The Real McCoy's Type D-1 Reproduction Sheepskin Mechanic Jacket, Old-Era McCoy USA Zips, AAF Decal, Size Small

An old-era Real McCoy's reproduction of the USAAF Type D-1 ground-crew jacket in dark brown lacquered sheepskin and cream wool, with McCoy USA pocket zips and a painted Army Air Forces decal on the sleeve.

The Mechanic's Sheepskin

The Type D-1 was the US Army Air Forces' jacket for the men who kept the aircraft flying. Made of intermediate-weight sheepskin, it was built for ground crews working on aircraft in severe weather, and its outer finish was designed to resist water, fuel, oil and dirt. It is shorter and simpler than the heavy B-3, with a centre zip, a wool collar and slanted hand pockets, cut to let a mechanic move around an engine nacelle in the cold.

Its start date is uncertain. Aero Leather, one of the most respected makers of reproductions, calls it a grey area and has not seen an example earlier than 1937. Original wartime D-1s were made by several contractors, among them Perry Sportswear.

The lacquered outer finish is the key to the jacket. Sealing the skin side of the sheepskin gave it the resistance to fuel, oil and weather that a mechanic needed, and gave the D-1 its characteristic dark, slightly glossy surface, which softens and scuffs gently with wear. Inside, the wool pile does the work of keeping the wearer warm.

From the Flight Line to Altitude

Aircrew soon took the D-1 for themselves. Many fliers swapped the bulkier B-3 for a D-1 and wore it over the A-2 at altitude, where unheated bombers could be bitterly cold. Its combination of warmth and freedom of movement explains why the pattern has outlived the war: it is one of the most wearable of all the sheepskin flight jackets, and that is why it remains popular today with people who want a shearling jacket rather than a costume.

That layering tells us a great deal about how airmen actually dressed. The A-2 was the jacket of everyday flying and of life on the base; the D-1 went over it when the cold demanded more. A collector who owns both has the pair that so many crews wore together, and the D-1 is the less obvious, more practical half of that partnership.

The Old Real McCoy's

The Real McCoy's grew out of Hitoshi Tsujimoto's vintage dealing, from a forty-day American buying trip in 1978 to an Osaka swap-meet stall and a shop in Amerikamura in the mid-1980s. Today the house is based in Kobe. It went bankrupt around 2001 and was restarted under Tsujimoto; pieces from before that break are collected as the "old" Real McCoy's.

This D-1 belongs to the older generation. Its pocket zips are stamped McCoy USA, the house's own reproduction hardware of the pre-2001 era. Collectors report that the old company's sheepskins were made in New Zealand by the workshop known as RMNZ, later The Few, and that they were highly regarded; that origin is not confirmed for this particular jacket.

For collectors of Japanese reproductions, the McCoy USA zip is one of the clearest ways of dating a jacket to the house's first era. The company made its own hardware to match wartime originals, and seeing that name on the pocket zips of a sheepskin like this places it firmly among the jackets that built the house's reputation.

Then and Now

The modern Real McCoy's D-1 is built with a 10 mm mouton body, horsehide and cowhide trim, hand-painted seam edges and a bell-shaped Talon zip. Comparing the generations is part of the pleasure for collectors: the old-era jackets have their own hardware, their own hides and the character of a house in its first, most experimental decades.

The label on this example reads "SPEC. NO. 94-3084 · SIZE-SMALL · ORDER NO. (535)43-13607 · REAL McCOY CLO. CO. · PROPERTY, AIR FORCE · U.S. ARMY", with a mothproofing sub-label. We have not been able to check the specification number against an original D-1 label, so we report it as it reads.

Set side by side, the old and new D-1s show how far the Japanese reproduction world has travelled, and how much of its knowledge was already in place in the 1990s. The basic architecture of the jacket, its proportions and its hardware choices were settled early; later generations refined the materials and finishing. An old-era D-1 is therefore not a lesser version of the current jacket but an earlier chapter of the same study.

Wear Patterns in Shearling

Sheepskin jackets wear in predictable places. The collar, which rubs against the neck and is turned up against the wind, and the cuffs, which take the friction of every movement of the hands, are where wool thins first. On this jacket that is exactly where the wool has worn, the honest record of a sheepskin that has been used as intended. The body of the jacket, where the skin is still supple, has kept its condition well.

Replacement of a main zip is also common on older sheepskins, as zips work hard on a heavy garment. Here the original has very likely been replaced by a bar-pull Talon, neatly fitted, while the McCoy USA pocket zips remain, which keeps the jacket's dating evidence intact.

Why Japan Collects Sheepskin

Japan is the deepest collector market for American flight clothing, and sheepskin is where the reproduction houses show their skill most clearly. Lacquered shearling is hard to finish well, and a D-1 asks for clean seams, a balanced cut and a hide that stays supple. Japanese collectors value the old-era pieces for exactly that craftsmanship. With a reproduction like this one, the case for owning it rests on the house that made it and the care in its making rather than on military originality.

Sheepskin also rewards patience in a way few garments do: a well-made D-1 can be worn for decades, and its scuffs and softened edges become part of its appeal rather than a flaw.

The Piece

The jacket is cut from dark brown lacquered sheepskin with cream wool inside. The outer skin is supple, with light scuffs, and the painted Army Air Forces star-and-wings decal on the left sleeve is clear. It has an orange-taped centre zip, two slanted zipped hand pockets and a hanger loop.

The pocket zips are McCoy USA, from the old era. The main zip is a bar-pull Talon that was very likely fitted as a replacement for the original; the work is neat and the zip runs smoothly. The wool shows loss at the collar and cuffs, and one pocket bag has been repaired with green thread. We list all of this openly.

Taken as a whole, it is a working sheepskin with an honest history of wear, from a house whose early jackets are collected in their own right. Its condition is reflected in its grade, and its interest lies in the old-era hardware and the quality of the cut. Tagged Small, it fits about a Japanese M on the measurements, but the thickness of the sheepskin makes it wear closer than the figures suggest.

Details

• Type: Type D-1 ground-crew (mechanic's) sheepskin jacket, Japanese reproduction
• Maker: The Real McCoy's (old era, pre-2001)
• Contract / label: SPEC. NO. 94-3084 (unverified), ORDER NO. (535)43-13607, REAL McCOY CLO. CO.; mothproofing sub-label
• Era: Pre-2001 (dated by McCoy USA zips)
• Leather / shell: Dark brown lacquered sheepskin (shearling), cream wool
• Hardware: McCoy USA pocket zips; bar-pull Talon main zip (replacement)
• Lining & knits: Wool pile interior; no knits
• Decoration: Painted Army Air Forces star-and-wings decal, left sleeve
• Tagged size: Small (about Japanese M; wears close)
• Measurements: Shoulder 48 cm · Chest (pit to pit) 55 cm · Sleeve 60 cm · Length 60 cm

Condition

• Outer sheepskin supple, light scuffs.
• Wool loss at the collar and cuffs.
• Main zip replaced with a bar-pull Talon, neatly done.
• One pocket bag repaired with green thread.
• All zips run smoothly.

Condition grade B on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.

Authenticity & Care

The label, contract and size tags, leather, stitching, zip and hardware, paint and insignia are examined together and documented in Japan before dispatch; anything that cannot be confirmed is stated plainly in the description. Every piece carries the Japonista authenticity guarantee. Brush the wool gently, keep the sheepskin away from heat and rain, and store it on a wide hanger with room to breathe.

Delivery from Japan

Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything before you buy, and see our published policy.

Every figure above is taken by hand with the garment laid flat, in centimetres. Lay a shirt or jacket you already love beside them and allow a centimetre or two of margin, the quiet safeguard on a final sale. Our size guide to tops and jackets turns pit-to-pit figures into US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes, and for anything it leaves open the curator team replies within one Tokyo business day.

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