Vintage Sheepskin Shearling Flying Bomber Jacket, RAF Irvin Pattern - Made in England

Made in the UK by Blackbird Leather in the 1990s, this is a full-weight sheepskin flying jacket cut to the RAF Irvin pattern, with its original blue Blackbird label, size 48 L. It has the pattern's defining details: panelled construction with raised seams, a high shearling collar with a throat strap, zipped forearms, a full leather belt and ventilation eyelets under the arms.

Leslie Irvin's real business was parachutes. Anyone who bailed out and survived thanks to one was sent a small gold caterpillar pin, and by the end of the Second World War more than 34,000 airmen had earned one. But before anything went wrong, every crew faced the cold. Bomber cabins weren't insulated, and above 25,000 feet the air could fall to fifty below. So Irvin made a jacket from sheepskin, with the leather outside and the wool turned in against the body, and the RAF adopted it as its main flying jacket for most of the war. Orders came in so fast that other workshops were brought in to help, which is why no two wartime Irvins are quite alike.

The sheepskin is the heart of this jacket. Leather and wool are one piece, about as thick as a good blanket, and you can feel the density running a hand down the front. The leather is dark brown and has aged well, with a low shine across the shoulders and back where it has been handled most, soft creasing at the elbows and through the sleeves, and a grain that has loosened just enough to show it has been worn. Inside, the honey-coloured fleece is thick and clean from collar to hem, with no thin patches and no matting.

Blackbird kept to the wartime pattern almost seam for seam. The jacket is built in panels, divided by raised seams that run across the chest, along the back yoke, down the spine and diagonally around the sleeves. Each seam is lapped and topstitched twice to take the strain of a thick, stiff hide. It is slow work, and it is why a jacket like this lasts.

Every detail has a job. The collar stands up to the ears and buckles shut across the throat with a short leather strap, or turns down into broad lapels of fleece. The forearms zip open so the sleeves can close over gloves, and the deep fleece cuffs turn back over the wrist. The two hand pockets are cut at an angle with leather welts, easy to reach while seated. The belt is a proper piece of leatherwork, stitched along both edges, with brass eyelets, a brass buckle and a pointed tip held in a leather keeper. Under each arm, a small triangular panel is set with eight metal eyelets to let out the heat that would otherwise build up inside a jacket this warm. A small chain inside the collar lets it hang properly.

This is a full-weight British-made Irvin-pattern jacket, built faithfully to the wartime design and in excellent order three decades on.

Condition & Restoration

Excellent vintage condition.

The sheepskin is strong and supple, with natural creasing to the sleeves and body and a soft sheen from wear. That is the character of the jacket, not damage. The seams are sound throughout, with no cracking or panel weakness.

The fleece is thick and even across the body, sleeves and collar. Every zip has been refurbished in the workshop, cleaned, polished and waxed, and all of them run smoothly. The throat strap, belt and brass buckle are original and in good order.

Professionally cleaned and dressed in-house using our own Workshop Blends, with the leather left soft and supple and its natural character intact.

All photographs show the actual jacket for sale and form an important part of the condition description.

Key Features

• Blackbird Leather RAF Irvin pattern flying jacket, made in the UK, c. 1990s
• Original blue Blackbird label, size 48 L
• Full-weight brown sheepskin, worn fleece-side in
• Thick honey-coloured fleece
• Panelled construction with raised, double-stitched seams
• High shearling collar with leather throat strap
• Full leather belt with brass eyelets and buckle
• Zipped forearms and turn-back fleece cuffs
• Underarm ventilation panels with metal eyelets
• Two angled hand pockets with leather welts
• Hanging chain inside the collar
• All zips refurbished
• Excellent vintage condition

Size & Fit

Measurements taken laid flat:

• Chest (armpit to armpit): 26 in / 66 cm
• Shoulders (seam to seam): 23 in / 61 cm
• Sleeve (shoulder seam to cuff): 26 in / 66 cm
• Sleeve (underarm seam to cuff): 22 in / 56 cm
• Back length (collar seam to hem): 27 in / 66 cm

Labelled size: 48 L.

Best suited to: a 48 inch chest, long, true to the label.

Fit: A classic Irvin cut, broad through the chest and shoulders to allow for the thickness of the sheepskin, and short in the body so it sits at the waist with the belt fastened. Please check these measurements against a jacket you already own, and get in touch with any sizing questions.