Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #39 - revised

IJAAF pilot flight suits
The subject of pilot flight suits is a long one and there are experts and collectors that for some reason keep the information to themselves. As a result, AFAIK, there is no one good book and therefore here I will present the subject in broad strokes.

The earliest IJAAF pilot flight suits included their standard foot soldier uniform and a leather jacket with a balaclava and a tanker's helmet.

Before long, a very cool looking one-piece leather flight suit was introduced but only temporarily. The first pilot "helmets" were also introduced around that time.

It was in the early 30s the first summer version of a pilot's flight suit, made of cloth, was introduced.

The same summer pilot's flight suit with the parachute harness.

At the same time, a winter flight suit was also introduced and together with the summer version they became standard equipment for IJAAF pilots.

Nevertheless, the transition from the older flight suit model to the new one didn't happen instantly and older models could still be seen in airfields around Japan. Note also in the photo the large variety of the ground crew uniforms.

During combat in the mid to late 30s, IJAAF pilots often wore leather masks to protect their face when flying open cockpit aircraft, like the Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate".

There were generally speaking three types of pilot flight suits the Japanese Army used: summer (top photo), winter (bottom) and tropical. Especially for the summer and winter, there were many different models, with small or bigger differences and variety of colors, characterized by the year they were introduced. Earlier flight suit versions were in two-piece, during the war these changed to one-piece. The older versions were not retired and therefore it was very common to see in the same unit pilots with different flight suits.

The two photos feature junior pilots called "wakawashi" (young eagles) or "hinawashi" (eagle chicks) receiving final orders from their instructors.

Examples of the two-piece summer pilot flight suits.

IJAAF pilot's winter flight suits. As you can see in the photo, when the pilots didn't wear their helmets they wore the standard Army cap the maintenance crew also put on.

Life vests were worn by IJAAF pilots only during flights over water like escorting tokko aircraft from Kyushu to Okinawa.

Examples of the summer (back) and the winter (front) pilot flight suits of the IJAAF.

Another example of an original winter flight suit.

One standard for all pilots regardless of weather or theatre was the boots. There were of course different kinds but it should be noted that boots were the prerogative of pilots and no one else wore them. Pilots NEVER wore puttees. As a matter of fact, pilots wore their boots with great pride, an indication that they were officers of higher rank than mere foot soldiers. Pilots often wrote their names on the sides of their boots to quickly identify them.

Having said that, pilots could exchange their boots for "jika tabi" or the shorter boots of the infantry if they didn't want to get their boots worn out and it was not uncommon to dress a favourite ground crew member in pilot's clothes for a photo session.

When air raids against targets on Japan's mainland became common during the last year of the war, and after a couple unfortunate incidents when locals beat to death downed Japanese pilots mistaking them for Allied pilots, hinomaru on the sleeves of the pilot's flight suit became paramount for easier recognition.

An IJAAF pilot wearing the standard tropical flight suit.

Attached is another photo of IJAAF pilots in tropical flight suits. Note the large variety of clothing.

Under the officer's jacket the regulations provided for a certain type of white shirt that was worn as underwear in tropical climates. That was called "jyuban" named after a similar garment worn under a kimono. Very often pilots wore only this shirt, with the standard tropical long or short trousers.

In the attached photos, the pilots are immediately distinguishable by the white "jyuban" and the boots.

Apart from the official flight suits, especially overseas, pilots often used their own clothing sometimes purchased locally. As a result, although there was a standard type of tropical flight suit, there were many combinations and variations.

In the attached photo taken during the shooting of the movie "Kato Hayabusa Sento-tai", the pilots are seen wearing their jyuban during a break.