Waterproof gloves for pilots flying over the sea ??!!

[JamesBG]

It may just be me but i cannot understand why the RAF would wear waterproof gloves when flying over the sea! If I was flying over the sea and ended up ditching in it the last thing I would be thinking is 'Oh well at least my hands are dry' !!?? Is this guy for real or is this a load of BULLS**T?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GENUINE-RAF-FLYING-GLOVES-BRAND-NEW-IN-PACKET-PEARL_W0QQitemZ6626103088QQcategoryZ67580QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewIte m

[Howard Hughes]

What's even scarier, is that two people have thought there is sufficient need for waterproof gloves for flying and they have bid!!:ooh:

[JamesBG]

A couple of skin friendly kamakaze pilots with a very bad aim maybe?! wouldnt burn your hands either, or maybe they think amphibian aircraft go under water?

[Broadcast Control]

Well, try to jump into freezing water and try to operate your emergency equipment or climb into your dinghy. It is very likely you will find that after 2-5 minutes your fingers will be so cold that even the simplest task will be impossible to perform.

[ZH875]

without previous experience I have to agree with WhatLimit.

If you read the e-bay page, no one is claiming they are Waterproof, just Water Resistant, two seperate types of glove.

[johno617tonka]

the ground crew on tornado sqns used to get ' worn ' gloves from the squippers which were exactly as stated on this description..they were used in conjunction with the immersion suits, they were green, they had the internal wrist cuff and were made of a slightly thicker material to the ' original ' white ones so may infact be WATER RESISTANT... can't see a cessna pilot needing a pair though ! if he ends up in the 'ogin' can't see a pair of levi's, adidas trainers AND a pair of 'gucci' water resistent gloves helping much...

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!]

two seperate types of glove...one with the thumb on the left and one with the thumb on the right?

[tinpis]

.one with the thumb on the left and one with the thumb on the right?

And real hair on the palms ...:hmm:

[threepointonefour]

It sounds like the immersion flying gloves that they used to do mainly in green. They had a rubber wrist seal and you could get those white silk inner gloves for additional comfort/insulation.

So, if they did make them in white (never seen them other than green), then the guy is prob for real.

The water resistance was for to prevent you hands from being cold AND wet when you're sat in your dinghy.

[FJJP]

They're for real, all right. They're called 'immersion gloves' and finished off the effect of being enclosed in a waterproof [oh, all right, water-resistant] suit encasing the body from the neck down. The immersion suit had rubber neck and wrist seals and was manufactured in a woven fabric that breathed when dry. When wet, the threads swelled and closed up the weave - very effective it was, too. The feet were encased in waterproof 'socks', glue-welded onto the bottom of the suit legs. It was worn over a one-piece, thick acrylan-pile undersuit [which provided the insulation - the immersion suit was to keep you dry, not warm].

I, too, have only been issued with the green version; however, that's not to say there wasn't a white version - it's quite possible that a white version was manufactured and issued.

WhatLimit is correct in saying that they were essential to keep the fingers and hands working. Cold was the biggest enemy after an over-sea bailout. Hypothermia has killed a significant number of aviators who had successfully abandoned aircraft, and the first period in the water was critical for the individual to get rid of parachute and inflate and get into the dinghy.

Johno617tonka paints a hilarious picture! Now that must be the way to identify the arch-poseur! Immersion gloves on a warm sunny day over the centre of England! I wonder how he [or she] would explain away that one if challenged?

[airborne_artist]

Having spent (for trg purposes) 20 hours in a liferaft in Feb 79 when I got so cold I couldn't p!ss, I can assure the OP that such gloves are a vital safety item. Luckily (!) a storm blew up, so the DS came out to fetch us. One of the boats was swamped as it approached the slip-way, so we had to swim for it.

Only then did we get to lick the road clean, but since it was a survival course, there was no breakfast :E

[L J R]

James BG, this web site is for Professional Pilots, and this Forum is for Military Aircrew. Professional Pilots care a lot about their survival aspects, Military Aircrew KNOW what equipment they have. Seems you apprear to be neither, please do not waste bandwidth.

[Pontius Navigator]

My gloves are white. They were issued about 1980 and are 'unused'.

The pair I used kept my hands warm and dry and fully functional for 2-3 minutes. The copilot, without gloves, had lost the use of his hands before we got him in the dinghy.

This was at Mountbatten with a sea temperature of abut 5-6 (luxury) in the days before the V-force got immersion suits. The next day we badgered the staff to let us try immersion suits on a 'try-before-buy' basis. They gave in.

Unfortunately the sun shone, the sea was calm, the temperature lifted, and we lazed the morning away relaxing on the single seat lilos with the occasional shower as the boat sped past.

[FJJP]

Pontious,

IIRC when I returned to the force in '76, I was issued with and used a goonsuit throughout my time until the force disbanded. I remember we even had a rubber tube through which to poke the AVS pipe!

However, the Mountbatten team didn't give us goonsuits for the drills until we pointed out to them that we wore them all the time!

FJJP

[JamesBG]

James BG, this web site is for Professional Pilots, and this Forum is for Military Aircrew. Professional Pilots care a lot about their survival aspects, Military Aircrew KNOW what equipment they have. Seems you apprear to be neither, please do not waste bandwidth.

Yeh thanks L J R actually the thread was posted in Jetblast and moved by the moderators, I just thought it was funny and interesting, thats all, I guess you have to have a sense of humor.

Thanks for your input guys, sound like they are the real thing then.

[nutcracker43]

When I was in the Royal Air Force we were issued with silk inners as well as the green leather gloves...I loved them; it was the closest I ever got to Janet Reager underwear...still got them! If one stuck ones hand out of a Wessex window, in the cruise, and wearing those gloves it felt like holding a beautiful firm breast...ahh, the things one remembers.

NC43

[MightyGem]

it felt like holding a beautiful firm breast
Ahhh... the 90kt tit. :E

[oldfella]

Had a pair of these in white circa early 70s. Wore them only a couple of times as they were a bit thick at the ends and it was too easy to move more than one switch thingy if you weren't careful

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!]

James BG, this web site is for Professional Pilotsthat's just a rumour really.

[Pontius Navigator]

oldfella, I used to keep mine in my pocket. As we were flying the Shacklebomber we would have had stcaks of time to get ready or none at all:eek:

[teeteringhead]

Ahhh... the 90kt tit. ... for complete accuracy you musn't forget the peanut in the palm :E

And it's the one feeling that's better in the sandpit, 'cos the air's warm!!

[zic]

Speed was everything:cool: :

60 kt granny
90 kt industry standard
120 kt purt 19 yr old

Zic

[Cornish Jack]

FJJP
The white immersion suit gloves were as long lasting, in effectiveness, as the accompanying 'Ventile' immersion suits (the two piece version). They were good for a couple of immersions but then leaked at a progressively increasing rate. We had to use the suits for wet winch training and my second session in Holyhead harbour was done using a well worn set - result? I needed three helpers to get into the Marine craft and once on board I couldn't move because the legs of the suit were FULL of water!!:eek:
A couple of back-to-back wet winching sessions in Holyhead harbour were a fine demonstration of the agonising effects of cold water on the hands = the gloves were pretty useless and manual skills were lost very quickly.:{

[soddim]

The RAF used to issue waterproof flying gloves for use with immersion suits and they were darned good for car washing in the winter months. Lacked the required tactile feel in the cockpit, unfortunately.

[Pontius Navigator]

Cornish Jack, just how many times did you expect to use your ventile immersion suit and waterproof gloves?

My gloves lasted about 4 minutes. Quite long enough to get in the dinghy with fingers that worked. Once on board and 'dry' I was able to retain use of my fingers.

That the sadists (be cruel to be kind) at the SCSR made you use crap kit was all part of their fun. I remember my first 'jump'. Badly briefed I didn't have any footwear or socks. Now 2 deg C in the Channel in January with only denims and a pressure jerkin was pure evil or even murder. A couple of years later an ATC (cadets) WO Instructor died of thermal shock.

[Zoom]

I still have a pair of white ones, unused, circa 1976. Anyone want them for a small donation (£10, or more if you're a wealthy s*d) to a charity of my choice (Cancer Research UK)?

On the subject of goon suits, many of you will remember that before the welded-on socks there were welded-on bootees, which I preferred. But one pilot in the late 60s/early 70s didn't like them at all and had them removed and replaced with wrist seals. He would then pull the suit on over his socks and wear regular flying boots. When he ejected from his Lightning one very cold evening and landed in the Og, the socks acted as wicks, soaked up the chilly North Sea and that was that.

(I'm sure we went through all of this a couple of years ago..........:hmm: )