Vintage Cirrus RAF Irvin Sheepskin Shearling Flying Bomber Jacket

Pick this jacket up and the first thing you notice is the weight. It's heavy in the way only real sheepskin is, the leather and the fleece one single hide, thick enough that it holds its shape on the hanger. Then you turn the collar up, and it rises past your ears and closes at the throat with a leather strap, and you understand straight away what it was designed for.

It was made in the early 1990s by Cirrus, a family firm in Norfolk that had been making sheepskin flying jackets since 1982. Cirrus cut each jacket from at least four full skins, from good tanneries, and fitted them with heavy brass zips and military-grade buckles. The label inside reads The Spirit of Adventure.

The pattern they followed belongs to an American. Leslie Irvin was born in Los Angeles in 1895, worked as a Hollywood stuntman, and in 1919 made the first free-fall parachute jump in the United States. In 1926 he opened a factory in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, and the sheepskin jacket made there became the RAF's main flying jacket for most of the Second World War. The crews who wore it flew at altitude in unheated aircraft, where the cold was a constant danger. So the collar was made big enough to bury your face in, the cuffs zipped tight at the wrist, and the belt pulled the jacket in against the body.

This Cirrus keeps every one of those details. Open it up and you can see it was built the old way, panel after panel of sheepskin pieced together like the wartime originals, every seam on the outside bound in dark leather. The brass Cirrus zip runs the full front. There are angled hand pockets with leather welts, and broad back panels where the grain shows its natural movement. The golden fleece rolls out at the cuffs and hem against the deep brown leather, which is the contrast that makes an Irvin so recognisable from across a room.

What makes this one worth having is how well it has lasted. More than thirty years on, there's no cracking anywhere in the hide and no thinning in the fleece, and nothing has been replaced. The leather has softened and creased gently where it was worn, and the fleece is still dense, clean and full. Ones that have survived thirty years this well are not easy to find.

Condition & Restoration

Excellent vintage condition.

The heavyweight double-faced sheepskin remains strong, supple and structurally sound throughout, with no cracking or damage to the leather. The dense golden fleece is exceptionally clean and well preserved, including the collar, cuffs and exposed lower hem.

The jacket has been specialist cleaned and conditioned in-house, with care taken to preserve the established character of the sheepskin. The main zip and cuff zips have been refurbished, cleaned, waxed and polished, and run smoothly. 

Key Features

• Cirrus RAF Irvin reproduction flying jacket, made in England
• Circa early 1990s
• Original "Cirrus Original, The Spirit of Adventure" label
• Made in-house by a Norfolk family firm founded in 1982
• Heavyweight double-faced sheepskin, in panelled construction like the wartime originals
• Deep brown leather exterior with dense golden fleece interior
• Oversized shearling flying collar
• Leather throat strap with brass-toned buckle
• Original Cirrus-branded heavy metal main zip
• Full leather waist belt
• Two angled hand-warmer pockets with leather welts
• Zipped sleeve cuffs
• Dark leather binding on the seams
• Exposed shearling cuffs and hem

Garment Measurements, Laid Flat

• Chest, armpit to armpit: 26.5" / 67.5 cm
• Shoulders, seam to seam: 22" / 56 cm
• Sleeve, shoulder seam to cuff: 27" / 68.5 cm
• Underarm seam to cuff: 21.5" / 54.5 cm
• Back length, base of collar to hem: 28" / 71 cm

Best suited to: 46" chest / Size XL

Fit: A generous Irvin cut, allowing for the substantial thickness of the heavyweight sheepskin.

For the best indication of sizing, please compare the measurements above with a similar jacket you already own. For any sizing questions, please get in touch.