The Luftwaffe (German Air Force), ruled the skies of Europe for more than 4 years, during the dark days of WWII. In that time, many of their pilots made their mark by becoming some of the highest scoring aces in history: Adolf Galland, 'Pips' Priller, Heinz Knoke, Molders ... to mention just a few, were all famed for their aeronautical combat skill. Eric Hartman 'The Blonde Knight of Germany', still holds the record of 352 victories (most of these were against Russian opponents) - it is doubtful that this will ever be surpassed!

These pilots, along with many others, favoured the short leather flying jacket as the most suitable garment for doing their job.

The conception of this style garment, was born soon after the introduction of enclosed cockpits. The need for the long trenchcoat style overcoat - like those used during the First World War - was no longer necessary.

By WWII, several commercial manufacturers were producing short style leather jackets, for general casual and utility applications. And so the Luftwaffe soon adopted these for their purpose, which seemed to be acceptable to the military authority. No doubt they reasoned this kind of unofficial uniform played a big part in the morale of pilots - it was their uniform! As long as the jackets conformed to a basic design and colour (black or brown), they were accepted. Hence, when viewing archive images from this period, it is evident, that although generally very similar, there were numerous designs being worn.

They were an immediate hit amongst the young, proud and style-conscious Luftwaffe fighter pilots. The flattering and distinctive hip length cut, set them aside from all other aircrew and it became their status symbol!

Apart from an electrically heated, leather, 2 piece suit, there was no other official Luftwaffe issue leather jacket.

Our reproduction of the Luftwaffe® jacket is taken mostly from one particular design which we knew to have been worn by Luftwaffe pilots. After acquiring several original examples of various styles, we selected one which we felt offered the best in terms of style, build quality, and practicality; this is a very practical and usable garment. We took the very best design ideas from one or two others, such as waist and cuff fastening concepts, and came up with what can only be described as a garment of sheer quality.

Please read the specification below, and then examine the close-up detail photo gallery, which you can link to at the top of this page, and we are sure you will be impressed. Specification includes: