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RAF 'Taylor' Bouyancy Flying Suit

Code: SOLD-1462

'Suit, Flying, Bouyant'. Stores ref. 22c/740. Size large (Ht. 5'11 - 6.2", Ch. 40 - 42, Wt. 35 - 38"). Yellow one-piece double breasted suit designed to give maximum comfort, bouyancy in water and a certain amount of fire protection - supposedly without causing too much restriction of movement of the wearer or the essential rapid removal in an emergency. Produced in a heavy 'aerocord' material and designed to be worn with a flame-proof kapok liner along with flotation pads in knee and breast pockets and in the collar. Internal braces relieved pressure on the wearer's shoulders from the weight of the suit. Press studs and quick-release zip fasteners promoted rapid removal. The material is in excellent overall condition bar minor fraying at the cuffs and ankles. It is remarkably clean with very little marking at all. Certainly one of the cleanest suits we've had. Yellow was chosen to aid visibility in the sea but was not the most practical colour for use within oily airframes. The extensive/long zips and other metalwork on these suits are prone to verdigris and corrosion. In this case the press studs do have minor hard verdigris deposits in places and a few have been replaced (three wired wrist connectors - see photos). Both leg and sleeve zips and the fly zip have been replaced but do not detract too much. The main chest zip is original. The lining appears to be in fairly good order and the braces are present. There is minor damage and some repairwork - mainly to the channels that house the braces (see photo). Fully legible label. This example is the earlier variant of the suit without the flotation lamp pocket at the waist. A very clean example of what are now quite rare suits. A big one too! Bulky and very heavy. Further photos available on request. Stock code S19054.