Turkish Air Force Parka, M2008, Surplus

Here’s a pretty unique, durable, and versatile parka with a removable liner 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

This is a pretty versatile and functional parka coat without any weird features. These are quite stylish, which isn’t that strange because the uniform system was 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 coat has a heavy-duty zipper closure with a hook & loop storm flap. It features four pockets: two hook & loop breast pockets and two bigger hook & loop pockets below them. The cuffs have hook & loop adjustment, and the waist and hem come with adjustment cords. So you can adjust the fit quite nicely. Inside, you’ll find a detachable soft fleece liner. Unzip it, and you will have a coat for warmer seasons. There are small ventilation holes in the armpits.

The outer fabric is fairly thin yet strong Ripstop polycotton, but the exact content isn’t given. The material of the lining isn’t mentioned either.

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 parkas use the European jacket sizes complemented by the Turkish length code, where a larger number means a longer parka/sleeves. The EU jacket size is the recommended chest circumference divided by two in centimeters. If you go with that, you can fit a sweater underneath. In the chart below, you will see the average chest circumference and sleeve length of the parkas. Note that you need to add c. 20 cm (8") to the chest to get a parka 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 parkas from 2016, but there can also be older ones in the mix.