MA-1 Flight jacket

[Seb Lucas]

Yes, Jack Bauer wears that one (Season 4). So did Macgyver, when he was't wearing his Chevignon Raider jacket.

 

[the loco]

I have one Supreme x Schott MA-1 in red and a Schott 224 MA-1, however I think the US military never issued any leather MA-1's. I also have a nylon Alpha Inyector jacket that I use for work, it's a decent quality for the price. The contrasting black shell and red lining looks nice. It's a small detail, but I don't like the flaps on the side pockets of the more authentic MA-1's.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Some stills from The Hunters from 1958.

Funnily enough because of my mention of "The Hunters" in the other recent thread it made me pull out my dvd of it today and watch it. As I mentioned in the other thread it's not a patch on the book but for the Sabre and flight jacket footage it's bloody hard to beat!

Watched that film last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will look for a copy for myself (this was a library copy). As you say, the Sabre footage is amazing and I was stunned by the incredible photography, and for nylon junkies it has tons of nylon porn. Once the pilots are downed, it's pretty obviously that the dark blue nylon doesn't blend in all that well with the landscape!

 

[Edward]

Once the pilots are downed, it's pretty obviously that the dark blue nylon doesn't blend in all that well with the landscape!

Ha, yes... hence the shift back to green in short order! I remember reading about new pilots, terribly proud of their navy-blue B15Cs, arriving in Korea only to find that those already in-country prized green jackets for exactly this camouflaging ability.

 

[Smithy]

Ha, yes... hence the shift back to green in short order! I remember reading about new pilots, terribly proud of their navy-blue B15Cs, arriving in Korea only to find that those already in-country prized green jackets for exactly this camouflaging ability.

It's interesting and telling that the majority of US/UN aircrew were more terrified of being shot down and captured than being shot down and killed. And especially captured by North Korean forces than Chinese. So probably not entirely surprising that Cs and C-Mods were ditched in favour of the greens by some aircrew. A lot of the terrain where air operations were occurring and especially that around the Yalu and MiG Alley is rugged scrubland - not really the best terrain to try and evade capture whilst in a blue nylon flight jacket!

Watched that film last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will look for a copy for myself (this was a library copy). As you say, the Sabre footage is amazing and I was stunned by the incredible photography, and for nylon junkies it has tons of nylon porn. Once the pilots are downed, it's pretty obviously that the dark blue nylon doesn't blend in all that well with the landscape!

I got my DVD copy through Amazon (UK) for a song awhile ago. Cheap as chips!

 

[Edward]

It's interesting and telling that the majority of US/UN aircrew were more terrified of being shot down and captured than being shot down and killed. And especially captured by North Korean forces than Chinese. So probably not entirely surprising that Cs and C-Mods were ditched in favour of the greens by some aircrew. A lot of the terrain where air operations were occurring and especially that around the Yalu and MiG Alley is rugged scrubland - not really the best terrain to try and evade capture whilst in a blue nylon flight jacket!

Mn. torture is a terrible thing... living with the mental scars must be even harder.

 

[Doctor Damage]

vintage Rolen in superb condition just got bit up to $311 on e-Bay (see below)

 

[Atticus Finch]

vintage Rolen in superb condition just got bit up to $311 on e-Bay (see below)

I was guessing it'd go a little higher...somewhere in the 450 USD range. It is a very desirable jacket in a very desirable size. But I've been out of the market so long I probably don't have a good feel for the value of vintage nylon anymore.

AF

 

[Doctor Damage]

vintage Rolen in superb condition just got bit up to $311 on e-Bay

I was guessing it'd go a little higher...somewhere in the 450 USD range. It is a very desirable jacket in a very desirable size. But I've been out of the market so long I probably don't have a good feel for the value of vintage nylon anymore.

Several vintage MA-s in good shape popped up on the Bay in the last few days, and some are for low prices, so it will be interesting to see what they get bid up to.

 

[bn1966]

That Rolen went for less than a Buzz in the end, and more desirable IMHO

 

[Doctor Damage]

more shots from The Hunters

 

[Doctor Damage]

here's a 1965 Alpha which just sold

 

[theundeadkennedy]

Hello,

I recently acquired a 1978 Alpha MA-1 off of eBay and am currently searching for replacement knits. The color of this MA-1 reads less green that others I've seen of this period in both the nylon and the knits, the knits read very grey to me. I'm including some pics from the auction that really seem to capture the color well to my eyes.

I have looked at what Mash has to offer the 1st model reproductions are kind of light in color, the 1970s deadstock knits are dark enough to my eyes, but both sets seem to green to me. Maybe it's lighting or just the fact that there is no sage nylon to contrast with.

If anyone can help steer me in the right direction or offer any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-UDK

 

[Doctor Damage]

congrats - you've got a fairly uncommon jacket (the vertical stitching on the windflap)
and same as McQueen wore in The Hunter and photos definitely show the knits are more grey and green

bn1966 will have some ideas for knits, I think

 

[bn1966]

How about these NOS? Collars available too. Pleased with the ones I purchased for my L2B (Alpha1972).

www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-A-F-MA-1-L-2B-GRAY-WOOL-CUFFS-FOR-FLIGHT-JACKETS-MINT-/261502266345

 

[theundeadkennedy]

congrats - you've got a fairly uncommon jacket (the vertical stitching on the windflap)
and same as McQueen wore in The Hunter and photos definitely show the knits are more grey and green

bn1966 will have some ideas for knits, I think

Thank you! Yes, I was in the market for a 76 Greenbrier or a 78 Alpha so I could have a "Hunter" wind flap. Very pleased with the condition of the jacket, I don't think it's ever been worn. The moths definitely got to the knits, very holy.

How about these NOS? Collars available too. Pleased with the ones I purchased for my L2B (Alpha1972).

www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-A-F-MA-1-L-2B-GRAY-WOOL-CUFFS-FOR-FLIGHT-JACKETS-MINT-/261502266345

I'll shoot them an email tomorrow to see if they might also have the waistband as well, hopefully because the color seems to be an excellent match. Thanks for the link!

I'm going to be sending it out to Alan at Johnson Leather for the work and he said he would ask a buddy of his that makes a living selling militaria if he has some spares that would be a good match. Alan does work for him on jackets all the time and thinks its worth asking because he deals with so many period flight jackets. So hopefully he may be able to help me out as well.

 

[theundeadkennedy]

The guy from the eBay link was very helpful. They are sold out of the waistband though. He let me know that the color is slightly off between the cuffs and the collar, but has not had any complaints about it.

 

[bn1966]

My L2B has gone in today for cuff / collar replacement using those knits & another's going in, in about 3 weeks for the same treatment. Not cheap, but I'll end up with two relatively smart early 70's L2Bs that make good regular wearers. One ground crew & one aircrew version. Will post pics when works been done.

 

[theundeadkennedy]

I look forward to seeing how the knit job turns out.

I need to post some pics of the jackets I've acquired since joining the forum soon. Two are MA-1s that I'm very fond of.

 

[bn1966]

I'd like to see pics of those MA1s