Favorite Uniforms

[BlueTrain]

I was stationed in Germany when I was in the army and that can be a cold, damp place. We still had wool shirts for field use and the heavier cargo pants, too, instead of fatigues for the winter. The rest of the time it was fatigues. One pair of field pants were the old style without cargo pockets.

In WWII there were several less common coats and jackets on issue, most intended for very cold climates. There was a so-called artic version of the field jacket, which was just a slightly longer and slightly heavier jacket. The Navy deck jacket is almost the same except for the color and the additional pocket. I doubt it's still in use. Of the less common coats and jackets, the mackinaw was probably the most widely issued and they appear in a lot of photos. There were also one or two different knee-length coats for cold weather, very much like a civilian coat. The most unusual issue clothing item might have been flannel-lined cotton khaki pants, a style still available.

One interesting point, which I probably already mentioned, was how few uniforms recruits were actually issued when they entered the service.

 

[EngProf]

I was stationed in Germany when I was in the army and that can be a cold, damp place. We still had wool shirts for field use and the heavier cargo pants, too, instead of fatigues for the winter. The rest of the time it was fatigues. One pair of field pants were the old style without cargo pockets.

In WWII there were several less common coats and jackets on issue, most intended for very cold climates. There was a so-called artic version of the field jacket, which was just a slightly longer and slightly heavier jacket. The Navy deck jacket is almost the same except for the color and the additional pocket. I doubt it's still in use. Of the less common coats and jackets, the mackinaw was probably the most widely issued and they appear in a lot of photos. There were also one or two different knee-length coats for cold weather, very much like a civilian coat. The most unusual issue clothing item might have been flannel-lined cotton khaki pants, a style still available.

One interesting point, which I probably already mentioned, was how few uniforms recruits were actually issued when they entered the service.

In addition to reenacting I have been "collecting" WWII uniforms and field gear for a long time and wear it sometimes in reenacting and sometimes just for day-to-day. That Arctic version of the M41 that you mentioned is noticeably better than the plain M41 and I always felt it was what should have been designed in the first place. It's not as good as the M43 but at least there is some hope that it would keep you warm in a cold climate.

I always like wearing the Type II mackinaw in cold weather. A good compromise between weight and warmth - and they look good, too.
I also wear a repro tanker jacket on moderately cool/cold days when biking to work. That was a very successful design.

 

[Harp]

The favorite uniform is worn on ETS day: estimated time of separation from service; otherwise known as 'echo-tango-suitcase'.
I wore Class-A greens and spit shined jump boots.
And the urine tossing hippies at the airport left me all alone.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Robert Capa photo of Chinese Nationalist soldier who would have been unusually well-equipped for KMT army.

 

[BlueTrain]

The favorite uniform is worn on ETS day: estimated time of separation from service; otherwise known as 'echo-tango-suitcase'.
I wore Class-A greens and spit shined jump boots.
And the urine tossing hippies at the airport left me all alone.

Well, that explains a lot of things. I came home on the bus.

 

[DanO]

Just an aside is that a Mauser C-96 with the shoulder stock holster attached?

 

[BlueTrain]

Yes and I once owned one with the shoulder stock when I lived overseas. Although in theory not a bad idea and in fact fairly popular for the first twenty years or so of the 20th century, the one I had was not a tight attachment, which detracted somewhat from the effectiveness of the combination.

 

[Harp]

Well, that explains a lot of things.

Back in the day, Class As and spit shined Corcorans were the next best red flag to wearing Tiger Stripes in Japan.
In country only, but there were no hippies in Nippon anyway.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

When you're more German than Germany.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Being a piper my nearly my whole life, I have a lifelong love of Highland Scottish military uniform.

Highland Full Dress is impressive, yes, but my favourites tend to be the khaki uniforms, either Khaki Drill, here

or here, Khaki Serge, in the immediate post-WWII period. This is probably my favourite image of Highland uniform of the hundreds I have

There's a ready-for-business quality to the khaki uniforms lacking in the ornate finery of Full Dress, though a Victorian Highland Officer in Full Dress is quite impressive

 

[Edward]

Being a piper my nearly my whole life, I have a lifelong love of Highland Scottish military uniform.

Highland Full Dress is impressive, yes, but my favourites tend to be the khaki uniforms, either Khaki Drill, here

or here, Khaki Serge, in the immediate post-WWII period. This is probably my favourite image of Highland uniform of the hundreds I have

There's a ready-for-business quality to the khaki uniforms lacking in the ornate finery of Full Dress, though a Victorian Highland Officer in Full Dress is quite impressive

It's hard to imagine at this historical distance that there were those who went into battle in kilts still in the twentieth century (though that had, from memory, all but died out in early ww2). Especially these days when 90% of the men youj see wearing kilts in Scotland are American tourists or Englishmen at weddings. (You can usually spot the former as theyr'e the foreigner insisting they are Scottish, and the latter as they're the ones doing the "Look! I'm wearing A SKIRT! isn't it FUNNY!" routine. ).

I've become quite the fan of the kilt. I've even toyed with the idea of adapting one of those battledress kilt jackets for civilian use when wearing a kilt. Leather football buttons would be nice. KD version would be cool with a kilt in Summer.

 

[GHT]

Being a piper my nearly my whole life, I have a lifelong love of Highland Scottish military uniform.

Have you heard of Bill Millin? Probably the most famous piper in the world. He defied orders, and bullets, by marching from his landing craft on D-Day, unarmed, leading his company whilst playing his pipes up the beach. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-27672376/d-day-bagpiper-who-led-the-troops-onto-the-beaches

I've become quite the fan of the kilt. I've even toyed with the idea of adapting one of those battledress kilt jackets for civilian use when wearing a kilt. Leather football buttons would be nice. KD version would be cool with a kilt in Summer.

You need to keep this retort up your sleeve in case you get asked: "Is anything worn under the kilt?"
"No, it's all in perfect working order."

 

[Doctor Jones]

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, France WWI

The Black Watch, France 1944

Officers of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Korean War

 

[Edward]

You need to keep this retort up your sleeve in case you get asked: "Is anything worn under the kilt?"
"No, it's all in perfect working order."

It is a good line, that one. I'm also a fan of "Of course I'm wearing underwear. I'm a Celt, not a barbarian."

 

[Edward]

Officers of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Korean War

Rather supports my long held opinion about how vastly more stylish a kilt is than short trousers.

 

[draws]

My favorite uniform just happens to be the 1836 National Lancer Uniform. (A variation thereof). This is a photo taken in Salem, Mass. with me in right front lead position with U.S. Colors and mounted on Grant (16.5H Percheron). Enjoy

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Of late one of my favorite uniforms is that of the Navy Chief Petty Officer



This example in my collection is named to Chief Commissaryman (CSC) Hugh L. Kruger (1924-2012) who served aboard the cruiser USS Providence (CLG-6) during the Vietnam era.

 

[vintagewool]

This is a broad topic.

Looks
Utility

Mess
Dress
Field

The U.S. state militia uniforms including Civil War Zouaves.
The British regimental uniforms including those invented by wealthy officers who bought their commission and regiment's uniforms.

Zouaves – Meet the 19th Century's Most Colourful Soldiers - MilitaryHistoryNow.com

“America wasn’t the only country to embrace France’s Zouave uniform.” IN TODAY’S WORLD of disruptive camouflage, ghillie suits and stealth technology, the idea of marching into combat in red silk pants, a bright blue tunic...

militaryhistorynow.com

Immortal Charge of the Light Brigade

By Christopher Miskimon Six battalions of Russian infantry, 30 cannons, and a cavalry force deployed in the North Valley east of Sevastopol near the town of Balaclava. They occupied three sides of the valley, looking down on it. The other end was in the hands of the British Army. Spread across...

warfarehistorynetwork.com

17TH LANCERS HISTORY - The Royal Lancers

Origin of the Regiment 1759 The decisive battle in the war with the French in Canada occurred at Quebec on the 13th of September...

theroyallancers.org

The reason why : Woodham Smith, Cecil Blanche Fitz Gerald, 1896- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

x, 292 p. : 22 cm. --

archive.org

I posted a thread on the WAVES/SPARS uniform:

WWII WAVES/SPARS: "the best dressed women in the world"?

"$200 worth of clothes free!" -Uncle Sugar to American women, USN WAVES recruiting advertisement, dangling the Mainbocher-fashion WAVES uniform as an enticement. -"How to serve your country in the WAVES" booklet (see attached PDF) WAVE recruits in their civilian clothes...

www.thefedoralounge.com

For a field combat uniform, there is the iconic 1880s U.S. cavalry uniform with tan cowboy hat, with gauntlets, and with greatcoat including yellow-lined cape.

Mc Pheeters Antique Militaria

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Military Police, Royal Thai Marine Corps