The MA-2 bomber jacket (also known as MA-2 flight jacket or CWU-45 flight jacket) is a version of the MA-1 bomber jacket

MA-1 bomber jacket

The MA-1 bomber jacket was first developed in the mid 1950s. The MA-1 and its predecessor, the B-15 Flight Jacket, were needed at that time because the emergence of the jet age created new requirements for pilot performance, safety and comfort.- History :Prior to the invention of jet aircraft,...

 which was originally designed for the US military during the 1950s.

The term MA-2 was a trademark of the Cobles Clothing Company, adopted in the late 1980s when the CWU-45 military jacket started to gain popularity in street fashion. When contested in court, Cobles lost the exclusive right to the use of the term as they had attempted to widen it to other garments and footwear which was not acceptable because of a legal technicality. The term MA-2 has become so popular it is now used interchangeably with CWU-45 to represent this type of jacket.

There is also a lightweight version of this jacket, referred to as CWU-36.

MA-2 Design

The MA-2 has several design changes compared to an MA-1;

• Large cargo pockets sewn onto the front of the jacket rather than the small slash pockets on the MA-1
• A fold down collar rather than the elasticated collar of the MA-1
• Usually not orange lining, usually the same colour as the outer nylon
• A different design where the sleeves join the back to allow easier movement
• The cut is somewhat shorter - the jacket sits high on the waist compared to the MA-1
• Genuine, military-issue CWU-45 and CWU-36 jackets (not the commercially available copies) are mostly made from the flame-resistant fabric Nomex
  Nomex
  Nomex is a registered trademark for flame resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.- Properties:...
  
  , rather than the flammable fabrics used in earlier jackets