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What does MA stand for in MA-1 jacket?

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
In naval vernacular MA 1 stands for “ Master of Arms 1st Class. However I wasn’t able to attach a meaning to the term as it relates to the jacket .
 

917_k

Well-Known Member
"Mil-J-8279G AMENDMENT-1",

It’s not that, because MA-1 appears on the spec label in 1954, when the spec was simply MIL-J-8279.

I suspect it doesn’t stand for anything as such and was just some internal specification, to differentiate it from other items in the inventory. There was probably a reason MA-1 was settled on from a specification listing perspective, in the same way they went with A-2, B-3, B-15, L-2, K-1 etc in relation to other garments, but the lettering doesn’t stand for anything.
 

JonnyCrow

Well-Known Member
It’s not that, because MA-1 appears on the spec label in 1954, when the spec was simply MIL-J-8279.

I suspect it doesn’t stand for anything as such and was just some internal specification, to differentiate it from other items in the inventory. There was probably a reason MA-1 was settled on from a specification listing perspective, in the same way they went with A-2, B-3, B-15, L-2, K-1 etc in relation to other garments, but the lettering doesn’t stand for anything.
I just checked online and it says:

The original design was contained in United States government military specification "MIL-J-8279." Changes to the jacket were periodically made by the Air Force because of the introduction of new textiles, new sewing techniques or new aircraft cockpit design. The military specification was amended to reflect the changes which was signaled by adding a letter to the Mil. Spec. For example, MA-1 specifications progressed from Mil-J-8279 to J-8279A, then J-8279B, J-8279C, et cetera. The most important revision, Mil-J-8279F, was issued in November 1978[citation needed]. The final revision before being phased out by the United States military is "Mil-J-8279G" and "Mil-J-8279G AMENDMENT-1
 

alec

New Member
Could it be a clothing system developed by Aero Medical Lab in the 1950s? Cause I found some other objects like MA-1 helmet and MA-1 gloves with contract no. dated 1960.
 

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Stravaiger

Well-Known Member
At a quick glance I read these letters and think on the lines Military Apparel Thinking deeper…..not a clue
 

Skyhawk

Well-Known Member
Could it be a clothing system developed by Aero Medical Lab in the 1950s? Cause I found some other objects like MA-1 helmet and MA-1 gloves with contract no.

I think you may be onto something there.

I am thinking MILITARY AIRFORCE or MILIITARY AVIATION = MA

For that matter, possibly
A-1 = Army Air Corps #1
A-2 = Army Air Corps / Air Forces #2
 

johnwayne

Well-Known Member
Sure I’ve read ‘A’ denoted summer weight jacket and ‘B’ denoted winter, however, can’t recall where I read that (ELC’s handbook maybe?). Often wondered what happened say between B3 and B10!! And how they arrived at M is anyone’s guess
No idea with Navy’s pre number lettering either!!!
 

Skyhawk

Well-Known Member
B is for bomber - It's obvious - A joke :D

A = Summer - That doesn't explain the AN series which denoted Army/Navy

M could denote "Model" for the USN - As in Model 422a (M-422a). The Navy loved those model numbers. 37J1, 55J14, etc.

Then again "V" in the Navy stands for fixed wing aircraft. Explain that one.

The truth is out there somewhere.
 

Ed Rooney

Well-Known Member
Well, the lightweight version is the L2, so my guess would be that the M stands for Medium weight.

There is a good possibility that the A was added to differentiate it from the other 6 or 8 M-1 items in the US inventory, and maybe as a nod to the A-1 and A-2.

When adding branch to nomenclature, my impression was that A usually stood for Army, whereas AF was Air Force, so it is probably not "Airforce".

In the case of the L2/A, the A was apparently to signify the blue color adopted by the AF, so if the first MA-1s were blue, there you go.

Medium weight, Blue.
 
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Rutger

Well-Known Member
Better effort than the other assumption.

Light and Medium sounds nice, but what about the N-type jackets?

No blue MA-1's were ever made, afaik.
The B-15C has been made in blue for a while, when they switched to the olive version it remained the B-15C.

Maybe we should issue a $500 reward for whoever comes up with the right document.
 

Ed Rooney

Well-Known Member
Better effort than the other assumption.

Light and Medium sounds nice, but what about the N-type jackets?

No blue MA-1's were ever made, afaik.
The B-15C has been made in blue for a while, when they switched to the olive version it remained the B-15C.

Maybe we should issue a $500 reward for whoever comes up with the right document.

NN-N-N-N-N-Not g-g-g-g-goin out there.....it's too c-c-c-c-cold.
 
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