Favorite Uniforms

[hatguy1]

I am sure it won't be long before the Navy adopts that policy. It basically come down to "The Army does it, why can't we?"

Guess it's a good thing it's not the other way round or the army would be trying to drive ships and subs. ;-P

 

[ChiTownScion]

Yours truly as regimental surgeon, 104th Illinois Volunteers (Infantry).

 

[Frk.W]

Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia in the 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment uniform, a few years before WWI.



Women's Motor Corps of America, 1917.



M/1942 kv for the Swedish Red Cross.

 

[Aristaeus]

Guess it's a good thing it's not the other way round or the army would be trying to drive ships and subs. ;-P

U. S. Army ships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_United_States_Army

 

[1930artdeco]

We have several powered barges owned by the Army in San Francisco. I assume they are for the Corp of Engineers though.

Mike

 

[Bushman]

The US paratrooper:


WOW, that is a great look.

 

[Edward]

The US Paratrooper uniform from the early 40s is an interesting one. I'm quite keen on the jacket, actually. Puts me in mind of an unwaxed version of a Barbour International or a Belstaff Trialmaster. I've occasionally considered it as a (non-waterproof, obviously) Summer equivalent of either. Bit less obviously out of place in the City than the (equally practical) safari jacket.

 

[Stearmen]

I may have mentioned this before, but some more photos wont hurt. The Scottish Highlanders in WWII. Hard to believe, every last one of these men are gone now. You had to be brave to wear a kilt into combat with chemical weapons. Some of the gas would go up and, how shall I say it, wreck havoc on a Scotsman's pride! Especially if they were to "go regimental!"

 

[hatflick1]

These are all great. Hard to choose.
http://stukasoverstalingrad.blogspot.com/2013/02/world-war-ii-uniforms-z.html

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Steerman. Apparently the kilt was very useful in the Great War trenches as in wet weather the soldiers legs were not constrained with heavy wool trousers plus the wet weather gear provided to them included an apron which went around the kilt itself. This allowed the men to take the kilt off and dry it when able to and remain decent.

 

[Stearmen]

Steerman. Apparently the kilt was very useful in the Great War trenches as in wet weather the soldiers legs were not constrained with heavy wool trousers plus the wet weather gear provided to them included an apron which went around the kilt itself. This allowed the men to take the kilt off and dry it when able to and remain decent.

That does make sense! But there was still the blister agent, Mustard gas. An insidious chemical, that attacks any exposed skin, which Kilts leave plenty of. I just thought of something very sad, there is no chance that any of the men in the WWI photos posted here are still alive! They are all gone now, every WWI veteran!

 

[Stearmen]

The Dave Clark pressure suits warn by U2 Dragon Lady pilots at over 13 miles straight up!

 

[HanauMan]

Steerman. Apparently the kilt was very useful in the Great War trenches as in wet weather the soldiers legs were not constrained with heavy wool trousers plus the wet weather gear provided to them included an apron which went around the kilt itself. This allowed the men to take the kilt off and dry it when able to and remain decent.

The kilt was absolutely useless in the trenches. The wet kilts would chaff the legs and in the winter the wet kilts froze and then the edges would cut into the legs as the soldiers walked about. There were many cases of men with thigh ulcers due to the constant rubbing by a wet or frozen kilt. The gas attacks caused skin blistering to the exposed legs. The kilts caught in barbed wire. Before the end of WWI the use of kilts by battle troops had ended.

The modern Scottish regiments, of course, still wear the kilt.

 

[draws]

My favorite uniform The National Lancers, stationed in Framingham, Mass. early 1900s variation.

 

[DocCasualty]

From Hugo Boss Wikipedia:

"Hugo Boss started his clothing company in 1924 in Metzingen, where it is still based, a small town south of Stuttgart. However, due to the economic climate in Germany at the time Boss was forced into bankruptcy in 1930. Undeterred, Hugo set up a new business and in 1931 became a member of the Nazi party. With the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933, Boss's business also began to prosper as he became an RZM-licensed (official) supplier of uniforms to the SA, SS, Hitler Youth, NSKK and other Party organizations."

Coolest looking uniforms, worn by some of the WORST people on the face of the Earth. Of course, Hugo himself died in 1948, so I doubt that any Nazi's are still getting rich off him.

Later

On German WWII Uniforms, it is my understanding that Hugo Boss was the designer of the SS uniforms, but I am not sure about other uniforms of the Reich.

Maybe it is Urban Legend...



Didn't Hugo Boss design the uniforms for the 3rd Reich? Or am I making this up?

Nothing quite like adding a comment to a seven year old thread!

While it's true that Hugo Boss company produced uniforms for the SS and many other factions of the Nazi party, the credit for the design of the SS uniform goes to SS-Oberführer Karl Diebitsch and graphic designer Walter Heck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Diebitsch

Cool thread! There are so many marvelous uniforms over time it's hard to pick one. Some were all fashion, some all form and some managed to make a perfect blend of both.

I'll put in at least an honorable mention for the 42nd Highland Regiment during the French & Indian War (Seven Years War). Gotta love those bearskin Grenadier hats!

 

[BlueTrain]

I'm probably the odd man out here but I rather like the undress blue uniform worn between the wars (and before and afterwards, too). It evolved into No. 1 dress and during the twenties and thirties, it was the only dress uniform most soldiers ever had, including officers. If officers required full dress for some occasion, they could rent one. It was also referred to as "patrol uniform" and is still worn exactly the same in a few cases. I even saw an officer wearing one when we were in Edinburgh a few years ago. In the Royal Regiment of Scotland, it is the uniform of the officer of the day in the evening, worn with trews. But it was never a field uniform.

For everyday wear, give me shirt-sleeve order, khaki shirt, just about any pants. It even works in the field if you add a jacket that is hard wearing.

I once read a comment from someone who said he joined the Navy so he wouldn't have to wear a necktie. I thought about joining the Coast Guard but I couldn't stand the thought of wearing one of those uniforms. That was 50 years ago. I joined the army instead. Hated the baseball cap, which is what they wear in the Coast Guard now. Somehow or other, officers always managed to acquire a baseball cap that looked decent. There was a style where you indented the top of the cap somehow so it looked a little better but it almost couldn't be done with an issue cap.

Once upon a time the army didn't issue many uniforms. In 1941 you got two sets of O.D.s (two shirts, two pair of pants and one jacket), two sets of khakis, two sets of fatigues, a field jacket (officially Jacket, field) and an overcoat. I think a raincoat was issued, too. When I went in, we got twice as many uniforms, and even more in our permanent unit. And nobody wanted something from the past, always the latest.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Rio de Janeiro, 1934

This photo is from the scrapbook of a Fireman 3rd Class M.K. Rice, a sailor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-9) on her shakedown cruise to South America in 1934. Pictured are two Leading Seamen and a Petty Officer 2nd Class of the Brazilian Navy.

 

[EngProf]

This is a comment on an old post, but here goes...
There is a post above commenting on the good looks of the US M42 paratrooper uniform, and while it does look good, it's not a practical field uniform.
I did quite a few years of 101st Airborne reenacting and found the M42 to be too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. The thin cotton wasn't thick enough to be warm, but was woven so tightly that it couldn't breath and you would almost die in the summer, especially in high-humidity.
We were at a reenactment on the banks of the Ohio River in midsummer wearing M42's and I had to just sit down and pour water on myself to survive.
It was also somewhat flimsy and would tear or split seams easily.

My choice for both best-looking and most-practical uniform is the M43 outfit, and that includes any uniforms developed since then. That's what the 101st wore after D-Day.

 

[BlueTrain]

I've never examined a paratrooper's uniform but they looked fairly tough and practical to me. Nothing like actually using them to get the best impression. It might have been that whoever chose the cloth that was used was influenced by the recommendations of explorers and sportsmen. There was an experimental uniform before the M43 ensemble was adopted. From photographs only, it also looked thin. I don't think it was lined. I do know that the M43 and it's successors, the M52 and M65 could be as warm as you needed if you wore everything underneath that was provided and if it was large enough to actually do that. When I was in, it was fashionable to have fatigues cut down both the jacket (shirt) and pants.

 

[EngProf]

They (the M42's) do look good from a distance, so are great for walking around town impressing the girls, parades, and also jumping out of airplanes, but not so good for life in the field or combat. The paratroopers liked the looks, but they only lasted through the first battle before being replaced.
Related to that is the design of the M41 field jacket - also too light and too flimsy. I don't think the pre-war people knew what to expect in a long-duration major-war situation.

You're very right about the M43 (and later versions) being warm if used as intended.
If you put on long underwear, a wool shirt, and a wool sweater with the outer M43 jacket on top you can be comfortable in really cold weather. If you can find one of the fake-fur liners to add to all the other stuff you can go to the North Pole comfortably. I have a liner for my M43 and it never gets cold enough around here to wear it.