Germany, Luftwaffe. An Oberleutnant’s Leather Flight Jacket, by Karl Heisler

(Luftwaffe Leder Fliegerjacke). A fine example of a Luftwaffe Oberleutnant’s flight jacket, constructed of finely-grained dark brown leather. It features a wide turned-down collar fully topped by brown doeskin, with two leather straps emanating from the reverse of the left meeting a loop and arrangement of snap buttons on the right for secure closure. The shoulders are flanked by boards constructed of golden-yellow wool, each topped by four bands of silver aluminum wire piping with a single pip. Measuring 35 mm (w) x 115 mm (l), the straps are secured in place with integral staps fitting through loops at the outer edges and with pebbled magnetic metal buttons on the inner edges. Each cuff has a functional zipper fastening closed with an integral snap button for an adjustable fit. The jacket closes with five black bakelite buttons on the right flap meeting an equal number of hidden reinforced buttonholes on the left. The interior is fully encompassed by a multi-piece slate-grey rayon liner. A hidden channel set into the waistband has an intact elasticized strap to function as a belt. Stitched onto the interior of the left breast is an intact white cotton label bearing a Reichsbetriebsnummer (RBNr.) of “0/0250/0201” for Karl Heisler of Berlin. Otherwise unmarked, the jacket measures approximately 44 cm across the shoulders, with an arm length of 57 cm, and an overall body length of 58 cm. Minor, age-appropriate fatigue is visible to the leather shell, in addition to moderate soiling of the interior liner, with the additional outline of a Luftwaffe eagle insignia which has been carefully removed with only minimal disruption to the leather base visible on the upper right breast. A high-quality example, this jacket remains in a near extremely fine condition.