History Bunker WW1 German Pilots Jacket

Ordered this jacket from The History Bunker in Leeds. Ordered in a custom size. Yes, again made overseas, not UK.

WW1 Imperial German Fighter Pilots leather jacket - black

The jacket arrived and the workmanship is amazing. I was a bit worried that some portions were fake leather but they all past the "fake/real leather test with water. Maybe fake passes the tests these days. Smells like leather! Great WW1 vibe, looks great on. Need to take wearing pics. Not terribly grainy but I noticed it creases well. I am not much of a black leather jacket person but wanted one black jacket. This one is super heavy BTW. Lots of great details, inner pocket, etc. For the price - amazing. I will absolutely order a Hartmann jacket from them. They nailed the fit. Those pics to follow. Buttons inside like double breasted jacket. The only drawback is that I will never wear this enough to truly break it in. its just too dramatic for most occasions but oh well, on those few outings...........cool!!!!!

This looks a hundred times better than the photos they have on their website! The proportions are great and the belt is a nice width. Looks like they do a brown version too.

Make sure to post your chest and height, and the measurements of this jacket (or what you requested).

Very interesting and cool jacket. What strikes me are the similarities in design to my late 1970s German police jacket. Not a lot of change over those 60-odd years. Mine has no belt, though, which is a nice feature on the WWI jacket.

Yes, it is dramatic, but not overly dramatic as it is shorter than a peacoat. @SpeedRcrX
has a black peacoat in goat that she pulls off very well.

a quick try on, need better slacks, proper boots and WW1 aircraft!

Good fit and it doesn't look dramatic in the pics. The collar is very subtle. What is the pattern's connection to WW1? Looks like a civilian pattern that the German's produced for decades and, as said before, it looks a lot like a standard German police jacket from a few decades back. What is the thickness and quality of the lining?

no idea of specific WW1 contract/company - they are probably going off photos and perhaps using more recent patterns for details. The lining is cotton, not too think. The leather/overall jacket is heavy!!!! The leather is moderate quality, had a sprayed finish odor when arrived but I did a warm water soak in tub, then in washer cold water rinse and spin, then hung to dry. Nice bits of grain came through with the soak/dry and nice leather smell. The quality of workmanship/stitching/reenforced button holes, etc - top of the line. I probably won't wear this jacket too often so I did not want to spend a lot. However, for the second time in a month or so, my expectations have been GREATLY exceeded with "budget" leather purchases (the other jacket being a What Price Glory Irvin). I will certainly purchase another jacket or two from the History Bunker. Also, great service and communication! They make custom sizes at no extra costs. This is just my opinion but I am not a huge fan of black leather. I feel like tanning leather black takes away a lot of the character of it. Yes, there are MANY exceptions. So, for me, I am fine with hide of lesser quality/grain when its black. This is not the sort of leather where one will see undertones develop with years of wear and I won't wear it that much anyway. That being the case, this was an easy purchase for me. On the other hand, now owning one of these History Bunker jackets, I won't hesitate trying a brown one if I decide to go in that direction.

I will be ordering a Hartmann Jacket (custom size/measurements) in about a week. Will probably take 2 months from time of order. I have asked for a few mods which they are happy to do.

Hi @CBI , did you eventually buy the Hartmann from HB? Im thinking of ordering one.

Seb Lucas said:

Good fit and it doesn't look dramatic in the pics. The collar is very subtle. What is the pattern's connection to WW1? Looks like a civilian pattern that the German's produced for decades and, as said before, it looks a lot like a standard German police jacket from a few decades back. What is the thickness and quality of the lining?

Click to expand...

Yes, to the best of my knowledge Imperial Germany, much like the Luftwaffe in WW2, never issued any leather jackets to its pilots. These would have been private purchase in a common civilian style; not all that different to what the RFC/RAF were wearing at the time, very much in the style that became common for 20s flyers and known now as "Barnstormers".

This one looks nice in photos. Probably manufactured in either India or Pakistan if not UK made, as those are the most common sources of leather clothing in the UK. Assomebody else said, it looks much nicer in these photos than on the HB website.

Yes, I did order but was not happy with it and moved it on. The hardware was pretty cheap