all. The large wide collar provides insulation to the neck and lower face. The belt at the waist ensures the heat stays in and draughts stay out. The suppleness of the sheepskin meant that the jackets moulded themselves to the wearer. This made them very personal garments and essential to survival.
The jackets were supplied to the RAF throughout WWII. A friend of mine had a grandfather who was an engineer on a Lancaster in Bomber Command. He lived in his Irvin throughout the war. When he came home, although he never flew again and never even left the country, his Irvin provided him with very warm slippers he made from it.
This jacket is an Iconic part of British culture and heritage. It's a symbol of the struggle and eventual success against all the odds.
I wear mine whenever it’s actually cold enough, which isn’t often.
I still read Classic and Sportscar.
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Images. Aviation Leathercraft/Moto-Lita, The Obsessive
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