Who Used Heated Suits?

[Mongoose]

  I was reading about the heated suits used by American airmen to keep them warm at high altitudes.  What other countries used heated suits during WWII?

[colmbo]

No idea.  I would assume the US wasn't the only people trying to stay warm.

We were in Burbank with the Collings B-24 and B-17 in 2001.  I had purchased a "new in the box" pair of the heated trousers and my wife was taking them home with her via the airline.  The pants were packed in her carry-on and as she went through screening a stern screener asked her to "step in this room please".  She sorta freaked out thinking that I must of crashed the B-24 (wow, lots of confidence in my skills!) and they were going to tell her I was dead but instead they asked why the box in her carryon had so many wires in it.  She realized they had prayed the pants and busted out laughing which didn't exactly impress the screeners until she told them what she had and they got excited about seeing them and talking about the WWII stuff.

Still can't believe she thought I had crashed.....

[ACE]

No idea.  I would assume the US wasn't the only people trying to stay warm.

We were in Burbank with the Collings B-24 and B-17 in 2001.  I had purchased a "new in the box" pair of the heated trousers and my wife was taking them home with her via the airline.  The pants were packed in her carry-on and as she went through screening a stern screener asked her to "step in this room please".  She sorta freaked out thinking that I must of crashed the B-24 (wow, lots of confidence in my skills!) and they were going to tell her I was dead but instead they asked why the box in her carryon had so many wires in it.  She realized they had prayed the pants and busted out laughing which didn't exactly impress the screeners until she told them what she had and they got excited about seeing them and talking about the WWII stuff.

Still can't believe she thought I had crashed.....

How many hours did you wind up with in that beauty sir?

[Ack-Ack]

  I was reading about the heated suits used by American airmen to keep them warm at high altitudes.  What other countries used heated suits during WWII?

RAF bomber crews did.

[MiloMorai]

RAF bomber crews did.

The fully dressed 1941 pattern Sidcot suit using the Type D heating elements.

[Lusche]

Luftwaffe did.

[colmbo]

How many hours did you wind up with in that beauty sir?

A little over 300 in each airplane.

[ACE]

A little over 300 in each airplane.

Wow. That's awesome man. Which was your favorite air craft to fly?

[colmbo]

Wow. That's awesome man. Which was your favorite air craft to fly?

The one I was in at the time.   They each have their appeal.

[Guppy35]

The USAAF progressed from the F-1 "Blue Bunny" Suit to the F-2 and finally the F-3 as they improved he suits and the short outs and burning of aircrew dropped

This version of CorkyJr sits in my hobby room.  He's set up in the 1944-45 bomber crew gear.  F-3 heated suit underneath A-9 lined pants and an apalca lined B-10 jacket.  The gloves are heated over a silk liner and there are heated inserts for the A-6 fleece lined boots.  Having talked to a number of bomber guys over the years, they talked about suits shorting out, and burning them at times.  But it was a risk worth taking as it could get to 60 below at altitude. They'd have ice hanging off their masks and any exposed skin was in trouble.

[Mongoose]

RAF bomber crews did.

  Thanks. I figured that if the U.S. did, the RAF probably would.  They would share ideas, even if it was just pilots talking.

[Mongoose]

The USAAF progressed from the F-1 "Blue Bunny" Suit to the F-2 and finally the F-3 as they improved he suits and the short outs and burning of aircrew dropped

This version of CorkyJr sits in my hobby room.  He's set up in the 1944-45 bomber crew gear.  F-3 heated suit underneath A-9 lined pants and an apalca lined B-10 jacket.  The gloves are heated over a silk liner and there are heated inserts for the A-6 fleece lined boots.  Having talked to a number of bomber guys over the years, they talked about suits shorting out, and burning them at times.  But it was a risk worth taking as it could get to 60 below at altitude. They'd have ice hanging off their masks and any exposed skin was in trouble.

I did a quick Google search, and found this:

http://www.303rdbg.com/uniforms-gear4.html

[Mongoose]

Luftwaffe did.

  After reading this, I did a little hunting around and found pictures of heated flight jackets.  Do you have an example of some of the planes, or when they started using the heated suits?  Just curious.

[GScholz]

Luftwaffe bomber crews had heated garments. LW fighters had cockpit heating.

[icepac]

With the robustness of the power being supplied to the suits, a short circuit can catch you on fire without blowing a fuse/breaker.