The classic a2 flight jacket is built to face extreme winter chill

The Classic A2 flight jacket is built to face extreme winter chill The A2 flight jacket is based on the design of the A-2 leather military jacket invented by the U.S. Army during World War II for pilots in its Air Force. This jacket was worn by pilots, navigators and bombardiers and as such was often decorated with squadron patches and painted artwork on the back. It is also referred to as a bomber jacket, although the jacket was not just restricted to the pilots and bomber crews during the war time, but worn by many.

The A2 flying jacket was standardized as the successor to the Type A-1 flying jackets used in 1927 by the U.S. Army Corps. The actual design of the jacket would vary slightly between manufacturers - even when it was contacted to one single manufacturer, however, some distinguishing features belonging to the A2 bomber jackets were common for all. These common features were patch pocket on either side with a flap to warm hands, a snap down collar such as in a shirt, knit cuffs, shoulder straps, knit waistband, single piece leather back to limit stress on the article and an inner lining bordered with silk or cotton. A leather strap in place of a loop was used for hanging the jacket and just below the collar a military space tag was attached.

The pre-war A2 flight jacket was made from horsehide that was either chrome or vegetable tanned.

Goatskin was also used to make some original A-2 jackets, similar to the Navy G-1 jackets. The A-2 jackets issued during the wartime came in a huge range of hue and tones, but these were based on two exclusive colors - namely Seal, which is dark brown to nearly black, and Russet, which is pale brown to medium brown. During the war most personnel wore jackets that were re-dyed from Russet to Seal in order to conceal discoloration and scuffing.

Linings on the earlier A-2 jackets were made from silk, as this was the original specification for the jacket. The silk was lightly spun, breathable and a thin fabric similar to shirts’. Later the lining was changed to cotton as it was not economical to use silk to clothe the whole of the US Army! The A2 flight jackets were specially designed to be closed using a zip and the zips used were either steel or brass, or sometimes even nickel plating. Modern A2 flight jackets are rather loose-fitting compared to the tight fit of the wartime A2 jackets. The contemporary A2 Flight Jackets now also come in several other materials that were not used before, but there are manufacturers who will still replicate the original leather made A2s when you order them - and Cirrus is one of them