I feel the need… the need for a bomber jacket*

*only Top Gun fans will get that!

Bombers jackets are everywhere this season. In this crazy, messed up world we live in I find it kind of funny and weird at the same time that I bought a garment called a ‘Bomber Jacket’ and I’m pretty sure that this post has now been flagged up in some dark, cold data facility in Virginia. My next visa application for the States will probably be rejected when Trump takes over.

The bomber jacket’s origin, as you probably have guessed, dates back to World War One. Military pilots were freezing during flights as the cockpits had no glass. In 1917, the US Army established the Aviation Clothing Board and started to distribute heavy-duty leather jackets with high collars, snug cuffs and waists, and zippers. During World War Two, heavy raids took place at 52,000 feet and the temperature at that altitude would often be as low as -50 degrees celsius. A padded jacket came in handy. The most famous jackets are the A-2 and G-1.

Throughout the decades the jacket was adapted to include wind flaps and fur lining. In the 1950s the MA-1 made its debut in the US Airforce. Due to modern advances in aviation and an increase in cockpit instrumentation, a bulky jacket was no longer comfortable or necessary. As a result, the bomber became more streamlined and began to be made from a breathable nylon material. There was even a handy pocket on the arm so pilots could hold their pens (they were probably trying to finish their crosswords mid-air).

In the 1960s the jacket became a fashion statement for mods and skinheads.

But it was hotshot fighter Maverick from the movie Top Gun who really put the bomber on the map.