THE REAL McCOY’S Tanker Jacket

Officially designated the “Jacket, Combat, Winter” it is more commonly known as the “Tanker Jacket”. It was very well received and very popular, it seems every member of the armed forces tried to get their hands on one. If you wear a M41 field jacket for comparison you know why 😉

In my opinion it is even by todays standards a very well designed jacket and has a simplistic timeless look. The only thing I miss is a pocket on the inside. Outside pockets are located quite high up, this was done so that they do not interfere with a pistol or cartridge belt. Doesn’t bother me. Last year I finally bought a McCOY one in Japan, yes the price of 44000 Yen is a bit insane and because of it I managed to resist the purchase for quite a while 😀

So here come the pics, please note that the colors are a bit off since I had to take the photos inside under unfavorable light conditions (and my crappy cam really sucks)

THE REAL McCOY’S does a few customized variations of this jacket, there is one for example inspired by the first Sherman to reach Bastogne. Featuring a “Cobra King” name tag and a “FIRST IN BASTOGNE” stencil on the back. While some of those are rather cool I wanted a classic tanker jacket with no “upgrades”.

Once again THE REAL McCOY’S attention to detail is (in a good way) crazy. Several companies made tanker jacket during World War 2 and they could have simply created a generic tanker jacket, but they went to extremes and recreated a jacket made by a specific manufacturer. In this case “J.A. DUBOW MFG. CO”, well-known for their A-2 flight jackets, they also made tankers jackets during the war.

The hanger above the label is a detail found only (?) in jackets made by DUBOW. Like original Jackets they are sized “Small, Medium, Large…” on the tag,  not “36, 38…” etc.

They even went so far as to recreate the sloppy way of attaching the label, note the overrun of thread marked by the two red arrows

Zipper

Note the difference in color and construction of the waistband and the cuffs, just as it should be

Knit cuffs are in the correct tubular construction (no side seam)

Melton wool lining is spot on (and warm)

Bi-swing back in order to permit good arm movement

Zip does not extend all way to the top, this is correct but could even be a tad lower

Final verdict? The price is very high, but the quality of the materials, the details and the outstanding craftsmanship are simply awesome. Like with all things “high-end” small increases in quality tend to start costing a lot. Probably over the top for rolling around in the mud but if you can appreciate the amount of work it takes to create such a jacket you can justify the investment 🙂

It is also makes a great everyday jacket, so you can split the costs 50/50 between reenacting and “real life” 

~ by m1pencil on February 2, 2014.