Those heavy duty bullet stopping woolley overcoats of yesteryear!! (pics)

[Marc Chevalier]

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Once upon a midnight dreary, before central heating and Gore-Tex, men wore overcoats made of wool so thick, so heavy, they could seemingly stop a bullet. (Don't try it, though!)


Chilly Britain is home to many of these vintage overcoats. Here's one (not mine) from the World War II era. Ever seen a modern overcoat as formidable as this?

 

[Feraud]

That is what I like. Thick wool! Not the flimsy stuff you see today. It reminds me of a sheepskin jacket I have. It is about 4 inches thick and weighs about 20 lbs!

 

[herringbonekid]

i'm a complete sucker for heavy english 40s overcoats and currently own 5.
to me, they are the standard to which all other overcoats are measured.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Funny you should post this; I was just reminiscing about my old Marine Corps horse blanket to Carebear. It was massively thick, witha huge collar that served me very well walking to class in central Michigan in the dead of a Midwest winter. It seems to have, er, shrunk over time, I'm afraid, and has long since moved on. That thing was great, and I really miss it. Of course, I don't really have much impetus to replace it here in the desert!

 

[Benny Holiday]

I still have some of my Dad's clothes, and among them is a three quarter-length coat, called a car coat here, dark blue with a dark brown fur collar and tartan lined. The wool of this coat is amazingly thick and heavy, and dates from at least the 50's, though it may well be from the late 40's.

Whatever happend to quality?

 

[The Wingnut]

I'd love one of those for the winter. I've a NOS WWII US Army overcoat of the same construction, but it doesn't mix so well with civilian.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

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The lapels make that coat look very strong and bold, coupled with the wide belt and oversize flap pockets and that coat means business. That is a coat for standing in the shadows of a street in Vienna after WWII; a light goes on in a window and your face is revealed. I would love one like that.

 

[Robert Conway]

Now, that is a good looking jacket.


RC

 

[feltfan]

That coat's a lot like one of the overcoats I posted here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=11822&page=3

Mine is made in America (and lacks those subtle blue and red threads)
but man, is it thick. How it ended up in California I'll never know.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

During the Crimean War the British cavalry actually had trouble with the Russian cavalry because the Russian's thick wool coats and shakos would deflect or even stop many saber cuts. So perhaps not bullets, but maybe swords?

 

[The Duke]

wow! that's a nice overcoat, very good for the winter.

 

[manton]

Fox Brothers in England still makes very heavy overcoating flannel. Frank made what he called a "Russian army officers" coat for a client last year out of 32 ounce flannel. A friend of mine recently bought 6 yards of 43 (!) ounce flannel -- and the best part is, he intends to make it as a suit, not an overcoat! It think he's crazy ...

 

[Baron Kurtz]

According to my father, the one i have waiting for me in Scotland is the heaviest thing he's ever had on his shoulders. It looks just like this one, but in brown herringbone.

the US depression era versions are pretty heavy, too.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

A friend of mine recently bought 6 yards of 43 (!) ounce flannel -- and the best part is, he intends to make it as a suit, not an overcoat! It think he's crazy ...

In Chile's used clothing stores, which for some reason import lots of WWII-era German clothes, I found a black double-breasted suit in a VERY heavy wool flannel. It was like an overcoat suit! Looked great but felt awful when I returned to sunny Los Angeles.



Here's a photo, which unfortunately doesn't convey how heavy and thick the material really is:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

43 (!) ounce flannel --

wow. Now that's a heavy fabric!

bk

 

[manton]

wow. Now that's a heavy fabric!

He's having a hell of a time finding someone to make it. Usually, the heavier a cloth is, the more delighted a tailor is to work on it. But at a certain point it becomes very difficult indeed to make into a suit coat instead of an overcoat, which can have much larger seam allowances and fits more loosely. At one point, I suggested that he take it to a blacksmith. He did not find that suggestion so helpful ...

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I guess the opposite extreme would be to make a suit out of organdy, or maybe silk tissue.


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[Spitfire]

During the Crimean War the British cavalry actually had trouble with the Russian cavalry because the Russian's thick wool coats and shakos would deflect or even stop many saber cuts. So perhaps not bullets, but maybe swords?

Come to think of something I once read:
In 1864 Denmark was at war with Preussia and Austria/Hungary.
A small group of danish dragoons are on patrol, when they are attacked by a larger group of austrian hussars. (The danes in this great lounge, may have heard the name Niels Kjeldsen!)
Very typical the danish dragoons had dismounted their horses - on a forward position - to drink beer, whe they were ambushed. But all but one, managed to get up on their horses and fight the austraians off.
It turns into a running battle, with the danish dragoons trying to reach their own lines and the hussars trying to stop them and/or take the prisoners.
During this little cavalry skirmish a danish dragoon is hid in the shoulder by a austrian carbineshot. He falls from his horse, and is taken prisoner. When he examined the shoulder, there was no wound. Only a big, blue mark.
The very heavy coats, the dragoon had on in wintertime, was bulletproof. At least on a certain distance.

 

[Feraud]

At least on a certain distance.

That is a good story Spitfire. In the 1860's I assume the Austria cavalry was probably using smoothbore muskets firing round balls. With blackpowder generating less pressure than smokeless and a ball versus a pointed bullet, I am not too surprised to read this.
A great story!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Those Europeans and their boiled wool!

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