MA-1 recommendations?

[MrProper]

And yet another colour.

 

[MrProper]

Ready for spring/summer

 

[Edward]

Sorry, I've been meaning to post that comparison, but I'm wanting to get some decent quality pics to show differences in the nylon "sheen" between them. My phone isn't up to the task, so I'll need to bust the camera out... The Real Simons has more of a satiny luster to it than the Bronson. I do like the more muted look of the Bronson. The Real Simons also has smooth nylon pocket linings, which feel cold, and puts a shiver up my spine when placing my hands in initially.

I will get some pics up soon, along with a more detailed comparison... I'll just post it here instead of starting another thread...

Colour med till interested to see that. I've been looking at the Real Simon jackets online, and they look good for me sizing wise (I think I might even be an XL rather than the **L, which would be unusual, but if they're not massively thick in terms of the lining... I usually need 26" p2p for a blazer, and err towards 27" for an overcoat type layer I'll want a heftier sweater under... I think the XL from memory is just between those...). I'd have bought a Bronson long ago, but unfortunately per all their size charts I think I'd just need one size bigger than the top end on all their ranges.

And yet another colour. View attachment 771008

Colour on that one is spot on for an L2A, c1949-1953... round the time the USAF had become a separate branch of service (1947) and was finding its feet with forging its own identity. Newly winged pilots were apparently all very proud of their new, blue jackets - until they wound up in Korea and were looking to trade for green ones that wouldn't stick out in the terrain should they have the misfortune to be downed.

The lighter L2 types are a great option for chillier, wetter days in Summer. I'm fond of a Harrington too, but the nylons definitely have the edge a little on warmth, I assume it's the nylon not being breathable keeps body heat in and reflects it back that bit more.

 

[raf]

Suggest you consider a modern CWU 36P (light jacket) or a CWU 45P (cool weather jacket) on account of later versions made from Nomex/Aramid cloth which is Flame-Resistant. Yes, a slightly different style of jacket.

Vendor pix of sewn-in tags showing Nomex/Aramid fiber content are definitive as to FR. No tag, no buy.

Having had jackets ruined by campfire embers and smoker ash, I will not wear a non-FR syn cloth (nylon) jacket in the future. Had the back of a simple nylon jacket ruined by unseen embers. YMMV.

Many gently used examples of FR USGI jackets on EBay for decent prices.

 

[Latte Way]

The lining is 60% wool and 40% polyester. The jacket in size medium weighs about 1.3-1.5kg. I have worn it with a cotton sweater down to 0C and it was warm enough (I generally run hot though).

View attachment 664533

View attachment 664534

Always wanted to ask, do you, or anyone else know what the greenish rectangular patch is on the front to the right of the zip. It looks like it's open along the left hand edge as if it's meant for a cable perhaps from a coms unit to a mic and headphones set?

Edit: just seen Technonut's post, thanks, it's an oxygen mask retainer flap, presumably masks would have had some sort of spring-jawed thing it would grip the flap with.

 

[Harris HTM]

Always wanted to ask, do you, or anyone else know what the greenish rectangular patch is on the front to the right of the zip. It looks like it's open along the left hand edge as if it's meant for a cable perhaps from a coms unit to a mic and headphones set?

You mean on the wearer's left. Oxygen mask tab, the hose of the oxygen mask was secured there with a clip.

 

[Edward]

Suggest you consider a modern CWU 36P (light jacket) or a CWU 45P (cool weather jacket) on account of later versions made from Nomex/Aramid cloth which is Flame-Resistant. Yes, a slightly different style of jacket.

Vendor pix of sewn-in tags showing Nomex/Aramid fiber content are definitive as to FR. No tag, no buy.

Having had jackets ruined by campfire embers and smoker ash, I will not wear a non-FR syn cloth (nylon) jacket in the future. Had the back of a simple nylon jacket ruined by unseen embers. YMMV.

Many gently used examples of FR USGI jackets on EBay for decent prices.

The CWU jackets can be a good buy if they fit your style. Way too modern for me (an orange-liner MA1 is eve pushing it for a fit with my wardrobe; I lose all interest in 99.9% of men's fashion post 1960), though if someone did an otherwise accurate Lion Labs 1955 spec MA1 in Nomex, that's something I'd love to try for practicality.

Always wanted to ask, do you, or anyone else know what the greenish rectangular patch is on the front to the right of the zip. It looks like it's open along the left hand edge as if it's meant for a cable perhaps from a coms unit to a mic and headphones set?

Edit: just seen Technonut's post, thanks, it's an oxygen mask retainer flap, presumably masks would have had some sort of spring-jawed thing it would grip the flap with.

Yeah, that's it. That oblong one came in with the B15-B, from memory, and held up through the nylon era. The first jacket to have a place to clip the oxygen mask when not needed was the B15A (from memory, this was the primary difference between the B15 and the B15A), which had two triangular shapes sewn on it for the same purpose:

From memory, the B15A also introduced the under-arm loops to keep the tubes out of the way.

 

[barnabus]

Here's a summer MA-1.
Two layers of nylon, but no padding in between.
Fits me better than my Baracuta Harrington.
It's an Alpha Industries MA-1 TTC.
View attachment 770716

On an absolute whim, I've just got an MA-1. I wasn't looking for one but it caught my eye on eBay and I thought it looked really cool.

I've never had one before and now it's arrived it feels trimmer than I expected. But it seems to fit the same way yours do @MrProper .

It's an unpadded Alpha, so I guess it must be their summer weight TTC.

Here's a couple of pictures. I'd be interested to hear from people if this fits the way you would expect. It's not uncomfortable to wear, but I'm not sure if it does feel a little restrictive. Although that might simply be that I expected it a roomier fit.

What it definitely is, is a t-shirt only fit*. Ideal for summer I suppose.

Shrug!

Edit: it also appears to be almost unworn. Knits are really snug, not stretched at all. The lining is a pale silvery grey, not a mark on it.

The whole thing is spotless.

*Edit 2: no it isn't. It's not a t-shirt only fit. I've just tried it over a sweatshirt and it's absolutely fine. More comfortable if anything, somehow.

 

[MrProper]

CWU-36/P

 

[Edward]

On an absolute whim, I've just got an MA-1. I wasn't looking for one but it caught my eye on eBay and I thought it looked really cool.

I've never had one before and now it's arrived it feels trimmer than I expected. But it seems to fit the same way yours do @MrProper .

It's an unpadded Alpha, so I guess it must be their summer weight TTC.

Here's a couple of pictures. I'd be interested to hear from people if this fits the way you would expect. It's not uncomfortable to wear, but I'm not sure if it does feel a little restrictive. Although that might simply be that I expected it a roomier fit.

What it definitely is, is a t-shirt only fit*. Ideal for summer I suppose.

Shrug!

View attachment 781990

View attachment 781991

Edit: it also appears to be almost unworn. Knits are really snug, not stretched at all. The lining is a pale silvery grey, not a mark on it.

The whole thing is spotless.

*Edit 2: no it isn't. It's not a t-shirt only fit. I've just tried it over a sweatshirt and it's absolutely fine. More comfortable if anything, somehow.

Yes, that's a Mars themed version of the L2B jackets, which were essentially an unpadded MA1. Whereas the MA1 was the successor to the B15, the L2 / L2A / L2B were more akin to the A2 - a lighter-weight, Summer flying jacket (as compared to the MA! which was a padded, 'intermediate' option. NASA issued jackets like these from 1966, to the Gemini crews and onwards, in several marks. Though the NASA jackets were patched like a military jacket and didn't have a printed design on the back, but they're clearly the inspiration for this. I had an older Alpha L2B at a time, and it was a great jacket for Summer drizzle. Surprisingly warmer than an A2 as well, given that it didn't 'breathe'.

 

[omega1848]

Body and sleeve Length requires some attention on the part of the buyer. Most originals, IMHO, were made a little on the "short" (body) side for comfort when seated. A good many (but not all) Repros mimic this.

Sizing-Up to obtain desired body and sleeve length often means that body of jacket is objectionably too large.

Indeed, IMHO one of the biggest topic to discuss/ watch out for, today's human beings are a bit taller than in the past and sometimes the "exact repros" from the past do not fit very well for average tall Europeans IMHO...

 

[barnabus]

Yes, that's a Mars themed version of the L2B jackets, which were essentially an unpadded MA1. Whereas the MA1 was the successor to the B15, the L2 / L2A / L2B were more akin to the A2 - a lighter-weight, Summer flying jacket (as compared to the MA! which was a padded, 'intermediate' option. NASA issued jackets like these from 1966, to the Gemini crews and onwards, in several marks. Though the NASA jackets were patched like a military jacket and didn't have a printed design on the back, but they're clearly the inspiration for this. I had an older Alpha L2B at a time, and it was a great jacket for Summer drizzle. Surprisingly warmer than an A2 as well, given that it didn't 'breathe'.

Interesting info @Edward , thanks.

I had no idea what I was getting into with this jacket but I think it's ace. And the quality is much nicer than I anticipated too.

I've seen other NASA themed MA-1s and yes, this seems to be an outlier with the printed design on the back. But it really caught my eye and I love it.

 

[Edward]

Interesting info @Edward , thanks.

I had no idea what I was getting into with this jacket but I think it's ace. And the quality is much nicer than I anticipated too.

I've seen other NASA themed MA-1s and yes, this seems to be an outlier with the printed design on the back. But it really caught my eye and I love it.

It's nicely done, and very much in the same artistic vein as the official mission patches for the Space Shuttle launches. Back in the mid 90s at university, I wore a patch for STS-8 on a denim jacket I had at the time:

Still got the patch somewhere, though the jacket (a Dunnes Stores Type 3) is long gone. That jacket was worn hard from the Summer of 1989 right through to Summer 1997ish, when the cuffs started to fray badly, and in those days I didn't think to slice the sleeves off and wear it that way... Bought the patch at a Scout jamboree in County Armagh in Summer '89, on a day trip to the Armagh Planetarium. Not sure why I was particularly intrigued with Challenger; partly, I suppose, retrospectively the disaster, which made an impact on me. I was in my last year of primary school. The tail end of the previous school year, Halley's Comet had been big news, and a lot of schools started the next year with space- themed project work. We were taken to the planetarium then too, all just a few months before the Challenger disaster. STS-9 was the last successful Challenger mission; STS-10 was the terrible explosion just over a minute from take-off. I remember seeing it on the TV news just a few minutes after it had actually happened.

Every so often I am tempted to buy a repro of one of the NASA jackets, likely the Apollo 11 mission, though I always hold off because they're way, way later than where my primary wardrobe interest falls off, about 1959. They're an interesting alternative to the military options, though (and weirdly not one that ever seems to bother the Walt-Hunters).