Irvin Harnessuit
When Britain entered the Second World War, RAF aircrew often went to their aircraft carrying or wearing an extraordinary collection of separate equipment. A pilot or bomber crewman might need flying clothing, a parachute harness, parachute pack, life-saving flotation equipment and various small pieces of survival kit. Inside the cramped cockpit or fuselage of a wartime aircraft, all of these straps, buckles and layers could become uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. The Irvin Harnessuit was an attempt to solve that problem by combining several important pieces of equipment into one compact garment.
The design appeared at a particularly important moment. During the 1930s the RAF had experimented with what became known as the Combined Pattern Flying Suit, an ambitious system that incorporated parachute equipment and flotation gear into the clothing worn by the airman. The idea was sound, but the arrangement was complicated. Irvin Air Chute of Great Britain Ltd developed a simplified version, which became popularly known as the Irvin Harnessuit. It entered RAF service in May 1940, just as the air war over Britain and Western Europe was becoming increasingly intense.
The name Irvin came from Leslie Irvin, the American parachute pioneer whose work had transformed parachute design after the First World War. His company became one of the most important names in British parachute production, and Irvin Air Chute was already supplying equipment to the RAF before the war. Although the Harnessuit is associated with Irvin and his company, it is more accurate to describe it as an Irvin Air Chute company design rather than claim that Leslie Irvin personally designed every detail of the garment. Surviving examples carry Irvin Air Chute of Great Britain Ltd labels, while the rival G.Q. Parachute Company also manufactured examples of the general type.
At first glance the Harnessuit looked almost like a sleeveless khaki waistcoat extending well below the hips. Its appearance was deceptive. Concealed within the fabric was a proper parachute harness constructed from strong webbing. Instead of the airman first putting on clothing and then wrestling a separate harness over the top, the harness formed part of the garment. The wearer could therefore climb into a much more organised piece of equipment before entering his aircraft.
The outer garment was manufactured from strong, heavy khaki or olive-drab cotton material. This was not intended to provide the same level of insulation as the famous sheepskin Irvin flying jacket. Its main purpose was to support and contain the survival and parachute equipment while remaining sufficiently flexible for the wearer to move around inside an aircraft. Twin metal zips ran down the front, while additional zipped pockets provided accessible storage. Press studs, brass buttons, tabs and fabric covers were used to secure the internal equipment and prevent loose straps and fittings catching inside the aircraft.
One of its cleverest features was its ability to incorporate flotation equipment. Inside the garment could be fitted an inflatable rubber life-preserver bladder. Surviving examples show that these bladders were manufactured from thin rubber and could be covered with silk to help protect the rubber from deterioration. Tabs around the bladder corresponded with fixing points inside the garment, allowing it to be secured in position rather than hanging independently around the airman’s neck.
This mattered enormously to crews operating over the English Channel, North Sea and Atlantic. Coastal Command aircraft could spend hours flying over water, while Bomber Command crews regularly crossed the North Sea on operations against Germany. If an aircraft was forced down, flotation equipment might mean the difference between survival and drowning.
Another important advantage was versatility. The Harnessuit could be arranged for different parachute systems and could be used with both seat-type and chest-type parachute arrangements. The parachute pack itself did not necessarily remain permanently attached in the way people sometimes imagine. The integrated harness allowed the appropriate pack to be connected when required.
The practical benefit was speed. An operational airman preparing for a sortie might be wearing ordinary uniform, additional warm clothing, electrically heated equipment, Mae West flotation equipment and a parachute harness. Every additional strap had to be correctly positioned. With bombers frequently being scrambled or crews preparing aircraft in darkness, anything that reduced the number of separate components was valuable. The Harnessuit effectively organised a large part of this equipment around the airman’s body.
It could also make escaping a damaged aircraft easier. Wartime aircraft were filled with sharp edges, narrow hatches, control cables, gun positions and structural members. Loose parachute harness straps or bulky equipment could snag during an emergency evacuation. By enclosing much of the harness arrangement inside a fabric garment, the Irvin concept presented a relatively smooth exterior and helped keep equipment in its intended position.
Bomber Command was one of the principal users, with Harnessuits being issued to crews from May 1940. Coastal Command also used them, while examples appeared in some fighter units. They are particularly associated with the early-war period and can be seen in photographs from the Battle of Britain era.
Yet the Harnessuit did not become the universal RAF flying garment its designers may have hoped for. Its great strength was also its weakness. Combining several systems into one garment made production complicated. The internal harness, numerous attachment points, metal fittings, zips, flotation equipment and tailored outer covering required considerable manufacturing time. Wartime Britain needed equipment that could be produced rapidly and repaired easily, and simpler separate parachute harnesses eventually proved more practical.
The rapid development of RAF aircraft and survival equipment also worked against it. Different aircraft required different seating arrangements and parachute packs, while improved life jackets and flying clothing appeared as the war progressed. A modular system in which an airman could replace one damaged component without replacing an entire combined garment was often easier for squadrons to maintain.
It should also not be confused with another remarkable wartime garment, the G.Q. Parasuit. The latter was developed specifically for the gunner of the Boulton Paul Defiant, whose extremely cramped turret made conventional parachute equipment difficult to use. The G.Q. design incorporated its own parachute arrangement and life-saving equipment but arose from a different operational problem.
Despite its relatively short service career, the Irvin Harnessuit represents an important stage in the development of modern aircrew survival equipment. The basic principle behind it remains familiar today: equipment should be arranged around the airman so that it is secure, accessible and capable of performing several functions without restricting movement.
Its designers were attempting to solve a problem that became brutally obvious during the opening months of the Second World War. RAF airmen were operating faster aircraft, flying longer distances over hostile territory and water and sometimes having only seconds to escape a burning or crippled machine. Anything that reduced tangled straps, shortened preparation time or kept vital survival equipment attached to the body could potentially save a life.
Today original Harnessuits are considerably less familiar than Irvin’s famous sheepskin flying jacket, yet historically they are every bit as interesting. The khaki garment was not simply another piece of RAF clothing. It was essentially a wearable survival system: parachute harness, flotation provision, storage and flying garment brought together into one ingenious piece of equipment at one of the most desperate periods in RAF history.
