A Brief History of the Bomber Flight Jacket
The original skyex suits was born of necessity, during the First World War, when fighter pilots had to fly in open planes at high altitudes. Their mission was, of course, to bomb the enemy. The first pilots in the world to be issued with so-called bomber jackets were those who were in the Royal Marine Corps, serving in parts of Europe during 1915. The earliest jackets were long and made of leather. It didn't take other countries long to follow suit, particularly the US military, that established its Aviation Clothing Board in 1917 and soon began making its own version of the leather bomber flight jacket. If you look at the typical A-2 (Air Force)or G-1 (Navy) bomber-type designs on sale in fashion houses today, you will see what these early designs looked like. Highly practical, and made to keep out the cold high up in the sky, they had high wraparound collars, zippers down the front with wind flaps, and they fitted snugly around both wrists and waist. By the time war broke out ag...