Recently got this USN Denim Jacket from Real McCoys.  10 oz denim.

https://www.realmccoys.co.jp/catalog/products/detail.php?product_id=2269&pg=3

It was no-wash, and shrank a lot.  You can see a lot of shrinkage in the chain-stitching across the top of the pocket in the below pic.

Even after the wash the sleeves were very long…  so I decided to do a home-style stitching.

A blanket stitch using my leather stitching tools and linen thread.

The coat buttons are listed as iron.  They are a flat black, but I’m expecting that they will burnish over time to something more like the Buzz Rickson’s version of this jacket.

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/hinoya/m13157/

http://www.buzzricksons.jp/product/us_air_force-0019.html

It looks amazing, and it looks very loud.  I thought it looks too loud to wear in public.

Hinoya have some fit pics which didn’t change my opinion.

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/hinoya/br11540/

But now that I’ve seen some pictures scanned from the Beams catalog on ACL.

http://www.acontinuouslean.com/2009/09/22/the-beams-autumn-winter-2009-10-mens-catalog/

These pics make the jacket look incredibly wearable.  I don’t think I have the style to pull that look off, but some people certainly can.

Most tank jackets with slash pockets are a khaki colour. eg.

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/hinoya/br10994_01/

Buzz Ricksons found an original vintage brown leaf colour Tank Jacket with a crown chevron zipper, and they produced a replication of this as the BR11096. (around 2007?)

http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/amekajishop-klax-on/br11096.html

This year they have a plain version of the same jacket as the BR11545. They also have a version of this with a painted pink tank decal on the back.

Details:

MATERIAL?Cotton – West Point Uniform Twill?
COLOR?Brown?
FASTENER?CROWN Military Use Aluminum Die Casting Chevron?
LINING?26oz. Wool Blanket?
LABEL?Buzz Rickson Sportswear Co., Inc.

It’s quite warm. I was originally looking at the B10 and the N-1 jackets, but they were just to hot and bulky for what I can wear, and I settled on this jacket instead.

Other Tank versions you might find interesting:

• William Gibson Black Version (which has a regular and a long version)

  http://item.rakuten.co.jp/hinoya/br11459/

• Real McCoys Taxi Driver
  

  http://www.realmccoys.co.jp/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=508&osCsid=03dc3396973b531a67114ab393f545a4

• Real McCoys Caballero
  

  http://www.realmccoys.co.jp/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=190&osCsid=9a785fc7c4c71a25dcb65dab6d24ebcd

• Toys McCoys Batman
  

Tank Jackets in the Movies:

• Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver wears a version of the Tank jacket with the Gorilla patch on the arm. This is the Real McCoys replica jacket above.
  
• Eugene “Doc” Roe wears a Tank jacket in Band of Brothers, especially seen in episode 5.
  

I also wanted to look at the Buzz Ricksons replica pea coat as an alternative
http://www.buzzricksons.jp/product/us_navy-0018.html
but apparently it sold out in October!

Lacquered A-2. Most A-2 are aniline dyed, so a lacquer jacket should be more glossy and not fade.

William Gibson black A-1 and black cardigan (which can be worn under the A-2, or A-1 I guess).

William Gibson black M-65. Nice.

Navy Pea Coat. Nice!

BR: “In April of 1956, the F-102 Delta Dagger fighter aircrafts 327 FIS were stationed at George AFB in California and were the backbone of the air defense. The first recorded dispatch was when they moved to Thule AB, Greenland in July of ’58 and were active until ’60. Note the patch to be 327th FIS of the ADC jacket. Accessories: The squadron patch is on the right chest, the nameplate on the left chest, ADC patch on right shoulder sleeve and fuselage patch on left shoulder sleeve.”

I find the L2B more comfortable than the MA-1 which is just too hot, heavy and bulky.

I’ve worn the jacket about 4 days per week. I must say that the jacket is more awesome that I thought it would be. It’s very easy to wear, so easy that I have troubles trying to not wear it.

You can see the fading on the arms, especially along the inside seams.

The pockets as well have some signs of wear/fading along the edges.

The back right has some significant fading, probably because I usually wear a daily satchel in that area.

Here is a close-up of the leather at the front, where you can see some flaking of the dye.

One of my only gripes about the jacket would be the rivetting of the neck hook. You can see in these close-ups that the top rivet on both the hook and the latch has problems.

You can see a micro hole has worn on the right hand lining seam. There’s a bit of indigo transfer there too!

And here is a pic of the collar, where you can see the discolouring and wear.

Here are some pictures of my Buzz Rickson’s MA-1. I got it at the start of summer, so I haven’t really had a chance to wear it until now.

You can read about the Black MA-1 at History Preservation, or the Buzz Ricksons site.

You can read how William Gibson wrote about the Buzz Rickson’s Black MA-1 before it existed.

…and then you can read the Gibson book “Pattern Recognition”.

Here is a close-up of the nylon oxygen mask flap.

A close-up of the zipper.

In this close-up you can see a peg between the top teeth to stop the zipper.

This picture shows the bunching of the nylon on the inside of the arm.

In Pattern Recognition Gibson talks about the sewing machines not being able to grip the fabric (because nylon was still relatively new) so this was evident in the bunching and skewing of these seams. On my jacket it seems like the bunching/skewing is done on purpose to shape the arms.

A close-up of the front pocket with snap and bar-tack.

The lining, with the inner pocket – which looks the same as the finishing on the outside.

Impressions so far: The jacket is suprisingly heavy and VERY warm. It isn’t like the modern versions you might see. It feels like it contains a double blanket layering between the nylon shell. I think it’s only wearable for days where the maximum temperature is below 19°C.

Thanks to DDML for posting pics of his MA-1 and for sizing advice.

The top manufacturers in Japan are:

The Real McCoys
Toys McCoys
The Few
Buzz Ricksons

I’m considering getting a Flight Jacket during my next trip to Japan. I have a Buzz Ricksons MA-1 (Black), and now I’m thinking of perhaps an A-2, A-1, N-1, L-2, or L-2B. My list is long because these jackets are almost non-existant outside of Japan. So I’m researching the options over the next few months.

One of the first decisions is whether I should get a remake of a specific historical jacket (with patches), or a plain jacket. The patches can be loud and make the jacket look arrogant, but some of them do look cool and the historical aspects are interesting.

Toys McCoys Cotton Tanker Jacket (Phantom Batman) has an interesting back stencil.

It also has blood chit patches on the shoulder, and inside the jacket. Read the wikipedia link about blood chits. It is interesting, and strikes me as a weird situation that the Japanese are remaking these jackets with the text “I am an enemy of the Japanese. ”

This remake of a Flying Tigers Jacket has some impressive historical significance. The Flying Tigers had a key role in the conflict with Japan, and they flew the incredible Tomahawk planes painted with the aggressive shark face.

The jacket also includes blood chits.

This Real McCoys “Gentlemen from Hell” jacket is a remake of a jacket from the 487th Bombardment Group. This is my favorite visually, but I don’t know if I could really wear it. I also need a telescope to look at the price tag.