G-1 jacket
The G-1 is the commonly accepted name for the leather flight jacket with a fur collar worn by naval aviators of the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. It began with a new specification, the M-422, on 28 March 1940, and it is still issued today, under specification MIL-DTL-7823F. Tom Cruise wore one in the film Top Gun, which boosted sales of the jacket tremendously.
Definition
The original M-422 was made of chocolate-brown chrome-tanned goatskin, with a mouton collar, a bi-swing back, a rayon lining and silk thread throughout. The colour has stayed fairly uniform across every version, unlike the Air Force A-2, whose seal-brown leather was interpreted from light russet to dark brown.
Origin
The jacket's history falls into four specification families. The M-422 and M-422a came first; the M-422a of 1 October 1940 added stronger button thread, and a December 1940 amendment lengthened the sleeves. The joint Army and Navy AN-J-3 and AN-J-3a followed in 1943; a severe leather shortage meant the Navy ordered none during that time, and the first jacket called a G-1 internally was the AN-J-3a, in an October 1943 document. The 55-J-14, built to an amended specification of 1949, was the first jacket with "G-1 Flight Jacket" on the label. The MIL-J-7823 family began on 21 November 1951, with a nylon lining; later versions permitted synthetic mouton and then cowhide.
After the Second World War it became common for G-1s to carry patches earned during a career: aircraft types, carrier landings, flying hours and ships' cruises. Between 1979 and early 1981, issue to new aircrew was briefly stopped as an economy.
Key facts
| First specification | M-422, 28 March 1940 |
|---|---|
| Leather | Chocolate-brown goatskin; cowhide later permitted |
| Collar | Mouton; synthetic later permitted |
| First "G-1" label | 55-J-14 |
| Current | MIL-DTL-7823F |
How to identify it
- The collar. A mouton or synthetic fur collar, the first thing that sets a G-1 apart from an A-2.
- The back. A bi-swing, pleated back for movement.
- The label. Military jackets carry a specification and contract; fashion and reproduction jackets carry a maker's label, which we report.
- Patches. In our handling, patches can be original to a career or added later, and we describe them as we read them.
Where it appears in the collection
Examples include an Avirex G-1 Top Gun model in lambskin with squadron patches and an Avirex G-1 with naval patches and a back print. Our guide to Avirex in Japan and the flight jacket shelf give more.
Related entries
- MA-1: the nylon jet-age jacket
- Horsehide: another flight jacket leather
- Nose art: the painting carried onto jacket backs
Sources
- G-1 military flight jacket, encyclopaedia entry, for the specifications, materials, patches, the 1979 to 1981 pause and Top Gun. wikipedia.org
- Flight jacket, encyclopaedia entry, for the G-1 and Top Gun. wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.