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flying suit question.


cardiff guy

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Hi All

 

I have a question to the wise, what colour flying suit was the best dressed FAA Buccaneer pilot wearing in the late 60's early 70's. I only have B/W pictures and cant decide if they are blue/grey or were they olive by then. Also were the may wests orange or had they gone green by then?

 

regards in advance Glenn.

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Fleet air Arm flying suits were olive drab.

Unsure when the life preservers went from yellow/orange to green, but these videos show yellow in 1966 and green in 1975.  Early 1970s Phantom/Buccaneer shots seem to show the green type, but have seen pics of crews wearing both colours.

 

Edit, can't post the links that I refer to for some bizarre reason, type 'The Buccaneers 1966' and 'Hands To Flying Stations' into Youtube.

 

 

Edited by 71chally
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This is a view of Wessex or Sea King aircrew of 826NAS, possibly Buccaneer and Gannet aircrew amongst them, onboard HMS Eagle late 60's or very early 70's.

Their flying overals are a mix of green or olive drab colour, with flying boots either black or tan.  The life vests were nearer to orange, as compared to the yellow tow tractor behind.

The 'pack' on the backs of the 826NAS crews is a one-man inflatable dinghy pack.

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photo source unknown

 

Mike

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I think the grey/blue flying suits went out of use in the late Sixties, didn't they?  I do recall having an ex-Forces gray/blue suit with I think a mix of zips (upper) and buttoned (lower leg) pockets and a yellow knife sheath/pocket, but later on only green overalls were seen around. Memory may be playing tricks of course

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9 minutes ago, John B (Sc) said:

I think the grey/blue flying suits went out of use in the late Sixties, didn't they?  I do recall having an ex-Forces gray/blue suit with I think a mix of zips (upper) and buttoned (lower leg) pockets and a yellow knife sheath/pocket, but later on only green overalls were seen around. Memory may be playing tricks of course

I think your memory's fine, the changeover was around then.  I suspect that rather than a mass issue and "everyone change from a certain date", there was a gradual changeover with new pilots issued green kit immediately, and everyone else changing sooner or later as their suits came up for replacement.  I'd be interested to know more.

Edited by MikeC
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I was issued with my 'Coverall Aircrew MkII' in early 80s, still hanging behind the door.  This is in green with lots of zips, pockets and knee map holders.  It was always worn when flying, but I never wore any badges on it as I was not officially aircrew.    Robin.

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13 hours ago, bootneck said:

This is a view of Wessex or Sea King aircrew of 826NAS, possibly Buccaneer and Gannet aircrew amongst them, onboard HMS Eagle late 60's or very early 70's.

Their flying overals are a mix of green or olive drab colour, with flying boots either black or tan.  The life vests were nearer to orange, as compared to the yellow tow tractor behind.

The 'pack' on the backs of the 826NAS crews is a one-man inflatable dinghy pack.

spacer.png

photo source unknown

 

Mike

Good hi-viz and safety boots on the guy to the right there :D 

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On 10/13/2021 at 12:27 PM, bootneck said:

This is a view of Wessex or Sea King aircrew of 826NAS, possibly Buccaneer and Gannet aircrew amongst them, onboard HMS Eagle late 60's or very early 70's.

Their flying overals are a mix of green or olive drab colour, with flying boots either black or tan.  The life vests were nearer to orange, as compared to the yellow tow tractor behind.

The 'pack' on the backs of the 826NAS crews is a one-man inflatable dinghy pack.

spacer.png

photo source unknown

 

Mike

 

Excellent photo, thank you for sharing it Mike!

 

I think that the guy on the left is wearing overalls that has been exposed to the Sun's UV rays. Flying suits are (and were) made out of NOMEX, which is a cotton fabric treated with fire retardant chemicals (causing the colour turning into mustard brown). Then the fabric is dyed with "olive green". The chemicals used are very sensitive to UV -light and certain parts of washing powder. When your green flying suit is turning into "drab" or "brownish" in colour, it is time to replace them. The fire protection isn't working properly any longer. Be careful with that, if you wish to purchase surplus flying suits to be used in real aviation.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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6 hours ago, Antti_K said:

When your green flying suit is turning into "drab" or "brownish" in colour, it is time to replace them.

The other rule of thumb is the Nomex suit should be hot and uncomfortable in the summer, and really cold and uncomfortable to wear in the winter.  Then you know it's providing protection!  Just kidding.  I don't remember how many washings were allowed--not many.

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21 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

The other rule of thumb is the Nomex suit should be hot and uncomfortable in the summer, and really cold and uncomfortable to wear in the winter.  Then you know it's providing protection!  Just kidding.  I don't remember how many washings were allowed--not many.

Which was a problem, because after an hour in hot weather, it smelled like a goat…

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57 minutes ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

Which was a problem, because after an hour in hot weather, it smelled like a goat…

On the head of the nail! Our students seem to have a competition, who "survives" the longest time without washing their flying suits. A couple of times one of us instructors has aborted the mission before engine start up because of the smell...

 

Cheers,

Antti

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  • 2 weeks later...
16 hours ago, ymugmike said:

Which actual colour references should be used for the flying suit, life vest, harness and helmet for post WWII RAF uniforms?

Quite honestly, flying clothing varied so much, depending on the type of suit, the period, the manufacturer, how many times it had been washed, and many other factors, that if you use anything between approximately dark sea gray and almost light aircraft grey for the 50s-60s, and a light to medium olive drab later, you'll be fine.

 

For the helmet, the two-part Mk 1 helmets (50s-70s) were silver, although some units were known to paint them; later (late 60s onwards) were white, and later, with the advent of tome-down, went to dark green, later with a reflective strip on the back. 

 

As ever, specific documentary/photographic evidence is your only friend.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi MikeC,

 

Thank you very much for the clarification.

I am building a DH Hornet for indoor electric and DH Vampire for slope soaring, so wanted some guidance on how to paint the pilots.

Very helpful.

Regards,

MichaelK

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