Notoriously difficult to get hold of the predecessor to the much more widely available A2, the beautiful A1 really is the connoisseurs leather jacket!
Perhaps only a few - Aero, Goodwear and Eastman - appear to be replicating this forgotten gem!
It certainly is miles behind the better known A2 when it comes to being well known - but way ahead in terms of style!





The Type A-1 jacket was used as a summer flying jacket and was standardised for use on November 7th 1927.
This original jacket was made from Cape Sheep Leather, had a cotton lining, wool knitted cuffs and waistband, a knitted collar with two button and flapped pockets placed low on the front.
The Type A-1 has 5 central buttons for closure with 2 buttons for neck fastening. The buttons on a Type A-1 are hand sewn for extra durability. It has two snap buttons to fasten the bottom of the jacket. The back of this jacket has two piece leather panels: The top yolk having a straight panel.
The A-1 could still be found in limited use during WWII and was finally taken out of duty on September 29th 1944, after stocks were exhausted.