thumb|upright=1|A civilian snorkel parka manufactured in the 1980s by Lord Anthony The original snorkel parka (USAF N-3B parka, which is 3/4 length and has a full, attached hood; the similar N-2B parka is waist-length and has an attached split hood) was developed in the United States during the early 1950s for military use, mainly for flight crews stationed in extremely cold areas. It was designed for use in areas with temperatures as low as . Originally made with a sage green DuPont flight silk nylon outer and lining it was padded with a wool blanket type material until the mid-1970s when the padding was changed to polyester wadding making the jacket both lighter and warmer. The outer shell material also was changed to a sage green cotton-nylon blend, with respective percentages 80–20, 65–35, and 50–50 being used at various times.
thumb|upright=1|A civilian snorkel parka manufactured in the 1980s by Lord Anthony The original snorkel parka (USAF N-3B parka which is 3/4 length and has a full attached hood; the similar N-2B parka is waist-length and has an attached split hood) was developed in the United States during the early 1950s for military use mainly for flight crews stationed in extremely cold areas It was designed for use in areas with temperatures as low as  Originally made with a sage green DuPont flight silk nylon outer and lining it was padded with a wool blanket type material until the mid-1970s when the padding was changed to polyester wadding making the jacket both lighter and warmer The outer shell material also was changed to a sage green cotton-nylon blend with respective percentages 80–20 65–35 and 50–50 being used at various times