{"product_id":"vintage-raf-style-sheepskin-flying-jacket-mk-vi-aero-zips-made-in-england","title":"Vintage 1950s British RAF Sheepskin Flying Jacket – Aero Zips, Made in England","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eYour thumb finds the cuff zip before your eyes do: AERO, in block capitals, struck between two incised lines. It is the only name on the jacket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAero Zipp Fasteners was a Welsh works, established on the Treforest Trading Estate near Pontypridd in the late 1930s by Joachim Koppel, a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany. In the war it made zips for military equipment and parts for aircraft. By 1965 it was making a third of Britain’s zip exports, and its zips turn up on British outerwear of the period, Grenfell jackets among them. Whoever cut and stitched this coat left no mark of their own. The only label is a woven ribbon at the collar, gold on black: Made in England.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eYou have to read the hide instead. The collar stands high against the jaw and buckles at the throat. Side straps draw the waist in, so the wind finds no way up the back. The cuffs zip shut over a glove. The pockets slant down into cream wool, set where a hand drops without thinking. Wherever the leather stops, the fleece takes over: hem, cuffs, pocket borders. The cold meets wool at every turn.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe cut has a name: the Mk VI, sold in Britain as a flying jacket. Some of the labels even say WW2, a nod to the wartime jacket being copied, not the year it was sewn. Its cut and its cuff zips point to the 1950s. The front zip came later, a brown plastic YKK, probably fitted in the 1970s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe leather is dark brown and lacquered. Worn raw, sheepskin is suede and soaks up water and oil, so flying jackets were sprayed with a dark pigment and a lacquer over it. Collectors cite Glenn Sweeting’s \u003cem\u003eCombat Flying Clothing\u003c\/em\u003e for a wartime American waterproofing treatment called Korsseal, and a USAAF instruction of October 1943 for a polyacrylate dye under an acrylic lacquer. How the British jackets were finished is still argued over. How any of them age is not: the lacquer picks up crazing, fine hairline cracks, where the leather flexes. Here it is minor, at the elbows, underarms and piped seams, and it has been treated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eInside, the fleece is dense, curled and cream.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eZip the cuff shut and read the pull once more. The maker never signed the coat. The zip did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" aria-level=\"4\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition \u0026amp; Restoration\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eVery good vintage condition for its age. The lacquered finish is intact and glossy across the body, back and sleeves, with minor crazing and light distressing mainly at the elbows, the underarms and the piped seams. These areas have been treated, and they are shown close up in the images.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe shearling is dense, clean and cream at the cuffs and hem, and the brown wool collar is full and plush. The shearling edging to the pockets shows light wear from use, shorter and flatter on one side, with no holes or tears. These areas are shown close up in the images.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe Aero cuff zips are original, with light surface oxidation to the metal. The front zip is a later YKK, probably fitted in the 1970s. All zips, buckles and straps are in working order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eSpecialist cleaned and conditioned in-house.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" aria-level=\"4\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Features\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVintage British RAF-style sheepskin flying jacket, Mk VI cut\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade in England, circa 1950s (dated by its Aero cuff zips and cut)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOriginal Aero cuff zips, silver-toned metal, pull stamped AERO, Welsh-made\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLater brown molded-plastic YKK front zip, probably 1970s\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRounded brown wool collar with buckled throat strap\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSlanted hand-warmer pockets edged in cream shearling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZipped cuffs and adjustable side waist straps\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePiped seams at the sleeves and sides\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne-piece back under a single yoke seam\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLacquered dark brown finish, minor crazing treated\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDense curled cream fleece throughout\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWoven Made in England label at the collar\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\" aria-level=\"4\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize \u0026amp; Fit\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChest, armpit to armpit: 21.5\" \/ 54.6 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShoulders, seam to seam: 20\" \/ 50.8 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSleeve, shoulder seam to cuff: 26\" \/ 66 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnderarm seam to cuff: 20\" \/ 50.8 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBack length, base of collar to hem: 29\" \/ 73.7 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBest suited to:\u003c\/strong\u003e 38\" chest, regular \/ Size Small\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFit:\u003c\/strong\u003e A mid-length flying jacket, broad through the shoulders, with the thick fleece taking up a good deal of room inside. A 38\" chest will have space for a jumper underneath. The side straps draw the waist in, and the cuffs zip open to get a hand through. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePlease go by the measurements above, and compare them with a jacket you already own..\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Revive Restore Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54977957167427,"sku":"EB5177","price":595.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0786\/2232\/7107\/files\/IMG_8104.jpg?v=1793185870","url":"https:\/\/reviverestorevintage.co.uk\/products\/vintage-raf-style-sheepskin-flying-jacket-mk-vi-aero-zips-made-in-england","provider":"Revive \u0026 Restore Vintage","version":"1.0","type":"link"}