Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 329:
Description
U.S. Military-Issue CWU-45/P Cold Weather Flight Jacket, Fire-Resistant Nomex Shell, Sage Green, Spec MIL-J-83388, Unpatched Example Offered here is a genuine U.S. military-issue CWU-45/P cold weather flying jacket, the fire-resistant Nomex successor to the earlier flammable nylon MA-1, worn across U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps flight communities from the 1970s onward. No named wearer, unit, or contract data can be established from the photographs – the upper specification label has washed to illegibility through service laundering, while the lower interior label, "JACKETS, FLYERS’, COLD WEATHER / TYPE CWU-45/P, " remains legible along with its fire-resistant care instructions. No separate biography or provenance is documented; the jacket stands on its own as a representative example of the type. Developed under specification MIL-J-83388 to replace the flammable nylon flight jackets of the Vietnam era, the CWU-45/P was built around DuPont’s aromatic polyamide Nomex fiber, valued for its self-extinguishing, fire-resistant qualities in the fuel-vapor environment of a jet cockpit. The pattern’s high-mounted, Velcro-flap cargo pockets were deliberately raised above the waistline to clear shoulder and lap harness straps, while the sleeve utility pocket and fold-down collar rounded out a design built for the practical demands of cockpit life. Jackets of this pattern were produced in quantity by multiple contractors – among them Alpha Industries, Valley Apparel, and Propper International – across a run spanning the 1980s through the 2000s, making surviving examples a durable and recognizable fixture of U.S. flight gear from the late Cold War into the modern era. The jacket is fabricated in sage-green Nomex-type twill with a quilted lining, front zipper beneath a fabric wind flap, and ribbed knit cuffs and waistband retaining good elasticity. Two high-set, Velcro-flap cargo pockets sit at the chest, angled to keep openings clear of a harness; a smaller sleeve pocket with pen slots is fitted to the left forearm. Chest, shoulder, and sleeve hook-and-loop panels are intact but bare, one retaining a plain olive backing patch, with faint outlines marking where squadron or name tapes were once affixed. No squadron patches, name tapes, rank insignia, or paperwork accompany the jacket; it is presented as the single unpatched garment shown. Condition is very good and service-worn: light overall creasing and surface soiling consistent with active flight use, minor pilling to the knit trim, and fading to the upper label, with no significant tears or shell damage noted. An honest, wearable CWU-45/P that preserves the practical form and fire-resistant construction of late-20th-century American flight clothing.
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