N-1 deck jacket ww2 carriers photos help

[thor]

@Big J the deck jackets were made to fit comfortably over Navy dungarees (the traditional working uniform aboard ship). The chambray shirt was relatively thin but in cold weather was worn with a black "Gob" sweater that was thick wool with a mock turtleneck design. Perhaps the roomy fit of the N-1 was to facilitate some freedom of movement for line handling, climbing ladders, slinging and rigging, painting, boat driving, and any other duties performed by Sailors in the Deck Division.

 

[ButteMT61]

@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?

You may be right. All of the guys I see in them they show the same traits. Not a "flattering" fit like other WWII era gear. Must have been due to the type of service it was meant to perform. Generic, warm, shared perhaps. Certainly the least "custom" feeling of any jacket I own, but of course, it's not custom. I think that if someone would make one that way, I'd sell me Pike Bros and get one.

 

[EmergencyIan]

Here's the back of a WWII N-1 deck jacket that's currently listed on eBay:

- Ian

 

[ButteMT61]

I think that you could do just about anything to those jackets and they'd appear legit if it were done well. I've seen pics of tons of them and seen some at flea markets - all with a spattering of identification by paint/marker, etc. That's a good example above that I've seen.

 

[EmergencyIan]

^ Speaking to that, I've seen many 60s-80s U.S. Navy permeable deck jackets with quite similar black ink stening on their backs. This WWII example, done with paint, is very similar in style. It may be a legal example of WWII era deck jacket stencling.

- Ian

 

[thor]

Deck jackets are the property of the ship and get issued to ship's crew as needed. They wouldn't be issued to everyone; an aviator aboard a carrier for example would not be issued a deck jacket since they have their own personally issued flight jackets. You are supposed to turn them back in to the ship's supply office upon detaching (transferring) from the ship. Of course, some individuals may "forget" to return them and keep them. That's the basic reason you'll see ship names or certain division codes ("E Div" for example) stenciled on the back.