Army Air Corps Uniform

[Sgt Brown]

Shawn,

Differentiating between officer and enlisted uniforms comes with simply handling a few. With 20 years of collecting, you will be able to spot the difference at two hundred yards! The big things are officers uniforms are chocolate brown jackets with pinkish-tan or, less common, matching brown trousers, all of higher quality wool. Enlisted jackets and pants are made with both pieces of identical mustardy-brown/green cloth of obviously poorer quality than officer's uniforms.

Overseas caps are a viable, correct and inexpensive headgear as opposed to saucer caps. Officers overseas caps are chocolate wool with black and gold piping. Air Corps enlisted caps are mustardy -brown/green cloth that matches the enlisted uniform. They are piped in blue and yellow/gold. You can also get away with an enlisted cap with no piping at all. Caps with other colors are for wear by other branches of the Army.

Your relative was an enlisted man, so a uniform of the mustardy-brown/ green cloth, jacket, trousers and overseas cap would be correct. Enlisted wool shirts and ties are available but, for Halloween, I would "woose out" and wear a tan civilian dress shirt and OD wool tie (cooler). A black tie would work in an emergency. Again, it is Halloween and you then have a year to be perfect for next year!

I STRONGLY recommend you obtain a copy of US Army Uniforms of WWII by Shelby Stanton. SUPERB book on the topic, TONS of photos. I believe it is now available in paperback and not expensive and I'm sure you can get it from Amazon. If you are on an extra-tight budget, might I suggest you go to your local library and have them search for it on inter-library loan. Great way to get the info you need for free.

Tom

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Hey, I hope it's not too late to hop aboard this thread. Out of pure luck, I happened to stumble upon an AAC officer's jacket that fit me like a glove...issue date appears to have been 1952 and I have yet to identify the unit insignia on the shoulder. I'm not sure how I want to go about completing the ensemble. WWIIimpressions seems great, but the prices are somewhat daunting; it's been a toss-up between that and e-bay. I think I'd want to form the winter(?) uniform, which I believe entails the dark dress-shirt and trousers. Suggestions?

Lotsa stuff on ebay still to this day. And you can find some authentic uniform parts at bargain prices,especially if you wear smaller sizes. What does the insignia look like by the way?

 

[Gene]

I'm liquidating my WWII-Korean War uniform collection. Let me know what you need and I'll be glad to help out!

 

[Shawn F.]

Thanks for the info guys! I just picked up this crush cap today as well: http://www.ebay.com/itm/26086753301...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_968wt_1167
It's my size too which is great and price was cheap enough for me! I appreciate the info a lot Sgt Brown, I will pick up that book as well through Amazon.
I am not on a very tight budget and do not mind spending some money on it because it's not just for Halloween, I like I collect all sorts of things WWII.
Gene, if you can post or send me some pictures through email of everything your willing to sell with some info/prices I may be interested in quite a bit of it, especially if you have anything Korean War era 1st Cavalry since that is what my grandfather was in and I think it would be cool to pick up the uniform that he pretty much wore.
Thanks again guys and please keep the info coming!

 

[1961MJS]

I appreciate the info a lot Sgt Brown, I will pick up that book as well through Amazon.

Hi Shawn

Check the library for the book, I found it in Wichita, just buy the ones they don't have. It is a great book by the way.

Later

 

[Shawn F.]

Well I received my tunic and crush cap in the mail yesterday. 37R seems to fit me perfect and the crush cap in the size of 7 1/8 fit perfect as well. I ordered pants as well which should be in the mail today or tomorrow I am hoping. Now all I need is the belt for the pants, under shirt, tie, shoes and I am assuming a belt over the tunic?...
I still have not looked for that book you mentioned but now that it's on my mind I will check it out right now.

 

[Shawn F.]

By the way. If anyone here has the correct style belt that goes over the tunic, one for the pants and a tie for enlisted soldier uniform and your willing to sell it, please let me know!
Thanks again!

 

[Sgt Brown]

Well I received my tunic and crush cap in the mail yesterday. 37R seems to fit me perfect...(Remainder Snipped)

37R fits? You, Sir, are disgusting!!:kick:[bad]:coffee:*yucky*

Tom:behindsofa:

 

[PaidInFull24]

I agree with Tom! My 11th Airborne uniform and my Newfoundland Base Command AAF uniform are both 37 regular and I'm a 40! I wish so much that I could fit into them but there is no way to get the pants or the jacket buttoned... It's interesting to think about how small alot of those uniforms are, but it makes sense. Those guys grew up in the 30's which means that in their formative years when they would do the most growing, they were right in the middle of the great depression, and many probably didn't get the nutrition they needed to grow to their full potential. That's just a thought that someone pointed out to me while I was browsing some uniforms at the antique store and commenting on how small they were. I came across a Navy blue wool jumper the other day and it was just as small.

 

[Sgt Brown]

In the world of officer's uniforms, I learned to look for ones with medical insignia on them. Regular officers had to be "lean and mean", in other words too small to fit this lard butt of mine. However, doctors were needed no matter what their build. The services didn't care. My record was a size 50-52 Naval officer's uniform that I passed on to a buddy as a perfect fit. That one was even too large for me!

Tom:cheers1: