N-1 deck jacket ww2 carriers photos help

[dinomartino1]

Has anyone got photos of crewman on USN carriers in ww2 wearing N-1 deck jackets specifically aircraft handlers/armourers/ maintenance etc, I'm interested any stencils they might have on the back.
Thanks

 

[Big J]

That's a really interesting question.
I reckon the answer is going to be 'no', since WW2 USN carriers were fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, in just the same way as WW2 M442a pics are uncommon for carrier pilots.

The Korean War should have produced photos due to the climate.

 

[EmergencyIan]

^ What Big J said. However, if you have to be certain you might check with Charles at History Preservation Associates.

- Ian

 

[thor]

I've seen lots of WWII photos of Sailors wearing the blue clasp-front deck jacket but can't recall any pics of the khaki/green N-1 jacket.
One thing to point out; although they were in the Pacific theater, it did get colder as the Navy neared the more northern areas of operations (Iwo Jima, Okinawa etc), particularly in the winter months. The Sailors and Marines did in fact wear their issued cold-weather gear (deck jackets, leather flight jackets, etc).

 

[thor]

Here is a photo (1945) of Navy Chaplain Joseph O'Callahan ministering to the wounded aboard the US aircraft carrier USS FRANKLIN after she was struck by Japanese kamikazes. He appears to be wearing an N-1 jacket.

 

[rocketeer]

I have no photo's now, but at one time I had a N1 in really bad condition that came from the USS Lexington, sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea. A friend in my pre internet days pointed out markings on the jacket that were black stencilled, the usual USN on the front and other features on the back in a similar font that connected the jacket to the ship.
I have to admit this jacket was full of holes mainly at the crease points but still very warm when I worked on my car wearing it in the colder months. At only £10 I didn't think much about any history as they were not popular as they are today and eventually sold it on for ...... £10. So no loss there. My friend only identified the jacket by the photo's I took at the time which I probably threw away when the jacket was sold, I also did this with my first Irvin, G1 and other jackets, a couple of not very clear photo's of my first A2 and B3 are all that remain from my early collecting days

 

[Big J]

Nice catch Thor! Great pics!

 

[Edward]

Could part of the reason it's harder to find photos of the N1 be the way they worked? Unless I picked it up wrong, I thought I read somewhere (likely the Eastman website?) that these deck jackets were not issued to individual men as such, but rather belonged to the ship (hence the ship-related markings many of them bore), and were left in a general cloakroom to be used by whomever as necessary?

I've been looking at the Pike repop for some time; I'd ultimately like both that and their B15A, but how do they compare in warmth? I had the impression that an N1 was heavier than the B15 (comparable to an N2-type), is that the case?

 

[dinomartino1]

All the pictures that I could find were of the crewman in the coloured tops and t-shirts.
Maybe some photos floating around from naval air stations.
Not much luck finding anything from the Korean war other than ships names on the back.

 

[breezer]

Freewheelers of Japan do a nice N1 - often heavily stencilled - not sure if they are historically correct though.

 

[ButteMT61]

I have the Pike Bros (olive, not black or blue) and it's a swell jacket. Very warm.
I think @Edward 's idea of them being "for the crew" sounds reasonable. Probably no point in everyone owning one and space is at a premium on a ship...
It's a great piece to have - and I don't even get to wear it that much here in SoCal...

 

[thor]

 

[thor]

I think you'll find a lot more photos of the N-1 being worn as a working deck jacket aboard destroyers, landing craft and other smaller vessels rather than aboard aircraft carrier flight decks. On flat tops they were pretty strict about the color coded jerseys for Sailors with specific duties worn while working on the flight deck (red meant ordnance, yellow were catapult/launch personnel, etc). This still holds true today aboard modern Navy carriers.

 

[ProteinNerd]

I have the Pike Bros (olive, not black or blue) and it's a swell jacket. Very warm.
and I don't even get to wear it that much here in SoCal...

I'm in the same boat as you @ButteMT61

I have a Tan(?) coloured Pike Bros. Great jacket even if it is way too warm for the Aussie climate to get more than 2 or 3 wears a year lol

 

[Plumbline]

I have a Tan Pike Bros N-1 and it's an AWESOME winter jacket for the UK .. I did toy with the idea of a waxed cotton one for a little more rain resistance ... but settled on the tan because I like the color better. I stenciled it myself using a black permanent marker and the supplied stencil ... came up really well ..... This replaced a Ralph Lauren one which wasn't too bad TBH.

 

[Big J]

@Butte, I've often admired those Pike Bros N-1s. You and I are both a size 48 IIRC, what size N-1 do you wear?

Some great photos there from Thor, that's awesome work. I have to say, I always imagine carrier crews to be wearing colored jerseys, so I never thought about if they should all be wearing green N-1s or not...
What did carrier deck crews wear in cold weather, whilst still displaying what their job was?

 

[dinomartino1]

Did not really think I would find anything but there are some very good photos at the USS Hornet museum website.
When you click on an album sub categories will open up.
categoryIndex.php

These two have some great cold weather flying gear photos from the Aleutians.
http://www.usshornetmuseum.org/PhotoGallery/albumIndex.php?type=usnavy-wwii

 

[dinomartino1]

@Butte, I've often admired those Pike Bros N-1s. You and I are both a size 48 IIRC, what size N-1 do you wear?

Some great photos there from Thor, that's awesome work. I have to say, I always imagine carrier crews to be wearing colored jerseys, so I never thought about if they should all be wearing green N-1s or not...
What did carrier deck crews wear in cold weather, whilst still displaying what their job was?

Thats why I thought maybe N-1s, it would have been very severe weather in the winter months off the coast of Japan and Korea.
The Wasp (CV-7) and the Ranger (CV-4) did operate in the Atlantic in 1942 so too early for the N-1s, there where escort carries in the Atlantic mainly on anti submarine duty, but that time frame might still be too early.
From the buzz rickson site:
"By late 1943, the second version of this Deck Jacket design was being phased out of production and an entirely new design was being brought into use: the N-1.
Produced in very small numbers and but for a brief period, this new design was quickly superceded by a second version manufactured in a light olive drab color (now commonly called khaki) of the same heavy, corded fabric. The fabric color was changed from blue to this shade of olive drab to better enable camouflaging of USN personnel both at sea and on landing operations. This newer-colored version of the winter deck jacket was available in limited numbers by the spring of 1944 and photo documentation clearly reveals some sailors, including Rear Admiral A. D. Struble onboard the command ship USS AUGUSTA, outfitted with this jacket style during the D-Day landings in Normandy, France on 6 June 1944."


"The U.S. Navy’s most successful ASW escort carrier in that theater was USS Bogue (CVE 9), namesake of the second largest escort carrier class built in the war. Bogue entered service in February 1943 and served as the flagship for six ASW task groups that conducted operations from April 20, 1943, to Aug. 24, 1944. Bogue and her escorts sank 13 enemy submarines and received the Presidential Unit Citation which noted “. . . Bogue and her escort vessels were largely instrumental in forcing the complete withdrawal of enemy submarines from supply routes essential to the maintenance of our established military supremacy.”

USS Bogue flight deck 1943

 

[ButteMT61]

@Butte, I've often admired those Pike Bros N-1s. You and I are both a size 48 IIRC, what size N-1 do you wear?

Some great photos there from Thor, that's awesome work. I have to say, I always imagine carrier crews to be wearing colored jerseys, so I never thought about if they should all be wearing green N-1s or not...
What did carrier deck crews wear in cold weather, whilst still displaying what their job was?

@Big J - I settled on the XL. They used to make numbered sizes, but switched over a few years back.
While it fits me decently, it would be perfect if I were less long in the arms and torso.
I'll post an older pic, but my body doesn't often work for off the rack sizing. That said, since it IS a colder weather piece, I don't sweat that it's not perfect.

 

[Big J]

@Butte,
Thanks, that's very interesting.
I've got a later (60's?) blue N-1 by Spiewak, that's great quality, but oddly proportioned.
I'm a size 48 in most stuff, but this jacket feels about an inch short in the body and the sleeves, but the chest is more like a size 52!
I'm wondering how earlier originals were proportioned, and what my jacket was made to fit over to have such a loose chest?