United States Army Air Forces Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Uniforms=== ====Service dress==== [[File:Richard Bong photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Medal of Honor]] recipient Major [[Richard Bong]] in Officer's Service Dress]] USAAF uniforms for all members consisted of a winter service uniform of [[Olive (color)|olive drab]] wool worn in temperate weather and a tropical weather summer service uniform of [[khaki]] cotton the same as those of other U.S. Army forces. In addition to the service uniforms usually worn for dress purposes and on pass from posts there were a variety of fatigue and flying uniforms. Summer and winter service uniforms were both worn throughout the year in the continental U.S. During World War II the European theater of operations was considered a year-round temperate uniform zone and the Pacific theater of operations a year-round tropical uniform zone.<ref>Table of Equipment No. 21 1 September 1945 Part II (theater clothing zones).</ref> The issue enlisted men's winter service uniform consisted of a four pocket coat and trousers in olive drab shade 33 (light shade) 16 oz wool [[Serge (fabric)|serge]]. Shirts with two patch pockets and without shoulder straps were either 8.2 oz [[Chino cloth|chino cotton]] khaki, a light tan, shade No. 1, or 10.5 oz olive drab wool light shade No. 33. Either shirt could be worn under the coat; however, the cotton shirt could not be worn as an outer garment with the wool trousers.<ref name="ReferenceA">AR 600-35 31 March 1944 (Section I, para. 2; Section II, para. 18).</ref> The wool necktie for the winter uniform was black and the summer necktie was khaki cotton, originally.<ref>AR 600-35 10 November 1941</ref> In February 1942 a universal mohair wool necktie in olive drab shade 3 and cotton blend khaki shade 5 were authorized for both uniforms.<ref>Risch and Pitkin, p. 47.</ref><ref name="AR 600-35 Section I, para. 2a3">AR 600-35 (Section I, para. 2a3).</ref> An overcoat of OD shade 33 [[Melton Mowbray#Melton cloth|Melton wool]] was worn in cold weather. The enlisted man's summer service uniform consisted of the same cotton khaki shade No. 1 uniform shirt with matching trousers; the coat for this uniform stopped being issued in the 1930s. Whenever the shirt was worn as an outer garment the necktie was tucked between the second and third button of the shirt.<ref>AR 600-40 (Section 3, para. 39).</ref> [[File:Generals Anton; Eisenhower; Carl Spaatz; Jimmy Doolittle, CO 8th Air Force; Gen. William Kepner, CO, 8th AF Fighter Command, Col. Don Blakeslee.Debden April 1944.JPG|left|thumb|Awards ceremony at [[RAF Debden]], April 1944, illustrating varying shades of olive drab and the M-1944 "Ike jacket". Light shade 33 on left, dark shade 51 on right. Trousers are shade 33, khaki shade 1, and drab shade 54. The three combinations at right are "pinks and greens".<ref group=n>The commanders L-R are Brig. Gen. [[Jesse D. Auton]] ([[65th Air Division|65th FW]]), Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] ([[SHAEF]]), Lt. Gen. [[Carl A. Spaatz]] ([[United States Air Forces in Europe|USSTAFE]]), Lt. Gen. [[James H. Doolittle]] ([[Eighth Air Force|8th AF]]), Brig. Gen. William Kepner ([[VIII Fighter Command|VIII FC]]), and Col. [[Donald Blakeslee]] ([[4th Operations Group|4th FG]]).</ref> ]] The male officer's winter service uniform consisted of a coat of finer wool fabric in olive drab shade No. 51 (dark-shade) with a fabric belt matching the coat, nicknamed "greens". Officers could wear trousers matching the color and fabric of the coat, or optionally they were allowed taupe colored, officially called "drab shade 54", trousers of the same material as the coat, nicknamed "pinks", leading to the nickname "pinks and greens" for the iconic combination.<ref>AR 600-35 31 March 1944 (Section I, para. 2; Section II, para. 9, 19).</ref> Officers were also authorized to use the more durable olive drab shade 33 serge uniforms, except for the enlisted men's four pocket service coat, as long as they were not mixed with OD Shade 51 or Drab Shade 54 clothing.<ref>Army Officers Guide 1942, p. 132.</ref> An officer's OD overcoat and taupe rain coat were also authorized. Officers wore same cotton khaki shade No. 1 or olive drab wool light shade No. 33 shirts as enlisted men except with the addition of shoulder straps. Officers also had additional shirt color and fabric options, OD dark shade No. 50 or No. 51 and in 1944 drab shade No. 54.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Officers wore black and khaki neckties until after February 1942 when neckties of wool cotton blend khaki shade 5 were authorized.<ref name="AR 600-35 Section I, para. 2a3"/> Male officer's summer service uniforms usually consisted of the wash-and-wear cotton khaki shade 1 uniforms like those of the enlisted men, the main difference being that the shirts had shoulder straps. An OD wool shirt and cotton khaki trouser combination was also authorized. However, for dress purposes they also had the option of purchasing a khaki shade 1 summer service uniform of tropical weight suiting fabric. This uniform was identical in cut to the winter officers' uniform except for the color and cloth. However, the cloth belt of the winter coat was omitted.<ref>AR 600-35 (Section I, para. 2a2).</ref> Personnel stationed in Europe, and after 1944 in the U.S., were authorized to wear a wool waist-length jacket, in either OD Shade 51 (for officers only) or OD Shade 33, nicknamed the [[United States Army uniforms in World War II#Eisenhower jacket|"Ike jacket"]] and eventually standardized as the M-1944 Field Jacket, in lieu of the full-length tunic of the service dress uniform.<ref>War Department Cir. No. 391 30 September 1944 Sec. VII.</ref> Headgear for service uniforms consisted of two types, similar to those in use in the Army's ground forces, in olive drab for winter wear and khaki for summer. The [[Side cap|garrison cap]], commonly called the "flight cap" in the air forces, had been authorized for all ranks since 1926 to facilitate the wearing of radio headsets during flights. The "curtain" had piping for enlisted men in the USAAF branch colors of orange and ultramarine blue. The caps of [[warrant officer]]s were piped with black and silver cord; commissioned officers had black and gold piping except for general officer caps, which used gold cord.<ref>AR 600-35 (para. 12).</ref> The oval [[Peaked cap|service cap]] was fitted with a spring stiffening device called a [[grommet]], and prior to World War II uniform regulations authorized officers to remove the grommet to permit the use of headsets. This style became widely popular during World War II as a symbol of being a combat veteran, and was known as a "50-mission crush" cap.<ref name="Bowman, USAAF Handbook, p. 171">Bowman (1997), p. 171.</ref> The service cap however was no longer generally issued to enlisted men after 1942.<ref>Risch and Pitkin, pp. 80, 81.</ref> Leather items, including shoes, were [[Russet (color)|russet]] in color, and the AAF became known as the "Brown Shoe Air Force" after the United States Air Force became a separate service.<ref>Daly-Benarek (1995), p. 27.</ref><ref group=n>By extension "brown shoe" refers to any practice or idea that harks back to the Army Air Forces era. (Daly-Benarek, p. 27)</ref> ====Female service dress==== [[File:USAAF Flight Nurses during WWII.jpg|left|thumb|At the AAF School of Air Evacuation at [[Bowman Field (Kentucky)|Bowman Field]], Ky., student flight nurses learned how to handle patients with the aid of a mock-up fuselage of a Douglas C-47 transport.]] Female USAAF uniforms were either the uniform of the [[United States Army Nurse Corps|Army Nurse Corps]] (ANC) or that of the [[Women's Army Corps|Women's Auxiliary Army Corps]] (WAAC) with appropriate USAAF branch insignia. In the summer of 1943 the [[Women's Army Corps]] (WAC) replaced the WAAC. Although female auxiliary organizations such as the WAAC, [[Women Airforce Service Pilots|Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron]] (WAFS) and [[Women Airforce Service Pilots]] (WASP) performed valuable service to the AAF, only the ANC and the WAC were official members of the U.S. Armed Forces. In the AAF servicewomen became unofficially known as "Air WACs".<ref name="ccxxxvi"/> Nurses attached to the AAF wore Army hospital whites, or prior to 1943, the ANC winter service uniform consisting of the ANC pattern dark blue cap or garrison cap with maroon piping, suit jacket with maroon cuff braid and gold army buttons, light blue or white shirt, black tie and light blue skirt, shoes were black or white. The ANC summer service uniform consisted of a similar suit in beige with maroon shoulder strap piping and cuff braid, beige ANC cap or beige garrison cap with maroon piping, white shirt, and black four-in-hand tie. During World War II the first flight nurses uniform consisted of a blue wool battle dress jacket, blue wool trousers and a blue wool men's style maroon piped garrison cap. The uniform was worn with either the ANC light blue or white shirt and black tie. After 1943 the ANC adopted olive drab service uniforms similar to the newly formed WAC.<ref>Smith (2001), p. 241.</ref> [[File:Women's Army Corps, Randolph Field, Texas, 1944.jpg|upright|thumb|Female service dress in OD shade 33 at [[Randolph Air Force Base|Randolph Field]], 1944]] Female service dress went through an evolution of patterns over the course of the war years, however throughout the period the service uniforms both summer and winter generally consisted of the WAC pattern hat or women's garrison cap, suit coat (winter only for enlisted women), shirtwaist, four-in-hand tie, skirt, russet leather women's service shoes and hand bag. The women's olive drab wool "Ike jacket" was also worn as were women's service trousers. The colors essentially mirrored those of their male counterparts of corresponding rank in the equivalent service uniform although fabrics differed. There were also special off duty dresses of summer beige and winter tan. The new olive drab ANC uniforms were the same as those for WAC officers except for the ANC pattern hat and the ANC pattern handbag. The off duty dress was a separate ANC pattern in olive drab shade 51 or beige. The ANC beige summer service uniform with maroon trim was retained except that the tie was changed to maroon.<ref>AR 600-37 16 April 1945</ref> Sage green fatigue uniforms of [[Herringbone (cloth)|herringbone]] cotton [[twill]] for women, along with women's combat boots, field jackets and flight clothing, were manufactured by the U.S. Army during World War II. However, when women's versions of these items were not available, as was often the case during the war, men's issue items were used instead. ====Flight clothing==== [[File:P-40 64FS 57FG pilots.jpg|thumb|left|USAAF flight crew]] Flight clothing varied widely by [[European Theater of Operations, United States Army#A theater of operations|theater of operation]] and type of mission. Innovative aviation flight suits, boots, leather helmets, goggles, and gloves were issued as early as 1928 to the Air Corps, and at least one style, the Type A-3 flight suit, continued in service until 1944.<ref name="Bowman, USAAF Handbook, p. 171"/> However, [[A-2 jacket|A-2 flight jackets]], made standard issue on 9 May 1931, became one of the best known symbols of the AAF. Made of [[seal brown]] horsehide leather (later supplemented by goatskin) with a beige [[silk|spun silk]] lining (cotton after 1939), the jackets featured an officer's stand-up collar, [[shoulder strap]]s, knit waistbands and cuffs, a zipper closing, and unit insignia.<ref>Bowman (1997), p. 172.</ref> Heavy, sheepskin-lined B-3 and B-6 [[flight jacket]]s, A-3 winter flying trousers, and B-2 "gunner's" caps, all in seal brown [[shearling]], proved insufficient for the extreme cold temperatures of high altitude missions in unpressurized aircraft, and were supplemented by a variety of one-piece electrically heated flying suits manufactured by [[General Electric]]. In addition to men's flight clothing, flight nurses wore specially manufactured women's lightweight and intermediate weight flight jackets and pants.<ref>Smith (2001), pp. 244β246.</ref> Flight clothing such as the A-2 jacket was not authorized to be worn off the camp or post unless required for flight duty.<ref>AR 600-40 (Section IId, para. 9)</ref> The same sage green fatigue uniforms of herringbone cotton twill, and wind-resistant [[poplin]] field jackets used by Army ground troops, were also worn by AAF troops depending on duty assignment.<ref>Risch and Pitkin, p. .</ref> In early 1943 the AAF did not renew its contracts for leather flight garments and began production of flight jackets and flying trousers made of cotton twill and [[nylon]] blends with [[alpaca]] pile linings. The AAF standardized the sage green or light olive drab B-10 flight jacket on 22 July 1943, accompanied by matching A-9 flying trousers with built-in suspenders, and the combination became widespread in the Eighth Air Force by early 1944. The heavier B-15 jacket followed at the end of the year, with the A-11 trousers issued in the last months of the war. Most jackets featured a [[Sheepskin#Mouton fur|Mouton fur]] or shearling collar, but a popular variation known as the "tanker jacket" had a wool knit collar that was less confining. These new jackets were lighter in weight than their leather predecessors while just as warm. Hooded variants designated B-9 and B-11 also appeared in early 1944 but because they were bulky and their fur-lined hoods impractical in combat, these were worn primarily by noncombat personnel or during ground duties. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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