What is a bomber jacket?

A short, waist-length jacket, typically with a ribbed collar, cuffs and hem, descended from the flight jackets issued to aircrew in the 1940s and 1950s. It sits above the hip, which is what makes it the most casual outer layer in a wardrobe and the easiest to wear over knitwear.

Are Gloverall's bomber jackets made in England?

No. The Ryder and the Chapman are made in China. Gloverall's English-made coats are in the Heritage Collection, which covers the duffle coats, peacoats and wool overcoats cut and stitched at our factory outside London.

Is the Ryder or the Chapman warmer?

The Ryder. It is cut in wool fleece and insulated with Dufflewool, a 100% wool fill, so it works as a winter jacket on its own. The Chapman is unlined and is better suited to spring and autumn.

Men's Bomber Jackets | Wool MA1 and Souvenir

Q: What sizes do the bomber jackets come in?

Both run from XS to 2XL in a regular fit, cut with room for a jumper underneath but not for a suit jacket. Full measurements are on each product page.

They are closely related but not identical. A flight jacket is the garment issued to aircrew; a bomber jacket is the civilian version of it, in the same waist-length cut with a ribbed collar, cuffs and hem. The MA1 is the 1950s US specification that connects the two and is the template for almost every bomber sold since. Gloverall sells the Ryder as a bomber and the Chapman as a souvenir flight jacket.

Men's Bomber Jackets

A bomber jacket is a short, waist-length jacket, typically with a ribbed collar, cuffs and hem, descended from the flight jackets issued to aircrew in the 1940s and 1950s. It is the least formal coat shape there is and the most forgiving: it sits above the hip, so it works over a jumper without adding length, and it reads as casual in a way an overcoat never will. Gloverall makes two, and they solve different problems.

The Ryder Dufflewool MA1 Bomber Jacket

The Ryder Dufflewool MA1 Bomber Jacket takes the MA1 pattern and cuts it in wool fleece rather than the usual nylon, which changes the character of the jacket entirely: warmer to the touch, heavier in the hand, and quieter than a technical shell. It keeps the details that make an MA1 recognisable, including the nylon panelling and the orange lining, and it is insulated with Dufflewool, a 100% wool fill used in place of down. Three pockets, two on the front with a flap and press stud and one on the sleeve, and a two-way zip. It is a unisex piece, in Green, in sizes XS to 2XL.

The Chapman Souvenir Flight Jacket

The Chapman Souvenir Flight Jacket is the lighter one. It is a modern reading of the souvenir jacket, the embroidered flight jacket brought home from postings abroad, reworked with a British restraint that leaves the shape and drops the spectacle. It is unlined, with two angled front pockets, adjustable cuffs and a two-way zip front, which makes it a three-season jacket rather than a winter one. In Black and Navy, in sizes XS to 2XL.

Bomber Jacket or Flight Jacket?

Gloverall sells both, and they are not quite the same thing. A flight jacket is the garment issued to aircrew; a bomber jacket is what the civilian market made of it, in the same waist-length cut with a ribbed collar, cuffs and hem. The MA1 is the specification that connects the two, a US flight jacket from the 1950s that became the template for almost every bomber sold since. That is why the Ryder is sold as a bomber and the Chapman as a souvenir flight jacket, and why the two belong on the same page.

How a Bomber Jacket Should Fit

A bomber should end at the top of the hip, with the ribbed hem sitting on you rather than gripping. The sleeves should stop at the wrist bone, since the ribbed cuff will ride up as you move. Both of ours are a regular fit and run from XS to 2XL, cut with room for a jumper underneath but not for a suit jacket. If you plan to wear heavy knitwear beneath the Ryder through winter, take your usual size and check the measurements on the product page first.

What to Wear With a Bomber Jacket

The bomber is the easiest outer layer Gloverall makes to place. Over a jumper and trousers it does the whole of a weekend; over a shirt it reads as deliberate rather than casual. The Ryder's wool fleece has enough weight to stand as a winter jacket in its own right; the Chapman, being unlined, is the one for spring and autumn, or for a day that wants a jacket rather than a coat. Neither is built for sustained rain. When the weather turns, the men's parkas are the answer.