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! ====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> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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