Tan flying boots.
 

Could someone please explain the difference between the tan flying boots and the black regular boots?
Im also looking to acquire a pair of size 9-10 tan flying boots, any condition. If anyone knows where I could find any?

Hi Dave. I was first issued a pair of the tan flying boots on the UAS in the early 80s. It was probably cheaper than the more substantial black boot. The tan boot (we called it brown) was a slightly looser fit and only came up to your ankle, the '65 pattern black boot was about 4" taller. At some stage they produced the smaller brown boot in black - so we called it the 'black brown flying boot'!

I believe they stopped issuing the smaller brown/black boot long ago, but they were certainly far more comfortable when worn in the 'desert' than the various and much more cumbersome boots they procured.

ISTR that we first had the short brown/tan boots issued around 1973/74, but reasons were vague and they weren't very popular. Quite happy to return them to Flying Clothing Store on leaving, but I still have the long black boots, in fine condition after 42 years, which have seen many a firefighting season down here!

So to answer the OP about differences: on introduction they were short ankle length tan boots compared to the mid-calf length black boots at the time. What has happened in the intervening years is for someone else to explain.

Well, one are tan in colour, whereas the other are sort of black in colour, so the difference is in the colour, one being tan, and the other being black...

I had a pair I gave away years ago, seem to remember they were designated Lightweight on the box.


These are the black version on evilbay, so you can see the difference


Original RAF AIRCREW FLYING ANKLE BOOTS SIZE 8 Medium | eBay

The brown boot was an attempt to produce an official desert boot for use in NEAF and MEAF. It was a lightweight boot, unlined and had ventilation holes around the ankle. It was a nubuck style leather that you were not supposed to polish. It was extremely popular with aircrew for that reason. It was also unpopular with sqn and station commanders for the same reason.

A black version that could be polished was then introduced. It was extremely unpopular with aircrew because it had to be polished. It was extremely popular with sqn and station commanders for the same reason

Very comfortable to wear in summer in Italy...unfortunately we had a Stn Cdr who banned us from wearing them, followed by a peeved supply officer who did not wish to replace the brown boots with the new black ones if the brown boots were still serviceable.

Well, that's true, but what about the black version of the brown boot?

I might add that before these were issued, while the '65 pattern boot was widely accepted several types permitted ordinary shoes to be worn, the Nimrod amongst them. Whilst that was an easy option, one soon realised that the seat runners chewed up your expensive shoes and wearing free boots was a better option.

In NEAF and MEAF however many wore commercially acquired suede desert boots. Cool and comfortable but probably not very effective for a parachute landing or wearing in a real desert. OTOH in FEAF the preferred foot wear was canvas jungle boots, high laced and thick rubber soles. Much better in a hot wet jungle than the then '51 pattern. While many of us tried to retain these when returning to UK none of us were successful. Similarly the RAAF light weight flying suits were also confiscated before we were allowed to return to UK.

Ah well, that's very similar to the brown version of the black boot, but is a different colour.

Didn't the Harrier pilots have a special?

I wonder if the OP is referring to the old 65 pat boots brown short; or the new YDS flying boots brown (just like the black ones but brown)?

PN ... never worked with Harrier guys, but I have a dim recollection (like most of them these days) that they had some sort of leather cover over the laces.

Strange concept, "uniform".
 

At one stage, we had the dubious joy of wearing 1965 Pattern Flying Boots, with Puttees, since the rest of the Field Army were in ankle boots, DMS, trenchfoot-encouraging, for the use of.

Wore my tan flying boots in training in America in Arizona. The Sqn Commander hated them so much that he took me to the stores and bought me a pair of USAF black flying boots. These are made of something like rhinoceros hide. The resulting blisters incapacitated me and I was then allowed to wear the tan boots once more. Bliss!

Lightweight flying boot
 

The "tan" flying boot appeared with the introduction of external G-suits as the g-trouser didn't fit too well over the longer black boot. Applying wax polish to flying boots is likely to lead to an exciting conflagration in a flash fire.

Weren't they always?

I seem to recall that the lightweight tan coloured boots first appeared in around 1974 when the Bulldog entered service, as the baby Bloggs' hoofs couldn't cope with the rudder pedals in the normal boots.

Moving on a decade, we once had a Sqn Boss who ordered us not to wear brown boots in the VC10K (yes, you Jim ;) !!). Sitting in the sun at Akrotiri nattering to some staff mate who'd escaped the Box to see how things were for the Chaps (no Chapess aircrew back then on 101). He asked why on earth we were wearing hot black boots in the Cyprus sun. When I explained, he was furious - "Compliments to your Sqn Cdr, but we don't spend time and money procuring hot weather kit just to have it rejected for spurious sartorial reasons. Next time he tries to stop you, give me a call at the Ministry!".

So I mentioned this to the Boss - and I don't recall the issue of boot colour being raised again...:hmm:

Harrier pilots, sorry, Bona Mates had little flaps over their laces. This was because they have such very small willies that when using the heads, they often dripped wee on their laces, which subsequently rotted. Hence their boots often came off in the not-too-infrequent Harrier ejections....

Thank you for all your input. BEagle, play nicely!

Dave Haggas

I am wearing mine as I write. Very good working boots for the sunnier climes. Protect
the feet well from flying stones, pine cones etc. when strimming the grass. Very durable
and comfortable. You are not having mine!!http://cdn.pprune.org/images/smilies/smile.gif