Vintage 1970s Sheepskin B-3 Flying Jacket, Brown Shearling, Made in England

England, some decades ago. A small workshop, a few cutting tables, and a stack of sheepskins. Somebody there knew exactly what they were doing.

This is their work: a sheepskin flying jacket cut to the B-3 pattern and finished by hand. The pattern dates from the Second World War, when American bomber crews flew at altitude in unheated aircraft and the cold could do as much damage as the enemy. Sheepskin was the answer, with the fleece turned inwards and hide and wool as a single piece. Eighty years on, nobody has found a better one.

The construction shows the maker’s hand. Every seam is bound in leather and edged with a fine line of tan piping. The back is pieced in the traditional cross so that no good skin was wasted, a slow job to do neatly, and it has been done neatly here. The collar turns up high and closes with a buckled leather strap across the throat. There are slanted flap pockets at the front, buckled adjusters at the waist, and a full brass zip running from hem to collar, and the cuffs and hem are turned out in thick cream shearling.

Inside sits a plain black label: “Type F-16, Aviation Air Force Jacket, U.S. Army Style. Made in England.” There’s no maker’s name. The model name is borrowed from the F-16 fighter, which first flew in 1974, so it’s an old pattern under a newer name. Jackets like this were made in small numbers, and few have survived.

The hide has settled into a deep chocolate brown, and the piping has warmed to tan where years of handling have found it. The fleece is still dense and full throughout.

It left one small English workshop decades ago. Now it has passed through another, cleaned, conditioned and made ready for the winter. Wear it once on a January morning and you’ll understand why nobody ever improved on it.

Condition & Restoration

Very good vintage condition. The sheepskin is strong, with a natural grain and the character of age. There is some very light surface chapping and a few tiny marks in the grain across the upper back, usual for a sheepskin of this age and shown in the images. The fleece is dense and full throughout, the seams are sound, and the leather binding and piping are intact.

Specialist cleaned and conditioned in-house. The brass zip has been cleaned, polished and waxed, and runs smoothly. The collar strap and waist buckles all fasten as they should.

Key Features

• Vintage sheepskin flying jacket, Made in England
• Original “Type F-16, Aviation Air Force Jacket, U.S. Army Style” label
• B-3 pattern, with fleece and hide as one piece
• Deep chocolate hide with dense cream fleece throughout
• Leather-bound seams with tan piping
• Traditional cross-panel back
• Turn-up shearling collar with buckled leather throat strap
• Full-length brass zip
• Slanted flap hand pockets
• Buckled waist adjusters at each side
• Turned-out shearling cuffs and hem

Size & Fit

Measurements, laid flat

• Chest, armpit to armpit: 22" / 55.9 cm
• Shoulders, seam to seam: 21" / 53.3 cm
• Sleeve, shoulder seam to cuff: 25" / 63.5 cm
• Underarm seam to cuff: 18" / 45.7 cm
• Back length, base of collar to hem: 25.5” / 64.8 cm

Best suited to: 40" chest, regular / Size S/M

Fit: The label reads M, but it was made in the late 1970s, when sizing ran smaller than it does today, so it fits a modern small to medium. It’s a classic B-3 cut, broad through the shoulders and short in the body, with the thick fleece taking up room inside. The buckled straps at the waist draw it in for a closer fit. Please go by the measurements above rather than the label, and compare them with a jacket you already own.