Avirex B-9...was there really such a thing?

[Larry5337]

Since the "B-9" offered by USWINGS as an Avirex repro has a combination of features from the B-3, D-1 & the Irvin, it looks like a good utility sheepskin flight jacket. BUT, did it really exist and when?

~larry

 

[Steve27752]

No it did not exist. It is a made up jacket.
Steve

 

[Larry5337]

I kind of suspected that. I was able to recently contact a friend of mine who collects the high end replicas of all the flight jackets and he said the same thing. Ashame though...looks like both a good jacket and something that probably should have been but wasn't.

Larry

 

[Alan Eardley]

B-9

Sorry, you're not right. The B-9 was an olive drab gabardine flight jacket or parka with a mouton-lined hood and down-filled quilted satin lining. It was standardised for wear as a suit with the A-8 trousers on 22nd July 1943. The zipper (usually a Conmar) was concealed by a buttoned windflap. Fifty thousand of the B-9/a-8 combinations were procured.
Source: Sweeting, G. (1984) Combat Flying Clothing. Smithsonian Institution.

 

[ShanghaiJack]

NO

AND..... Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Avirex!

:cool2:

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Absolutely true Jack,...

AND..... Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Avirex!

:cool2:

After much investigating and shopping around for quality A2s, I learned a lot about the other end of the spectrum too. Most of the stuff they've made over the years is garbage. :rage: However I did recently stumble upon an elegant lambskin number from them from 1978 that actually looks like a genuine A2. I was shocked! It doesn't have all those "details" that Avirex is notorious for putting into their jackets.

 

[Havana]

Avirex of today - I wouldn't touch. But, I do have an Avirex A-2 that I bought used in 1984 that is still a solid jacket after twenty years of heavy wear. The leather shows some wear and tear. It was never babied but there are no tears, no holes in the well worn lining and not a single loose stitch. Even the cuffs and waisband are still tight. Many people think it's actually a much older vintage jacket. If you find an older Avirex, you might want to look it over and give it some consideration. If you're wanting a strictly new jacket, I would look elsewhere.