Turkish Air Force Field Jacket, M2008, Surplus

And now for something completely different. A simple yet stylish field jacket in the blueish M2008 camo pattern of the Turkish Air Force. These were taken into use before the current regime but also saw a few years of action during it before replacement. For some reason, these have also been used by Syrian rebel troops.

Features

These are pretty simple, functional field jackets without any weird features. These are quite stylish, which isn’t that strange because the uniforms were designed by the noted Turkish fashion stylist Arzu Kaprol. Why is it that the best-looking military uniforms tend to end up in dictatorships?

The jacket features a zipper closure complemented by two hook & loop strips. It comes with four pockets: two breast pockets with a hook & loop closure, one hook & loop sleeve pocket divided into two narrow compartments, and an open-top inside breast pocket. The cuffs have hook & loop adjustment. The elbows feature reinforcements, and the jacket has a low, soft collar plus a thin lining. There are small ventilation holes in the armpits.

The fabric is fairly thin yet strong ripstop polycotton. At least on some, the percentages were 85/15 cotton/polyester, but it can vary to some extent depending on the batch.

M2008 camo pattern

This distinctive camo pattern is the Turkish M2008, or to be precise, the air force version. It was modified from the army pattern and primarily used by their ground defense personnel, but also seen on pilots in photos. The original M2008 (together with the air force variant) saw the light of day in the late 2000s and was eventually used throughout the Turkish military. Patternwise, it is similar to this blue-hued version, but it uses olive green, reddish brown, and khaki colors. In addition to Turkey, this air force version was, for some reason, used by the Free Syrian Army that opposed Bashar al-Assad. In the Turkish Air Force, this pattern was replaced by the M2018 and the army version by the M2021.

Some call this the blue Turkish digital camo, and if you see it further away, it does look a bit like MARPAT. However, when you inspect it more closely, you will notice that it isn’t actually pixelated.

Size info

The jackets use the European jacket sizes complemented by the Turkish length code, where a larger number means a longer jacket/sleeves. The EU jacket size is the recommended chest circumference divided by two in centimeters. In the chart below, you will see the average chest circumference and sleeve length of the jackets. Note that you need to add c. 20 cm (8") to the chest to get a jacket that doesn't feel like a cotton condom. There can be some variation depending on how these have been washed and how accurate the Turkish factories have been.

Condition

Used Turkish Air Force surplus. These have been used pretty nicely. The colors can be a bit faded, and there can be small stains and other minor signs of use, but they are all washed and intact. There are at least undemocratic jackets from 2017, but there can also be older ones in the mix.