As an impoverished plt off, my "work No 1" was getting very tired. A kind aircrew neighbour in the Mess donated me one of those zoot-suit jackets, from which I removed his brevet and flt lt rank and substituted my thin bit of braid. Sadly, within a month or so I was told not to wear it as it was for 'speshul' aircrew.

I think I then managed to source a cheap No 2 BD in barathea from somewhere. The long-term solution came with my posting to Tengah :)

Back into the 21st Century then the 25 year old RAF General Purpose Jacket is about to be replaced sometime next year as detailed in news first broken in RAF News on 7 Apr 17:

https://issuu.com/rafnews/docs/raf_news_07_apr_2017/18

Here is a picture of the article on the new jacket which will have reflective piping but effectively be the GPJ in new fabric but without that gopping ROYAL AIR FORCE logo on the front that makes it look even worse. :yuk:

http://i66.tinypic.com/sxgcir.jpg

I can’t help thinking that we could do better. Either something a bit more traditional - like a battle-dress jacket worn by the Indian Air Force but not made from itchy wool. :ok:

http://indianairforce.nic.in/images/Dress%20No%207.gif

Clearly - it looks like an utter piece of $hit!

Why have RAF jackets ever since the awful 1972-pattern Thunderbirds smock always had such halfway-down-the-arse long backs?

BEagle

I agree. I quite liked the old GPJ with its bomber jacket styling. But with no flyng badges, insignia, medal ribbons or any-such-like other than rank it always looked a bit bland.

https://image.sportsmansguide.com/ad.../302381_ts.jpg

I would have thought a re-run of the same would be better but maybe with a subtle name badge like the ones on the leather jacket?

Also, it could do with zips on the pockets and somewhere to put those pesky pens that migrate into cockpits and flying control runs...

CPL Clott

I recently mentioned seeing College Warrant Officer Gibbons at RAFC in 1965. There was no such appointment as CASWO at the time, so the College WO was de facto the senior warrant officer in the RAF.

Cant help feeling that Mr Gibbons, resplendent in immaculate No 1 with sword, which he wore when out and about in the College, cut a more impressive figure than poor Mr Crossley, CASWO will do if forced to wear that shapeless bit of kit.

I always rather liked the army "British Warm" which with its leather buttons and lack of any rank insignia could also be worn in civvies. Some time in the 70s word came out that officers who wished to could have their greatcoats converted to British Warm style, but they had to retain the rank braid on the epaulettes which rather defeated the purpose. I foolishly had mine done, and the result was bloody awful - waste of a good greatcoat!

TTN - yes, I feel Mr C’s pain in having to model the one with the delivery driver badge on it!

http://i66.tinypic.com/5n3e2p.jpg

We were trialling blue PCS but the shade of blue looked really scruffy and I understand has been shelved. I really think that as the world’s first dedicated Air Force reaches its 100th birthday we should be considering some of the heritage over the past century. Field Service Caps and War Service Dress (aka Battle Dress) conjures up that image in most people’s minds. Can we not have something with traditional heritage but made from modern materials?

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/attach...rm-gvir001.jpg

Modern materials? You mean something that doesn't crease when you look at it? That will be the day!

I really have no idea why the RAF is so utterly AWFUL at designing and then issuing garbage-looking uniforms. I can only assume they're all civvies in that part of the system, with no sense of the dignity a uniform item should present (in addition to practicality, of course)

[/rant]

I only had one of the 90s jacket, wore it for perhaps 15 years and still looked good, good enough for a second life via eBay.

I have seen civvies wearing it and without and labels it still looks military and that knitted welt covered a mulitude of sins.

Ted Gibbons - now there is a name, and a man, to conjure with.

Remember when SWOs used to insist the jackjet was zipped to the neck like WW2 army blouses. Most didn't do that out of sight of Swoman.

Agree the zip should be fully up then perhaps the collar would fit better, looks altogether one of the worse bits of clothing I ever did see, cross between a fleece and a bomber jacket that just fails to look right.

I thought there was a "regulation" length of zip to be left undone.

ISTR a SWO who had the length - whatever it was - marked on his stick so he could check potential "offenders"........

Ah, those were the days............

Dreadful looking thing, they might as well give everyone an LPO and tell them to go and buy a blue fleece.

Sorry, can't agree with that.

It appears that the RAF is really quite good at designing and then issuing garbage-looking uniforms :E

I remember in my dim and distant past, a time when the 'discerning' among us had our No 1 uniform jacket modified by having a 'bespoke' tailor shorten the jacket to the waist, replace the front buttons with a zip, add rank, brevet and medal ribbons and a luridly coloured silk lining et voila!!
This produced the best, probably the smartest and certainly most comfortable working, everyday jacket ever!! :cool:
I don't know or care how legal it was but quite a few of us had one. Much better than the 'bomber' jacket.
Unfortunately, after many years' of loyal service the silk lining wore through and I couldn't afford a new No 1 uniform to replace it.:(

We fought a war with a No.1 SD and the 1941 issue scratchy "Battledress". That's all you need.

Postwar the barathea battledress came in as an option. In 1949 some idiot designed a new pattern No.1: it lasted about 18 months, then even the Air House had to admit that it looked ridiculous, scrapped it and went back to the wartime No.1 (except that they chopped the lowest (4th) button off (so as not to lose too much face).

We were all happy with that until I retired in 1972.