Of course, some parts of the world required thicker jackets than others due to their naturally colder or harsher weather, but these jackets were still relatively simple garments.

With the introduction of the horse-less carriage, the increased speed of the vehicles (after getting rid of the man who had to walk in front holding a red flag to warn other road users) meant that warmer jackets were required which led to further development.

From there it was a short leap into aircraft use - what worked in the automobile would surely work in the aircraft. So it proved to be. However, in this case, further development of the leather jacket took it into what became known as the flying jacket or flight jacket.

Aircraft development resulted in faster aircraft which became more sleekly designed. The cockpits were by now completely enclosed and the emphasis became not so much one of warmth and protection from the elements, but rather more one of comfort and ensuring that loose clothing did not impede any of the flight controls or instruments in the now rather confined cockpits.

This requirement led to the introduction of a one-piece suit, now known officially as a flying suit but also having some rather unofficial names such as a "zoom-bag".

Coupled with the development of the flight suit came the "g-suit". This is basically a suit with air tubes built into it, especially in the leg and stomach areas. It had been known for a while that the high gravitational forces caused by some aircraft maneuvers could cause a pilot to lose consciousness - to black out. This was found to be caused by a lack of blood to the brain caused by those high-g forces which drained the blood down into the lower parts of the body. Designing a system that detected these forces and inflated the tubes at the appropriate times to literally squeeze the body, prevented or at least reduced that blood drain and reduced the instances of pilot black-out. Of course it also meant that pilots could now tolerate higher g-forces than previously!

Even though there are highly technical (and expensive) flight suits available, a basic one-piece suit made of cotton or some other non-inflammable material will meet the requirements of most recreational pilots.

When humanity got itself "organized" into armies, the need to be able to tell "your" side from the "other" side was swiftly recognised. Fortunately most of the identification problems had already been solved with the continued use of different clothing.

As the army uniforms evolved, so did the jacket which has always formed an integral part of military clothing. Like so many other forms of clothing, it evolved into different forms which themselves kept changing.

Even the materials changed. From jackets initially made of animal hides, there arose vastly different materials. In the case of the knights of European history, jackets made of metal, such as linked chains became part of their military clothing. While very useful at deflecting spears and arrows, they were also very heavy. As the knights generally had a horse on which to get around, this was not too great a problem - until they no longer had a horse under them.

During the American Civil War, the uniforms often depended on what materials were available locally.

Some of the army jackets from around 200 years ago seemed to concentrate more on fashion than the realism of war. When the camouflage style of the modern army jacket is considered, the sight of the scarlet jackets of some of the infantry units of those days is almost unbelievable. But that was the style of some of the military units of those times. Those jackets also appear to have hindered the wearer's movements.

Over the last 100 years or so there has been a greater emphasis on the mobility of the wearer and this has been reflected in the design and materials used. In quite a few cases the materials were not necessarily the most appropriate, but like all military organisations, nothing is perfect. In fact, sometimes the people responsible for making such decisions do not seem to ever be able to get it right! Normally they do not have to wear the garment either.

These days the average army jacket (apart from those designed for parades and formal occasions) tend to be reasonably comfortable to wear, enable the wearer to move around fairly easily and blend in with the surroundings. No more scarlet tunics out in the bush!

However, it is generally believed that it was the Shearling B-3 jacket that was probably the original bomber jacket.

Today there are many companies producing different versions of the Shearling B-3 jacket.

For those people wishing to buy one, a choice needs to be made as usual based on the final use for the jacket.