Eaglehurst Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) Here are a few photos of a couple of older pattern MK3 flying jackets I have, one dated 1969 and the other 1976. The 1969 dated jacket looks almost unused, but both are in great condition. They both have the early type silver NZ zips. Edited October 7, 2011 by Eaglehurst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevpol Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 very nice Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) Nice jackets ! The 1969 example must be from the first production run in olive green, replacing the earlier version in blue-grey. I had a 1970-dated grey MK3 jacket, suggesting that there was some production overrun of both colours....... The green flying kit was gradually introduced to replace the grey as the RAF's role became more tactical....... The flying jacket in grey (and trousers) still carried the MK3 designation........the MK2 ran prior to then and the MK1 going back to the 1950's....... 20-odd years ago now the grey stuff was reasonably common to find....not so today........and the olive green MK3 clothing itself is now becoming scarce (made by Beaufort Air-sea Equipment & ML Lifeguard)....it was changed to green-grey around 1993-94 and manufacture gradually passed over to Cosalt-Ballyclare........quality is still excellent although lacks that classic "period" feel...! Over the years the suit has remained remarkably unchanged in design, and apart from colour mods have generally only been to the labelling and sleeve pen pocket.............. Edited October 7, 2011 by wdbikemad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enfield1940 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I have a green 1971 dated size 8. It's labelled as "Overalls, Flying" rather than "Suit, Aircrew". It also has the silver Newey zips. £3 from a charity shop.:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevpol Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I have a green 1971 dated size 8. It's labelled as "Overalls, Flying" rather than "Suit, Aircrew". It also has the silver Newey zips. £3 from a charity shop.:-) nice find, I keep looking in all my local charity shops, but never found anything remotely military yet! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chin Strap Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 AAC Army Air Corps issue much prefer'd to the DPM Flying jackets issued 70 /80s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 In the RAF, the DPM aircrew suit was popular amongst Hercules crew and helicopter units....but it was rarely seen elsewhere......most other aircrew staying firmly away from anything remotely "pongo".....:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chin Strap Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 The green flying jackets became Iconic as at the time 1976ish the Air corps was still mainly made up by air crew from host units. No kit was standard as such.It was only with the introduction of AAC Regts that things became a bit more well....regimented, much to the dismay of indpendant flights. Scout pilots and air gunners as I recall liked the DPM flying jacket. Where as sioux pilots preferd the green flying jackets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 You can sometimes find both green and DPM flying jackets with a series of 3 pairs of press fasteners fitted at the front of the chest area........this was a largely RAF local modification for oxygen equipment and/or comms equipment to be clipped securely against the body. The job was usually carried out by the survival equipment section on base....... Other mods, especially on the earlier jackets with the older sleeve pen-pocket arrangement (fitted with a slip-in spring assembly to secure pens, pencils, etc) was to cover the entire pocket with a patch that could be opened by means of velcro fitted on two sides, to prevent loss of items when inverted.......mind you, if this occured in a helicopter you would be a tad worried.... (and not about the potential loss of your favourite chinagraph.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chin Strap Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Worthy of note is the hood in the collar. Why bother? when owner would most likely wear their bone dome if the weather was in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Worthy of note is the hood in the collar. Why bother? when owner would most likely wear their bone dome if the weather was in. The green and DPM suits were also intended for aircrew survival situations, hence the hoods on both examples (due to the flying helmet and/or bonedome generally being discarded) and the provision for a scarf on the green jacket stowed in the collar......additional items supplied along with the MK3 suit was a set of green nylon waterproofs (jacket and trousers) and a cold-weather liner (sleeveless quilted waistcoat)..... Most aircrew survival exercises on Dartmoor usually see crews dressed in MK3 garments, or occasionally the DPM suit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chin Strap Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Surprised to here that crews would get rid of bone dome so soon after an event considering the protection it would give from the elements. Were crews told to sit tight or walk out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) Non-fast jet crews (eg Hercules) were not supplied with bonedomes (no ejector seats) thus it was a case of flying clothing being designed to meet the majority of potential situations, such as a lack of protective headgear in the event of a survival situation........the old cotton F & G models of flying helmet in grey or green were rarely seen in use by aircrew after the 1960's, crews nowadays preferring a simple headset worn on the head........ During the 1950's there did exist a peaked ski-type cap in grey gaberdine lined in wool with inner earflaps and chinstrap.....these were part of the aircrew cold-weather survival suit (MK1) of that era but it seems that the cap did not survive in use into the 1960s..... Edited October 26, 2011 by wdbikemad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chin Strap Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 There was also a sort of hood-thing, which may have been part of the water (ocean) ditching kit........this was a pullover hood that covered the shoulder area, made of green nylon and lined in a form of thin nylon "warm" fabric......it was good underneath me bike helmet back in the '80s....:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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