Men-at-Arms • 70
Philip Katcher • Illustrated by Chris Collingwood
Series editor Martin Windrow
Introduction
Uniform Colours
Uniform Regulations
Insignia
Personal Equipment
The Plates
For Further Reading
In the original edition of this title, published in 1977, the author attempted to give a summary of various aspects of uniform practice, particular insignia, organisation, combat deployment of divisions, and so on. In this revised edition, in response to the expressed interests of the growing number of uniform collectors on both sides of the Atlantic, the scope of the text has been limited to a detailed examination of uniform items, drawing upon official sources. The colour plates have been prepared from these official contemporary sources, confirmed by wartime photographs and by examination of surviving examples of all the items illustrated.
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The United States Army took an unusual approach, for the period, towards the design of its uniforms. Rather than attempt to find an all-purpose uniform, such as the British battledress, it attempted to design special-purpose dress for every possible duty, from combat in cold climates to dress parades in hot ones.
According to the 1942 edition of The Officers’ Guide: ‘There are many kinds of uniforms, each for a definite purpose, which are required or authorised to be worn. Few officers own all of them. The wool service uniform may be said to be the only one required to be in the possession of all officers of the Army of the United States. The cotton service uniform is prescribed for summer wear at nearly all stations, although officers are privileged to wear the woollen uniform, if they wish to do so, while the troops are in cotton. It is customary, however, for officers on duty with troop units to wear the type which is prescribed for troops.’
The specific types of uniforms listed are the wool service uniform with coat, the wool service uniform with olive-drab shirt, the service cotton uniform with cotton or wool olive-drab shirt, and the fatigue uniform of olive-drab herringbone twill. Dress uniforms included the full dress uniform, the blue dress uniform, the full dress or blue dress uniform for mounted officers, the blue mess uniform, the white dress uniform, and the white mess uniform. Special uniforms were authorised for flying, armoured forces, parachute units, aviation cadets, ski troops and arctic service.
The khaki shirt and trousers worn as combat dress, 1941. (US Army)
The basic field uniform for officers included a garrison or ‘overseas’ cap, service shirt and trousers, a field jacket when weather required it, Army russet brown leather high shoes, canvas gaiters or high russet brown boots, identification tags, a weapon and web field equipment. The same uniform served for field service for enlisted men. Some substitutions could be made, such as a long or short overcoat for officers, or a long overcoat for enlisted men, instead of the field jacket. Additions could also be made, such as the sweater designed for wear under the M1941 field jacket.
A variation of this dress was called the ‘work uniform’, and it included a herringbone twill cap or hat, gloves when necessary, service shoes, and a one-piece or two-piece herringbone twill suit or shirt and trousers, with identification tags. The one-piece suit was to be worn by members of the armoured forces and mechanics, while everyone else was to wear the two-piece suit. Weapons and field equipment would also be carried.
US Army combat uniforms of 1941, posed in front of the US Capitol Building; the men are as embarassed as soldiers always are when forced to play-act, but the uniforms are interesting. Left to right: a soldier equipped for snow-shoe operations; the summer khaki dismounted uniform; the winter dismounted uniform; the winter armoured trooper’s uniform; the ski operation uniform; a paratrooper, fitted out for this shot in an Air Corps seat-type parachute; and the summer mounted uniform. (US Army)
Civilians serving with the armed forces in the field were to wear the appropriate officer’s uniform, without rank insignia but with the regulation brassard. There were a number of such civilians with the Army, ranging from postal employees to newspaper correspondents.
All uniforms were, according to Field Manual 21–15, to be kept clean and neat and in good repair. Missing insignia and buttons were to be quickly replaced. Overcoats, coats and shirts were always to be buttoned. The emphasis, however, especially in the field, was more on comfort and ease of use of uniform, equipment and weapons than strictly on appearance. This has been the emphasis in the uniform and equipment philosophy of the United States Army throughout its history.
The final result was that US troops in the field, especially in Europe, did not always appear to have the ‘soldierly’ qualities often displayed by both the enemy and the other Allies. On 5 May 1943 Capt. Harry C. Butcher, USN, public relations aide to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, noted in his diary: ‘Ike has been impressed by the virtual impossibility of American officers and soldiers appearing neat and snappy in their field uniforms. He has suggested to Gen. [George C.] Marshall [Army Chief of Staff] that the Quartermaster begin now to have designed another winter uniform for next winter’s wear. He thought the material should be rough wool because it wouldn’t show the dirt and is more easily kept presentable. He liked the appearance of the British battledress, but thought Americans should design something distinctive for themselves. He thought our head covering was not too good—the helmet is splendid, and its stocking cap inter-lining is suitable for wear outside the combat zone. While on pass, or working at rear headquarters, the overseas cap is acceptable. He thinks that sloppy fatigue hats and mechanics’ caps should be abolished, as most GIs [slang for an enlisted man, from Government Issue] seem to prefer them to more soldierly headgear. He has issued an order prohibiting the wearing of fatigue hats in North Africa.’
Gen. George S. Patton went further, fining soldiers in his command for wearing the knit M1941 wool cap without wearing a helmet over it. Even so, it turned out to be impossible to keep the American volunteer soldier looking anything like a ‘picture book’ soldier, and, in the end, comfort prevailed over appearance.
According to the 1942 8th Edition of The Officers’ Guide: ‘Prescribed articles of service uniforms or outer clothing, except such articles specified as of “commercial pattern”, will conform in quality, design, and color to the corresponding approved samples and published specifications.’
Unfortunately, the Army Regulations governing uniforms blandly throw around the term ‘olive-drab’ for virtually everything, when in fact vastly different shades of olive-drab were called for. It was not until the 31 March 1944 AR 600–35 was published that specific shades were described, and then only by number.
It was impossible to be too pedantic about the exact shade of everything. The Officers’ Guide recognised this when making suggestions on what wool trousers a new officer should buy:
The winter field uniform included a garrison (overseas) cap with arm-of-service coloured piping, the M1941 field jacket, wool trousers, gaiters and service shoes. (US Army)
An officer’s coat, to 1944 regulation standard. These were privately made, and details of lining and labels vary. The only label in this example bears the US coat of arms and ‘REGULATION ARMY OFFICER’S COAT.’ The insignia is that of a Signal Corps officer, with an American Campaign medal ribbon and an expert rifleman’s badge. (All close-ups of uniform items are from the author’s collection unless otherwise indicated.)
‘A good chance to make an unwise purchase is presented in the choice of wool trousers as to color. Olive-drab (dark shade) trousers are prescribed for wear by officers when in the field. Drab (light shade) trousers may be worn by officers at other times. Drab trousers are an article optional with the individual officer (Par. 35, AR 600–40).
‘The light-colored trousers are advantageous in one important respect in that they can be worn with any service coat. Due to fading and variation in dyes, the olive-drab dark shade trousers are worn properly only with the service coat made from the same cloth. Tables of Basic Allowances prescribe that the officer must provide two pairs of trousers, and that is certainly a minimum to allow for dry cleaning. In satisfaction of this requirement, olive-drab (dark shade) is advised. If a third pair is purchased, it is desirable to select the drab or lighter shade. For arduous service, the trousers issued by the Quartermaster to enlisted men and sold to officers are entirely satisfactory. However, because of variation in shade, it would be bizarre to wear these trousers with a standard officer’s service coat.’
According to AR 600–35, 31 March 1944, the official shades were: for service and garrison caps, olive-drab shade No.51 (dark shade); for breeches and trousers, either olive-drab shade No.51 (dark shade) or drab shade No.54 (light shade); for wool shirts, either olive-drab shade No.51 (dark shade), drab shade No.54 (light shade), khaki shade No.1, or olive-drab shade No.50; for cotton shirts, khaki shade No.1, and for short officers’ overcoats, olive-drab shade No.52. For long officers’ overcoats the colour was olive-drab shades No.2 and No.7. The M1943 field jacket was to be olive-drab shade No.7. Every piece of the summer uniform, including coats, breeches, trousers, shirts, and garrison and service caps, was to be khaki shade No. 1. Neckties were to be khaki shade No.5.
Special cards were produced by a private association in New York showing exactly what these shades were to be, and including dye information, for manufacturers. These cards can still be obtained through the modern counterpart of that organisation, now called The Color Association of the United States, 24 East 38th Street, New York NY 10016, USA.
Officers’ and Warrant Officers’ service coat
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