Question on dating US military trousers: USAF blue wool, and officers' pinks

[Rabbit]

I've been meaning to ask this for some time and I'm not sure where it belongs.

Can anyone tell me or direct me to sources about the timeframe when the airforceblue wool trousers of the USAF were issued? There are several data bases on WWII Military clothing, but I couldn't find any information on these. I believe the airforceblue trousers were issued sometime during the postwar years when the newly formed USAF underwent lots of changes in dress regulations, but I really don't know.

Below is a photo of one of my pairs. The fabric must be about the same weight as the wartime 18oz olive drabs. The cut is practically the same, too. Oh, and the belt is modern, of course.
There are no labels or stamps anywhere in these trousers, unlike the WWII and postwar olive drabs which usually have a stamp on the inside, with specs, pattern and issue date.

While we're at it, does anyone know during what years the officers' pinks were issued? I couldn't find anything definite on that either. Were they issued only during the USAAF years? Were they issued only to the Armed Air Forces or to the Army as well?

 

[Rabbit]

No one's got the answers to this one?

 

[Atticus Finch]

I can answer part of your question. Pinks and greens were part of the U.S. Army Class A uniform before and during WWII. Of course, the Air Force didn't exist until 1947, so AAC and USAAF officers wore the same Army uniforms as other Army officers. When the Air Force became its own entity, Air Force officers began wearing blue uniforms.

Here's my father's Class A with his pinks and greens and his short overcoat. The A-1 hanging to the left isn't vintage...its my Goodwear.



AF

 

[Rabbit]

Thanks, AF. I knew that the switch to blue trousers had to be after the formation of the Air Force as a separate branch, but I don't know until when they kept them. From what I could find, the blue trousers were used for a rather short period, and apparently not by everyone in the Air Force. I'm excluding ground personnel from these deliberations anyway. I've seen photos of SAC flight personnel wearing completely different trousers that were already of a more technical make.

The Army still wore greens during the post-war years, and again I don't know when they phased them out. My most recent pair is dated Dec 1950, of the Dec 1945 pattern. That was the pattern change to two flapped rear pockets instead of one welted and one flapped. I wonder if the pinks were still issued post-war. They're often referred to as USAAF officers' pinks, which would indicate that they were phased out after the war, but that's not conclusive at all.

Edit:
A case of false memory - my Air Force trousers are actually dated. My officers' pinks aren't, though.
The two Air Force blue trousers I have are both 1951 of the 1949 pattern.
Still interested in the full timeframe of the production of these...

 

[Atticus Finch]

I've observed that during the immediate post WWII era, Air Force personnel wore quite a hodgepodge of uniforms and outerwear. Period photos show groups of guys standing together, variously wearing A-2s, B-10s and B-15s and all three L-jackets. Their uniforms include everything from WWII olive flight suits to (then) brand new blue pants and coats like those in your OP. I think post war funding was at a minimum, and folks made do with what they had.

AF

 

[Rabbit]

I got the very same impression from viewing period photos. It also seems that the Air Force clothing of the postwar years was somewhat in limbo between the requirements of the older, non-pressurized types of planes and the newer ones with pressurized cabins and a generally more engineered interior.

Here is another type of military trousers that I'd really like to know the timeframe of, the cadet trousers of West Point. The pair that I have is made of a very heavy wool, about the same weight as the WWII Greatcoat 32oz fabric I'd estimate, and with the same feel to the melton cloth that the partly reprocessed wool of the Greatcoats have.

 

[nightandthecity]

this site is an excellent resource on early USAF uniforms.....

http://usafflagranks.com/usaf_service_dress_coat_uniform.html

 

[Rabbit]

this site is an excellent resource on early USAF uniforms.....

http://usafflagranks.com/usaf_service_dress_coat_uniform.html

This is perfect, thank you for bringing it to my attention!