UBB.threads Forums General Militaria United States Militaria Cold Weather Jacket

Hi,

I was wondering if you could help me out with this cold weather jacket. Trying to find out what arm or service would wear this jacket. I've got a feeling it is a naval jacket but not sure.

Jacket has a dual lining, waist and bottom drawstrings, strong front zip with storm press-stud overlay, button and velcro cuffs, four front pockets, zipped collar with inside hood. Very warm, I put it on and began to sweat.

Jacket is black in colour, light on images make it look a little grey.

Any help would be appreciated.

Tks in anticipation.

Davey


Later added...

I think I have sussed it out. I believe it is a flying jacket.

Davey

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Looks like a US Army Field Jacket to me.

May not be the real thing. Those were the days when field gear was a major fashion item for young people and some of what was sold was manufactured for retail sale, not the military. Imitation labels and all. Perhaps the same contractors who supplied the military.

I say this because I got out in 1966 and saw all kinds of stuff that was not Army issue.

Dave

Hi there Dave,

Thanks for shining some light onto this. Since posting this, I've been doing a little research and this is what I've dug up..... It's quite interesting.

Alpha's history...

As a manufacturer for the U.S. Military is a long and successful one. For over 40 years, the United States Department of Defense has relied on Alpha Industries for outerwear to protect Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel.

Since first opening our factory in 1959, Alpha has continuously manufactured the M-65 Field Coat, fabricating more of these coats than any other company. And, since the mid-1960's, we've manufactured virtually every MA-1 Flight Jacket used by U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy pilots. All told, Alpha Industries has produced over 40 million pieces of military outerwear to perform under the most severe conditions imaginable.

3-Bars Make The Difference

Long before anyone even knew the name Alpha, our three bars had earned quite a reputation among purchasers of surplus military apparel. In surplus stores throughout the country, customers sought out the jackets with the three bars on the military specifications tag.

There's an interesting story behind this;

when Alpha Industries received a military contract and that contract was fulfilled, "surplus" materials were always left over. In order to use these materials and keep our factories operating, we continued to make jackets following the strict military specifications. These jackets would be sold to surplus stores. But, for internal purposes, we needed to develop a way to separate these jackets from the ones that were actually going to be shipped to the military.

On jackets going to the military the label contained a single black bar separating the identification of the type of jacket and its specifications. We developed a replacement label to be used for surplus jackets. The only difference between this and the actual military label was that we put three black bars between these two pieces of information. And this label was the only difference between these surplus jackets and those that were actually to be worn by the military.

Other contractors also manufactured surplus coats, but they changed to lower grade materials using lighter fabric, thinner insulation, less durable zippers and fasteners. And they didn't change the internal labels; their garments still had the single black bar. Over time, customers at surplus stores began to notice that the jackets with the three bars were the best. And no wonder; because, after all, these were the exact same jackets that American pilots and ground crews were wearing at bases around the world. In fact, if you look closely at the Alpha logo, you'll see that we integrated these three bars into the mark that has come to symbolize our company and its products.

So, this is an authentic 'Alpha' jacket that was not destined for the military. The quality of the material is exactly the same.

Would I be correct in stating that the intention of Alpha was to make money with this 'surplus' jacket? Making a little extra money to compensate mass production for the military. Contracts n' all that, I think they had bitten off more than they could chew and were finding themselves at a loss.

Reading between the lines... 'keep our factories operating.'