Help buying flight pants, opinions, pricing, etc.?

[juvatwad]

Andy, I don't agree that the med version and continental version saw equal use. I don't think the two piece med suits were used much with respect to the numbers produced. Photographic evidence points toward much heavier use of the continental version. That is why the med version is relatively easier to find, and can usually be found in better condition. I think it's similar to why we see white light weight jackets in abundance in period photos, yet no one has ever turned one up in a collection. By the end of the war, they were used up.

With respect to lining, the continental jackets are lined in satin.

Ian

[Andy F-P]

Hello Ian,
Thanks for your reply. This is very interesting and I am learning a lot from an interesting discussion. Does anyone else have any views of the amount of use the med. version saw over the continental pattern? I know in old black and white photo's it is sometimes difficult to be completely sure which version is being worn.
Regards,
Andy

[Jos L C]

1944

The whole crew is wearing tan..


Jos.

[WWIIBuff]

Pretty rare, I don't see them on the market, except for the fake ones..
Watch out for the L & R marked ones and the canvas Czech ones, for example..
The flares are less rare, now and then they're for sale .. , unfortunately there's some competition going on with the ammunition collectors..

Jos.

Thanks Jos. I had a feeling both these items would be pretty rare. I guess I better keep my eyes open. If by chance I ever find an example of either, I wouldn't buy it without posting pictures here for opinions first.


Jim & Paul thanks for letting me know about your collections thread, I'll take a look.

[RamJet]

@ Jos:

Where was this picture taken?

[Jos L C]

I've no clue..

It's the crew of a camouflaged Heinkel 177 somewhere on a airfield in 1944..

As a note, I think that the tan flight clothing wasn't especially invented for hot climate med. areas , because this would also indicate that all tan flightsuits were invented for that.., we see tan flightsuits from the beginning ...
It's just Summer stuff used at any place IMO.

Jos.

[juvatwad]

Nice photo, but for that one there are probably ten showing the continental pattern, especially with fighters. In my opinion the continental pattern is rarer now because they were used up during the war, and as others stated the jackets lent themselves to civilian wear. Also, when you compare the two types the continental pattern is more fragile and prone to wear and tear then the med version.

[juvatwad]

Where are all the white jackets? I know these aren't channel pants, but this I think illustrates my theory about clothing that was used the most survived the least.

[juvatwad]

2

[Andy F-P]

I have checked my sources and can find many examples of the Med. pattern being worn in places other than the Med. I will scan a few photo's this evening to show on the Forum. As an example, Sturmstaffel 1 by Eric Mombeek, page 60 at the bottom. Gerhard Vivroux is wearing the trousers of the Med. pattern and I believe Rudolf Pancherz is wearing the jacket with the continental pattern trouser. I have seen quite a bit of this 'mix and match' going on.

I agree that the continental pattern saw more widespread use than the so called Med. pattern in Eastern and Western Europe, but the use of the Med. pattern was pretty widespread by all aircrew.

I am sure most men did not care about the colour being issued to them, it wasn't a fashion parade, they only wanted the best and most comfortable equipment to do their job.

My view is still that the continental pattern so more widespread use in both Eastern and Western Europe and also probably so in the Mediterranean, but the Med. version was also used in quite large numbers on all fronts but especially the Southern Fronts.
Regards,
Andy

[Jos L C]

Where are all the white jackets? I know these aren't channel pants, but this I think illustrates my theory about clothing that was used the most survived the least.

Yup, all the white are gone.., never saw a real one..
I guess almost all turned into a dirty jacket with a damaged collar, I've seen that several times..


Here's a pic of what I believe is a tan jacket ..

Jos.

[SprogCollector]

I've found it interesting that there were apparently two distinct versions of the white channel jacket. One with a full zip and another with a zip that ends just above the waistband (jacket has a continuous waistband). I believe the gentlemen in this photo are all wearing the pullover style jacket with the one-piece, continuous waistband.

The other photos in this series clearly show the two versions.

[frank savage]

Here's a pic of what I believe is a tan jacket ..

Sure, wear by Erich Rudorffer, I suppose...

[frank savage]

I've found it interesting that there were apparently two distinct versions of the white channel jacket. One with a full zip and another with a zip that ends just above the waistband (jacket has a continuous waistband). I believe the gentlemen in this photo are all wearing the pullover style jacket with the one-piece, continuous waistband.

The other photos in this series clearly show the two versions.

Intersting words... I have notice the same thing. There's a famous Rudel's imagine with a fellow pilot that wore a white jacket as that described by SprogCollector. Seems that the wool waistband runs around the waist, w/out any interruption for the frontal zip... Is difficult think to a jacket cut in this one way, and about the difficult to dress, due the not open frontal breasts, but in some images seems to be this...

Only my thoughts...

[SprogCollector]

I think there might actually be 3 versions of the white jacket. At one point I thought I had seen a 4th.

Version 1 is pretty much identical to the blue summer channel jacket except for color (cream/offwhite?) and a knit collar. Full zip; ribbed waistband; etc.

Version 2 appears to have a one-piece knit waistband (these sometime appear with a smooth waistband, too); partial zipper; with or without the leather oxygen mask tab.

Version 3 appears very similar to Version 2 except for having a full zipper running directly through the one-piece waistband. On the blue version, the waistband material ends a few cm to either side of the zipper and jacket cloth runs to the bottom hem.

What I thought might have been Version 4 had knit cuffs but a fellow WAF member and I discussed and came to the conclusion it was likely an underlying sweater cuff protruding out. Believe these were from a series of Walter Oesau photos. Anyway, here are of the confusing photos which prompted a look into the version with knit cuffs:


Yes, a drawing but I'd like to see the photo it was based on


This is one of the shots from the Oesau series. The full photo has indications of knit cuffs.