Now that I have compared the pilot jackets with the ones found in the 1930s Friitala catalogs, they are all stock products made during the 1930s and 40s. The double-breasted one is officially called "parade jacket" but it was also advertised as hunting jacket as seen on the previous photographs I posted. It was sold stock as dark brown. The lining is flannel and it is equipped with underarm grommets or something similar. The same model was made also as single-breasted or with a zipper.
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Vintage Finnish Leather Jackets
- Thread starter Mangrove
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majormajor
One Too Many
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Some excellent jackets Martti. I could be sorely tempted to get one of these made. I paricularly like the short length
Metatron
One Too Many
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Great photos. I never would have guessed that the second photo was an Axis(aligned) pilot.
tonypaj
Practically Family
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I like the photos too. BTW, Axis (aligned) is a slight misconception, but it is for a politics forum, not really OK here.
Anyway, cool photos, thanks Martti.
majormajor
One Too Many
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Go on. enlighten us.
The Friitala leather jacket and trousers used by the Finnish armoured troops during the 1930s, 40s and early 50s. The model was based on similar wool uniform used by the regular troops. A detail from a Finnish Defence Forces official photograph no. 158419 (source: www.sa-kuva.fi).
That's great - can you still get them and what leather is it - goat?
I'm with Seb, that's a cracker of a coat. Actually very similar to an original Rodd & Gunn moleskin coat I have with a leather collar, back when R&G were still made in NZ and were a specialist outdoor wear outfitter.
This is impossible due the fact the factory has declared bankruptcy years ago. Furthermore, as I wrote earlier, all of the jackets (not counting military orders) were made out of sheepskin.
One can sometimes find Friitala jackets from the 1960s from various Finnish online auctions. The jackets will usually fetch between 30 and 70 euro. Jackets from the 1950s and older are much harder to find.
Finnish army and outdoor store has produced a new version of the Finnish Defence Forces' m/36 leather jacket used by the tankers. Unlike to the original one, the new version is made out of 100% buffalo leather in Pakistan and not out of cowhide/lambskin in Finland. However, the cut seems to be around the same as the originals I have seen in museums. The buttons are also wrong in the standard version of the jacket (there's also other, more expensive version with correct metal buttons).
Särmä Classic SA M36 leather jacket, repro
Särmä Classic SA M36 leather jacket, repro
Finnish Friitalan Nahka Oy Military Style 50's Distressed Leather Jacket 38" being sold on Ebay.
Pdxgeo
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That is a beauty. If it was smaller I'd pull the trigger for sure!
1930s-40s Finnish cossack jacket
Kiito zipper (a Finnish zipper manufacturer, apparently), moleskin torso liner, flannelized striped cotton sleeve liner, leather feels like horsehide. No evidence of any new stitches/replacements except for the baseball leather buttons which look newer. Very high stitch count indicating pre-WWII production although Finland may have held the old standards for longer, I wouldn't know.
Those dark spots on the back panel are scars in the hide (see closeup, lower left image).
Nicely form-fitting all around, including the sleeves.
Kiito zipper (a Finnish zipper manufacturer, apparently), moleskin torso liner, flannelized striped cotton sleeve liner, leather feels like horsehide. No evidence of any new stitches/replacements except for the baseball leather buttons which look newer. Very high stitch count indicating pre-WWII production although Finland may have held the old standards for longer, I wouldn't know.
Those dark spots on the back panel are scars in the hide (see closeup, lower left image).
Nicely form-fitting all around, including the sleeves.
O.Y. Vetoketjutehdas Kiito A.B. started production of zippers in August 1936. I think the jacket might have been made by some small-time business because Friitala and e.g. Tampereen Pukutehdas clearly marked their products.
