Good Wear Leather Coat Company: Sale Chapman Parachute Type B-2 Flight Jacket

Chapman Parachute & Equipment Co. Type B-2 Flight Jacket
Price: $2,050.00 (new condition) — note shipping costs below
Fit: this jacket has comfortable fit in the correct size
Leather: russet veg-tanned Italian horsehide
Lining: superb heavy wool
Mouton: vintage original mouton
Snap: vintage United-Carr Anzo
Main buckle: vintage NOS buckle
Thread: mid-brown cotton
Main zipper: reproduction M-31 nickel No.7 Hookless
Sleeve zipper: vintage M-31 nickel No.5 Talons
Size: 44

We have this B-2 jacket avaible, and it was a return. A replacement jacket is being made in a larger size, but this one is ready to go. The jacket is a copy of Switlik Parachute & Equipment Company's B-2 from 1932. These are heavy jackets with quite large collars, and they're designs for easy use in the cockpit, as a top matched with the trousers of the same design adn weight.

This jacket is made with russet Italian veg-tanned horsehide, and the lining is a dense and warm wool fabric. We were able to get our pattern from an original size 44 B-1 by Switlik, and their B-2 is essentially the same design with a wool lining. Werber Sportswear also made the B-1 and B-2 jackets, but with slightly different details. The two vintage photos from our collection below show Werber originals.

The details are all consistent with Switlik originals, though our original jacket had the pocket removed, a requirement from not long after these jackets were made. We've designed our pocket based on photographs of Switlik A-2 trousers which still have pockets in place. While we've not yet seen an original jacket with the collar elastic strap still in place, we've built our strap in what we belive would be a typical construction.

When looking at the torso length (front and back), it would be easy to think the jacket is too short. The large collar hole is why those numbers are shorter than a typical size 44 A-2. If the collar hole was the same size as an A-2, the numbers would be more like 23.5" in the front and 26" in the back, but a much larger collar hole reduces the overall numeric length, not the worn torso length. The photographs bear this out.

These jackets are ever-so complex, and we can see how this design morphed into the B-3 jacket, a far easier design to make in high numbers. But, the wonderful era of open-cockpit military and civilian flying enjoyed complex leather garments like this to keep fliers warm and focused on flying.

Switlik is still an active company, and yes, we did ask if we could license their name on our jackets, but they decided against it. This is why we use the name Chapman Parachute and Equipment Co.

The jacket would ideally fit someone in the range of 5'10" to 6'1", with a chest of 41" to 43", and a weight of about 185-210 pounds. The jacket is shown with a wearer who is 6 feet tall with a 41.5" chest, and there's plenty of extra room for layering in on the torso.