Please read before ordering: Style of knit may vary. These are genuine British RAF surplus, graded and sold in used condition. Expect honest signs of service. Light pilling, softened wool, faded straps, and the occasional small repair are normal on issued knitwear and do not affect warmth or fit. Anything with holes through the body is pulled before it ships. As graded surplus, each sweater varies a little in shade and wear. Please check our Sizing & Condition Guide at the bottom of this listing before ordering, and note that these knits are form fitting.

The British RAF wool commando sweater, the Royal Air Force version of the famous woolly pully, is genuine military surplus in a roundneck (crew neck) cut and the distinctive RAF blue-grey, a soft light blue you will not find on the far more common green and black sweaters. It is heavy rib-knit wool with reinforced shoulder and elbow patches, rank straps, and the RAF's signature pen pocket on the left sleeve.

The RAF & the Commando Sweater

The commando sweater began as Second World War kit, developed for units like the SAS and for Britain's bomber crews who needed serious warmth at altitude and on freezing airfields. The Royal Air Force kept the proven design and issued it in air force blue-grey, the service's own color, adding a pen pocket on the sleeve for the paperwork that comes with flying. Like the Army version, it carries the shoulder and elbow patches and rank straps that made the sweater practical for daily service. Decades on, that blue-grey has become one of the most sought-after colorways in British surplus, helped along by the commando sweater's return to fashion after Daniel Craig wore one as James Bond in No Time to Die.

Heavy Wool in RAF Blue-Grey

The body is the same heavy rib-knit wool that made this sweater a legend. It is warm for its weight, still insulating when damp, breathable, and wind-resistant in a way fleece cannot match. Tougher patches reinforce the shoulders and elbows, and the ribbed roundneck collar, cuffs, and hem keep their shape wash after wash. The pen pocket on the left forearm is the quick way to tell the RAF jersey from the Army one. Most of all it is the color that sets this piece apart, a muted light blue-grey that reads far dressier than standard olive or black and works as easily with jeans as with a collared shirt.

A Surplus Sweater That Dresses Up

Green and black woolly pullies are workhorses. The RAF blue-grey is the one you wear when you want the same rugged wool in a color that looks intentional. It has become a real crossover piece, equally at home as a warm layer on a cold walk and as a smart-casual sweater over a button-down for the office or dinner out. The wool handles wind and damp for outdoor use, while the softer air-force color and clean roundneck make it an easy everyday pullover. A knitted commando sweater from a heritage label like N. Peal can run several hundred dollars. This is the genuine military article, in the harder-to-find RAF color, for a small fraction of that.

The Short & Sweet:

• Genuine British Royal Air Force surplus
• 80% wool, 20% acrylic construction
• Soft, warm and stretchable fabric
• One pen pocket on the left sleeve
• Reinforced elbows
• Reinforced shoulders with epaulets

Sizing Info:

These fit true to US sizes. We recommend ordering whatever size you typically wear.

Our model is 5’ 11” and 160 pounds and is wearing a medium in these photos.