MA-1 Flight jacket

Harris HTM · Jul 1, 2020

Doctor Damage said:
yeah you got lucky with that jacket! it looks unused which is great
and you didn't have to spend Buzz $$$$ money to get an awesome jacket

yep, it is pretty much unused! though the dutch customs screwed me with the import tax (tax plus shipping from the US ended up costing the 2/3 of the jacket...), it is still quite cheaper than a Buzz.

Edward · Jul 1, 2020

Ten yearsw ago or so I bought a Replica Series B15C for about £35 - cost me £70 all in, including postage and taxes. I thought about buynig a "spare" and didn't - I regret that now. I wish Alpha would bring back the Replica series patterns and spec so I could get a better L2A (I have the 'Vintage Series' one which is nice, but a very wrong colour), and an N2A which would be close to the weight of the originals rather than an MA1 with a hood type of weight.

Harris HTM said:
My latest acquisition - though not a MA-1 (technically).
An Alpha Industries B-15D (mod). I suspect this is the Replica series.
Heavy jacket, scovill zippers, seems a far more rigid (and probably warmer) jacket than the 90's made in the US Alpha MA-1's I've owned.
View attachment 244806 View attachment 244807 View attachment 244808 View attachment 244809

I think that is a Replica, certainly if it's an Alpha. Seller may have been mistaken rather than dishonest, fwiw - while, a I understand it, Alpha only supplied the MA1 and later, they always advertise their brand with the photos of Marilyn Monroe wearing a B15C to visit troops. It's a great shot, but it imples that Alpha made jackets they didn't, which I think is a misstep. The Replica series were labelled a la the originals rather than the civilian labels in the Vintage Series, and the colours of the latter were totally off. Your looks like the correct sage green that carried on to the MA!s to my eye; the 'Vintage' series were a much more Hulk-green as I recall. I think the vintage series jackets were supposed to look like they'd faded with wear, but evne then the colours were totally wrong.

bn1966 said:
Fantastic Fall weight jacket, I had one of these but foolishly sold it.
Mine was a slightly different run in the Replica Series, no donut on the sleeve and mine was labelled as an XL..TOP jackets...have my eye out for another..much better quality than the ‘Vintage’ Series (I have that version of the Mod in the wrong shade of blue and a green B-15D).

If only Alpha would bring them back..... alas, I think they're only interested in the fashion market nowadays, and there aren't enough of us to create demand for the sort of production run they'd want to do. Shame.

Harris HTM · Jul 1, 2020

Edward said:
Ten yearsw ago or so I bought a Replica Series B15C for about £35 - cost me £70 all in, including postage and taxes. I thought about buynig a "spare" and didn't - I regret that now. I wish Alpha would bring back the Replica series patterns and spec so I could get a better L2A (I have the 'Vintage Series' one which is nice, but a very wrong colour), and an N2A which would be close to the weight of the originals rather than an MA1 with a hood type of weight.

I think that is a Replica, certainly if it's an Alpha. Seller may have been mistaken rather than dishonest, fwiw - while, a I understand it, Alpha only supplied the MA1 and later, they always advertise their brand with the photos of Marilyn Monroe wearing a B15C to visit troops. It's a great shot, but it imples that Alpha made jackets they didn't, which I think is a misstep. The Replica series were labelled a la the originals rather than the civilian labels in the Vintage Series, and the colours of the latter were totally off. Your looks like the correct sage green that carried on to the MA!s to my eye; the 'Vintage' series were a much more Hulk-green as I recall. I think the vintage series jackets were supposed to look like they'd faded with wear, but evne then the colours were totally wrong.

If only Alpha would bring them back..... alas, I think they're only interested in the fashion market nowadays, and there aren't enough of us to create demand for the sort of production run they'd want to do. Shame.

yeah, probably the seller didn't know himself, although I was after a replica series in unworn condition rather than an original issued one.
35 pounds it's dirt cheap, I don't think you can find unworn Replica items these days at that price range...

Edward · Jul 2, 2020

Harris HTM said:
yeah, probably the seller didn't know himself, although I was after a replica series in unworn condition rather than an original issued one.
35 pounds it's dirt cheap, I don't think you can find unworn Replica items these days at that price range...

I've not been able to find Replica Series jasckets these days full stop. When I bought my B15C it was NOS, and that was pretty common. If only we'd known then what we do now...

bn1966 · Jul 2, 2020

I saw a Replica series B-15 Mod in XL on eBay 6 months ago with several nasty patches, could have lived with a few stitch holes but the vendor said they were glued on...I passed

Harris HTM · Jul 3, 2020

there are quite a few Alpha B-15d(mod), the same as mine, at the japanese yahoo site. And quite cheaper than what I've paid for (though they seem used).

Harris HTM · Jul 13, 2020

Harris HTM said:
My latest acquisition - though not a MA-1 (technically).
An Alpha Industries B-15D (mod). I suspect this is the Replica series.
Heavy jacket, scovill zippers, seems a far more rigid (and probably warmer) jacket than the 90's made in the US Alpha MA-1's I've owned.
View attachment 244806 View attachment 244807 View attachment 244808 View attachment 244809

So, as my new jacket was probably in a closet for the last 20 years or so, it was abit smelly. I brought it to the dry cleaner. Guess what, what I got back was a shrunken jacket. It is the back length that went the biggest, damaged, shortened by 2 inch or so... Any recommendations for home remedies? Or just wear it with a high waist pair of trousers?

Seb Lucas · Jul 13, 2020

Harris HTM said:
So, as my new jacket was probably in a closet for the last 20 years or so, it was abit smelly. I brought it to the dry cleaner. Guess what, what I got back was a shrunken jacket. It is the back length that went the biggest, damaged, shortened by 2 inch or so... Any recommendations for home remedies? Or just wear it with a high waist pair of trousers?

Easy come, easy go. Sorry Bud, perhaps sell it. They are short to begin with, minus another 2 inches you might look like a nylon matador in a shiny bolero jacket.

Harris HTM · Jul 13, 2020

Seb Lucas said:
Easy come, easy go. Sorry Bud, perhaps sell it. They are short to begin with, minus another 2 inches you might look like a nylon matador in a shiny bolero jacket.

well, if there is no way to fix it then it will probably end up being my gf's new jacket and get myself a Bronson one... but it is a pity...

Fifty150 · Apr 12, 2021

It looks like the jacket is now popular in Hong Kong.

Doctor Damage · May 6, 2021

Nick Kamen in 1990. It's a civilian jacket obviously; funny to see the cuff knits folded under, probably the photographer or stylist being too clever for their own good, haha

Fifty150 · Jan 2, 2023

It looks like NYC still issues MA-1 jackets to city workers.

Fifty150 · Apr 15, 2023

This club still uses MA-1 jackets.

Fifty150 · Apr 15, 2023

Jwag said:
a really nice MA1 made by I. Spiewak in USA for $45. Wanted to know if this is a true government issue

I don't know if The US military ever purchased Spiewak.

I have a green one. It was issued to me by a law enforcement agency. MA-1 jackets are not a part of the patrol uniform in my agency. The patrol uniform is navy blue. MA-1 jackets were issued for special or specific assignments. Green was used in very limited occasions only for special tasks. Specific to the very nature of that team, these jackets were issued without insignia. That makes it an unofficial issue uniform.

Aloysius · Apr 16, 2023

Fifty150 said:
That makes it an unofficial issue uniform.

On a similar note, someone on VLJ mentioned being issued a black MA-1 by a government agency. As we all know, there was never a contract for a black MA-1, so they procured a civilian market version for that.

Fifty150 · Apr 17, 2023

As you can see by Mayor Adams wearing an MA-1, that the uniform shops stock them and sell them, by requests. If NYC is anything like my local agency, then different department bosses make the decision for using the MA-1. Maybe a small team or special duty assignment. The boss tells the uniform shop that when his guys come in with "PO #*****", give them the flight jacket. Or when The Mayor's office calls, and says The Mayor wants a "bomber jacket".

They are still very popular. I have been issued MA-1 jackets in different colors, for various tasks and assignments. I've never seen "MA-1" mentioned on any official uniform purchase order, nor is it specifically mentioned in the uniform code. It is unofficial, and not specifically approved. Yet, more than once, when I had a purchase order for special equipment, the line item for "jacket" was filled with an MA-1. It is never the official patrol uniform, nor issued to regular patrol assignments. And if a guy who works special duty details goes back to working patrol, he will not be wearing the MA-1 on regular patrol.

Canuck Panda · Apr 18, 2023

Is B-15C Mod and MA-1 the same thing?

Aloysius · Apr 18, 2023

Canuck Panda said:
Is B-15C Mod and MA-1 the same thing?
View attachment 508919

No but effectively yes.

By the time the B-15 got to B-15C, it was very close to an MA-1, except the collar.

The fur collar of the B-15 was deemed a fire risk, so jackets were recalled to have it removed and replaced with a knit collar (that’s the modification in question). Subsequent jackets were made with the knit collar from the start, under the MA-1 contract.

There are some differences like how the MA-1 marked a return to green (B-15 jackets had shifted to blue to show the Air Force’s new identity as a separate branch, however for obvious reasons, dark blue was not good camo!)

Canuck Panda · Apr 18, 2023

Aloysius said:
No but effectively yes.

By the time the B-15 got to B-15C, it was very close to an MA-1, except the collar.

The fur collar of the B-15 was deemed a fire risk, so jackets were recalled to have it removed and replaced with a knit collar (that’s the modification in question). Subsequent jackets were made with the knit collar from the start, under the MA-1 contract.

Cool, thanks! I thought they looked a lot alike. Used Buzz MA-1s are still quite expensive, used BR B-15C mod are much better deals.

Aloysius · Apr 18, 2023

Canuck Panda said:
Cool, thanks! I thought they looked a lot alike. Used Buzz MA-1s are still quite expensive, used BR B-15C mod are much better deals.

I think it’s more that Buzz does more special edition jackets as MA-1s, so that gives the sense that the MA-1s are more expensive. This includes things like the William Gibson editions, but also for example a packable down jacket MA-1 (which is the one Gibson himself uses most regularly), etc.

MA-1 Flight jacket

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