Aero Leather Clothing

Aero RAF Flying Jacket Original Pre-War Model

$ 1,259.99

Aero's reproduction of the World famous RAF Sheepskin Flying Jacket attends to every detail of the original! The buckles are die cast from originals, perfect repro Air Ministry zippers, and it has the large back panels with no horizontal seaming.

In 1919 an American named Leslie Irvin made the first ever free fall parachute descent using a home made Parachute constructed on a borrowed sewing machine. The new invention was an instant success and became known as the Irvin parachute.

By the early 1930s the Irvin parachute was in service with some 40 air forces around the world. Irvin opened production facilities in the UK in 1926 as the Irvin Parachute Co., in Letchworth, Herts, where the famous RAF Sheepskin Flying Jacket was to be "born."

The first of these jackets, popularly known as "The Irvin," went into production in 1931. The early pre-war jackets were almost exclusively manufactured without horizontal seaming. The RAF only issued one sheepskin flying jacket during WWII and not all were made by The Irvin Parachute Co.--most were outsourced to several contractors as the Irvin factory concentrated on making parachutes.

To find out what we currently have in stock in the Aero RAF Flying Jacket Original Pre-War Model, contact us at sales@thurston-bros.com. You can also contact us for professional sizing for this style. Click HERE for more information on ordering a custom Aero jacket!

This product page is for the payment to start the custom order process for a custom Pre-War RAF.  The payment is for the base price of the Pre-War RAF plus the shipping for the fit jacket.  You can read more about the fit jacket process our Custom Aero page!  The costs for extra items are listed on the Custom Aero page.

For information on exchanges, shipping, payments, etc., go to our Store Policies and Information page.