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ATF Summer M-41 Opinions

Cobblers161

Well-Known Member
Hi All,

I'm looking at pulling the trigger on an At The Front Summer M-41. Do any of you have any experience of them particularly the sizing and shrinkage?

Cheers,
Steve
 

Clark J

Well-Known Member
I had 2 Steve and as for fit the $69 dollar one has a good spread on the sizing and fit as they should for the size ,, ie correctly sized. Never washed one so I can give you any info on that. Nice jacket anyway ! Clark.
 

foster

Well-Known Member
If you are a size 42 or 44, their standard M41 field jacket is currently on sale. The wool lining isn't very thick or heavy in this jacket.
I have not owned one of the 'summer' M41 jackets but I think the shrinkage on those would be about the same as in the standard ones, which is about 1 to 1.5" for the one I washed (mine was a long). Ironing it brought some of the length back.
 

unclegrumpy

Well-Known Member
I have not handled the ATF summer weight M-41, but have had a number of similar originals. What I mean by "originals", is while I don't believe there ever really was a summer M-41, that style jacket lived on in several versions into the 1960's.

The post WW II to the 1950's versions are most like the WW II M-41. They were private purchase, and most often worn by officers. I have one from the Korean War era that has a zip out wool lining, and without that in, it is more of a light windbreaker. The material for many of these is not the plain cotton that is used in the WW II M-41...it is fancier and often has a slightly higher degree of water repellency...they don't tend to fade as much either.

That said, I agree with Foster that the M-41 wool lining is not thick, and given the current ATF sale and the English climate, I would go for one of those.
 

Grant

Well-Known Member
If you're ordering an ATF M-41 keep in mind they run big. I take a 42 in most jac, but their sz 40 M-41 fits perfect.
 

Tom Bowers

Active Member
ATF makes a nice 41 jacket.

I have worn one of their lined jackets but haven't tried their unlined jacket but I wouldn't hesitate

I have found ATF tends to run large so if you want a more "tailored" fit you might want to drop down a size

Tom Bowers
 
I've got an ATF summer M-41, and I love it! It's a great warm-weather jacket.

ATF-M41b.jpg


Alas, I haven't worn it enough to wash it, so I can't speak to that question. And as far as sizing, their XL (I'd previously gotten one of their tankers in an XL) is pretty good for me... though I had to have the sleeves shortened. (That's typical: I'm 5'8", 2oo-205lbs., typically a 48 jacket, but I've got a 42-44 waist. XLs are often too big in the chest/shoulders and/or too long in the arms for me. Sizing is all about fitting around my wide gut!)
 

deand

Active Member
Got one. Washed it. Sleeves went up about an inch. Long to begin with. Body of the jacket practically unchanged. Just bugs me that it's pretty much a fantasy jacket.


Dean
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
Just bugs me that it's pretty much a fantasy jacket.
Can you expand on what you mean? If you mean it was never an issue item, there are many stories of GIs cutting the lining out of their M-41s in the summer because the wool was too hot -- but yeah, not really issue.

I have an ATF summer M-41 and I agree that it's on the large size, but I also know my ATF tanker shrunk up when washed, so I plan to wash this too.

I can't recall the size, but I'll double-check.

Edit: mine is the size Large (41-44). It fits great in the shoulders, but the length and sleeve lengths are long (and the sleeves are wide at the cuffs).

I've seen a lot of period pics of the M-41 with the cuffs rolled back, so I'd guess originals had some length to them too -- probably allowance for shrinkage.
 
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deand

Active Member
Can you expand on what you mean? If you mean it was never an issue item, there are many stories of GIs cutting the lining out of their M-41s in the summer because the wool was too hot -- but yeah, not really issue.

I have an ATF summer M-41 and I agree that it's on the large size, but I also know my ATF tanker shrunk up when washed, so I plan to wash this too.

I can't recall the size, but I'll double-check.

Edit: mine is the size Large (41-44). It fits great in the shoulders, but the length and sleeve lengths are long (and the sleeves are wide at the cuffs).

I've seen a lot of period pics of the M-41 with the cuffs rolled back, so I'd guess originals had some length to them too -- probably allowance for shrinkage.


It was a reference to the cotton liner, yes, and indeed field mods existed. I eventually got a first generation regulation wool lined ATF M41 on ebay. 'Bugs me' wasn't a big thing, just a small point.


Dean
 
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