ALL ORIGINAL Irvin RAF type Jackets - Loving that Wolf in sheeps' clothing!

[Cooper A-2]

Wow, nice document...means also, these jackets were not worn " snug " but in contrary, a bit loose and large...

 

[aswatland]

Hi, meet this great genuine Irvin in the "classified"


View attachment 67861

This part of the site is for original Irvins, not repros. There is a repro thread for such posts.

 

[Doctor Damage]

 

[Cooper A-2]

Wow!!!! and.... nothing snug...all very large and loose...
Buy it two or three sizes bigger...do the HWT and you have precisely this look...
Thx for sharing these great photos...very much appreciated... thx so much!

 

[aswatland]

Great set of images. The last one is of Vincent Bunting of 611 Squadron speaking with Biggin Hill's C/O - 'Sailor' Malan - January 1943. Bunting is wearing a coastal command Irvin

 

[Sloan1874]

That's a very pale-looking colouring on the coastal command Irvin. I've seen them go dark, but was light russet used as well? Doesn't surprise me that they're all large and loose, btw. To me, they only really work properly when they can trap air inside and warm it like a sleeping bag. It means it takes a few minutes to warm up, unlike an ANJ-4 which is warm the moment you put it on, but I find the Irvin's warmth more controllable,- you can unzip the sleeves and and relax the front to cool down - in a way the ANJ-4 isn't.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Large and loose also allows room for layering.

These jackets were intended to be worn in a world which often didn't have heated buildings, never mind heated cockpits!

 

[Doctor Damage]

 

[aswatland]

Squadron Leader Ernest McNab (RCAF), wearing his pre-War IAC jacket in 1940. He was born in Rosthern, Saskatchewan, 7 March 1906. He attended the University of Saskatchewan (BSc) and
Enlisted in the RCAF, 3 June 1926 as P/P/O.
1st term lasting until 31 August 1926.
2nd term as P/P/O was 6 June to 31 August 1927.
3rd term was 4 June to 28 August 1928....
Received wings at Camp Borden, 17 August 1928
To be P/O, Non-Permanent List, 1 September 1928.
From Camp Borden to Jericho Beach Air Station (Vancouver)
for a seaplane course, 25 February 1929
Transferred from Camp Borden to Ottawa Air Station, 6 May 1929
Transferred from Ottawa Air Station to Camp Borden, 14 June 1929
Promoted to Flying Officer, 1 September 1929
Granted leave without pay to continue university education
(12 November 1929 to 30 April 1930)
Returning to Camp Borden 1 May 1930
On strength of Station Trenton, 22 October 1931
Member of Siskin aerobatics team, 1930 and 1931
To strength of Ottawa Air Station, 14 April to 4 December 1932
To strength of Camp Borden, 4 December 1932
To Station Ottawa, 4 January 1934
To No.12 Detachment, 22 October 1934
To Station Ottawa, 13 April 1935
Promoted to Flight Lieutenant, 1 April 1936
To No.15 Detachment, 6 April 1936
In UK for courses abroad, 23 April 1937 to 26 April 1939
Exchange duties with No.46 Squadron
To Hurricane Detachment, Vancouver, 1 May 1939
Promoted to Squadron Leader, 1 April 1939
To No.1 (F) Squadron, 23 August 1939
Given command, 1 November 1939
Proceeded overseas with No.1 (F) Squadron, June 1940
Promoted to Wing Commander, 7 October 1940
To RCAF Overseas Headquarters, 8 November 1940
To No.118 Squadron, Rockcliffe, 26 February 1941
To No.4 SFTS, Saskatoon, 17 July 1941
To Western Air Command (Victoria), 24 December 1941
Promoted to Group Captain, 1 June 1942
To RAF Ferry Command, Dorval, 21 July 1942
On Station Digby, 20 September 1942 to 18 April 1945
Repatriated to Canada, 17 May 1945
Remained in postwar RCAF including Western Air Command
(18 May 1945 to 28 February 1947)
Northwest Air Command, Edmonton
(1 March 1947 to 20 August 1948)
CJS Washington (21 August 1948 to 23 January 1949)
AFHQ, Ottawa (24 January 1949 to 22 August 1954) &
No.12 Air Defence Group - later No.5 Air Division
(23 August 1954 to October 1957)
Retired 23 October 1957
Died 10 January 1977

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ wow, thanks

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[Doctor Damage]

source

 

[aswatland]

This is an interesting photo, not just for the two and four panel Irvins, but for the boots. There is a pair of 36 Pattern, 39 Pattern, 40 Pattern and an early version of the Nuffield Escape boots with front zips. I guess this photo was taken in late 1942 to early 1943.

 

[Doctor Damage]

This is an interesting photo, not just for the two and four panel Irvins, but for the boots. There is a pair of 36 Pattern, 39 Pattern, 40 Pattern and an early version of the Nuffield Escape boots with front zips. I guess this photo was taken in late 1942 to early 1943.

Click on the "source" link I posted below the photo. It's from an article about boot types on an Aussie government website.

 

[aswatland]

Thank you. I have just seen the article. It's a shame the author did not explain that the chap on the right is wearing an early version of the famous 1943 Escape boots. 43 pattern boots had size fastening zips, but some of the 1942 experimental ones had front zips like the 40 Pattern boots and were made entirely of the same leather whilst 43 Pattern ones had suede lined with sheepskin for the leg section.

 

[Doctor Damage]

 

[aswatland]

Two very interesting posed photos. The first one beside the Gladiator is either just pre-War or very early War. Notice the aircrew have mid 1930s C-Type carbon mics. The '36 Pattern boots look newly issued, unlike the Irvin and grubby Prestige suit.

 

[alsendk]

A little puzzle for Irvin fanatics . Who is the maker of this jacket? Andrew is not allowed yet to participate, as he is too clever in this field ;O)
​

 

[aswatland]

I will not mention the maker Allan, but my guess is it was made in Letchworth under a small 1937 contract!

 

[Doctor Damage]

colour photos this time, that's all for getty images (that I was able to find without spending huge amounts of time)

 

[daw]

I was watching an old BBC documentary on Bomber Command this morning, and everyone seemed to be wearing Irvin jackets; the commentator said there were more than 55,000 casualties in WWII. I did a little research on Bomber Command and found the following online:

55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4 percent death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war

I hate to waste anyone's time if this has been asked already, but is there information as to how many Irvin flight jackets were made during the war? I assume all the flight crew were all issued with one of these jackets-is that a valid assumption? If so, there were at least 125,000 of these issued. Certainly, they don't seem to be too rare on ebay, although in great condition I'm sure they are quite rare.