The Mister Freedom® BAILOUT Flyer’s Jacket is our spin on the classic MA-1 flight jacket – aka “bomber jacket” – the iconic piece of protective gear officially issued to USAF (United States Air Force) fighter jet pilots and flight crews throughout the 1950s~60s.
The design of the MA-1 flight jacket evolved through the years, with its inception around 1950 when the bulky mouton collar of its predecessor (the B-15 flight jacket, 1944~1954) was replaced by a soft wool knit ribbed band to better accommodate combat pilots modern flight helmets (out were the WW2 cloth skull caps, in were the hard shell “bone dome” types) and reconfigured jet aircrafts cockpits (the Jet Age mostly kicked propeller planes to oblivion for aerial warfare.)
Optimized for current technology, the MA-1 (MIL-J8279) was born, becoming official issue sometime in 1952. Followed many revisions, until the MA-1 was phased out by updated regulations and eventually retired in the late 1980s, outperformed by safer fire-resistant Nomex® MA-2 flight jackets. This wasn’t the MA-1’s last words however…
For our “Survival School” story, we decided to modify a vintage “JACKET, FLYING, MAN’S, INTERMEDIATE, MA-1, MIL-J-8279D” specimen from an Alpha Industries 1965 contract, and turn it into a “might have been” functional, wearable, “experimental” garment.
The major mod on the D-Type (fifth generation MA-1, circa 1960) had been its novelty reversible revamping, with a sage green (referred to as camo) nylon shell for classic military concealment on the ground, contrasting with an “Indian orange” high visibility lining. A downed pilot was instructed to wear the green side to evade enemy capture after a successful bailout, and wait for a rescue team flashing the orange side out.
Decades later, this major visual functional improvement probably helped to propel the MA-1 style to the unsustainable fashion sphere, from streetwear to catwalks, produced in all kinds of CoO (Country of Origin) for a wide range of international labels.
For our BAILOUT design mission, the main point of a plausible “revision” was to flip the blazing orange side as the main side, using the camo side as the lining, while keeping all period-correct Mil-Specs for fabrics and trims.
Collaborating with Buzz Rickson’s – celebrating at the same time their 30th Anniversary! – made this a breeze for us, thanks to the help, expertise and patience of Buzz’s creative director Kameya San and team. After providing detailed instructions/diagrams of our MA-1 BAILOUT concept, we gladly assumed the backseater role in the cockpit and let the world’s ichiban manufacturer of authentic military flight jacket replicas do all the heavy lifting.
Of course, Buzz delivered! No cut corners, outstanding craftsmanship and quality, living up to Toyo’s high manufacturing standards and BR’s impeccable reputation.
“But, why not just wear a vintage D-Type with the orange side out?” one could legitimately wonder…
Well, because of the overall construction, quilted storm flap set-up, slash pockets configuration (“hand warmer” for the A-side and “map storage” for the B-side), utility (“cigarette/pen”) sleeve pocket on A-side, etc…, sporting a vintage MA-1 orange side out will always look like the garment is being worn inside out. Not a life-threatening issue of course, but, for those attached to details – and we are -, wearing out what is clearly a jacket’s lining in non-survival circumstances may look a bit awkward or contrived around town.
The BAILOUT fills that gap for one wanting to casually wear a bright orange military-style flight jacket, built like a legit 1960s MA-1.
Note that the MF® BAILOUT is still fully reversible, and can of course be worn B-side (green) out.
On original D-Types, the orange nylon twill lining is of a lighter/thinner grade than the Mil-Specs green 2/2 twill shell. The MF® BAILOUT jacket features vintage Mil-Specs heavy 2×2 grade nylon twill on both A (orange) and B (green) sides.
For the accuracy-obsessed, quote from Buzz Rickson’s MA-1 shell fabric specs:
“36 filament yarns are twisted together to make a single thread that is then woven into the 2/2 twill fabric.
2/2 means two warp threads crossing every two weft threads, identified by diagonal lines.”
Regarding warmth, “INTERMEDIATE” in the original MA-1 nomenclature refers to the “Intermediate Zone” climate for which the garment was initially optimized, a range of 14º F ~ 50º F in a military classification of 5 climate zones at the time.
The MA-1 was also considered as a versatile year-round piece of gear in temperate climates by flight crews, worn zipped-up in Winter and un-zipped in Spring.
We decided to keep the period-correct Wool/Cotton blend (60/40) fiber interlining of the 1960s originals, and not the cheaper and lighter polyester fiber modern days substitution. This makes the BAILOUT much heftier and bulkier than contemporary fashion MA-1 type jackets out there.
For the zipper, we went with a robust vintage-style aluminum model of Coats & Clark (CC) slide fastener, instead of the expected black oxidized brass CONMAR zipper of period D-Type MA-1 jackets. CROWN was a division of Coats & Clark. Production of most CROWN fasteners (like the aluminum spring automatic lock etc) was abandoned sometime in the 1960s, deemed too complicated and too costly.
Some 30 years ago, Toyo Enterprise went through great lengths (and, I was told, hundreds of thousands of dollars in R&D and retro engineering) to faithfully reproduce several CROWN fastener models, and now owns the Trademark. These cost today about $30~$40 to produce… Kameya San was kind enough to hook us up with a few CC models for this limited edition.
We also opted to stay true to the original MA-1 jackets fit and profile, with the old school full and boxy cut, setting them apart from modernized slimmed-down versions with trimmed sleeves flooding the fashion market since the 1980s.
The BAILOUT’s classic shorter length compliments one’s natural waist, and works best with mid to high rise trousers or jeans.
Style-wise, our subtle nod to “The Hunter” (1980) – McQueen’s final movie – with his bounty-hunter “Papa Thorson” character (pops going full circle after Josh Randall, ain’t he?!) sporting an MA-1 iteration won’t be lost on the cinephile. Papa and stunt double/friend Loren Janes are wearing the flap pocket model MIL-J8279E (E-Type) in the movie, although they may be commercial versions?
Anecdotally, “Buzz Rickson” is the name of McQueen’s character name in “The War Lover” (1962.)
Branding-wise, the Mister Freedom® BAILOUT “Clothing & Textile Research Unit” labeling is concealed in the left side slash pocket. Its design is a respectful nod to the Quartermaster Research Facility (aka Natick Army Labs) vintage military printed cloth labels.
Of course, the Mister Freedom® BAILOUT comes “unissued”, i.e. free of unearned squadron/unit patches. Should you want to go full-on Top Gun, do your thing Mav’!
The MF® x Buzz Rickson’s “BAILOUT” Flyer’s Jacket is a classic reimagined in California, USA by Mister Freedom®, designed for the man-o-style uninterested in fleeing trends, and crafted in Japan by Toyo Enterprise.
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