U.S. Navy bridge coats

[Doctor Damage]

great looking coat, and it's by Neptune (i.e. well made)

 

[Treetopflyer]

great looking coat, and it's by Neptune (i.e. well made)

Thanks! The only problem I have with this coat is that it came with the throat latch but the buttons were not sewn on the collar to wear it. I am sure that I could return it and have them sewn on, but I am not sure when I would ever use it. It seems as though I do not get that many opportunities to wear it. One, I have to be wearing my Blues and two, the temperature has to be cold enough. Norfolk is the only place I have been stationed that has been cold enough to even to consider wearing it. I was stationed in Kansas for a year and tried to wear it as much as possible since I was on an Army base and they don't have anything like it for their uniform anymore.

 

[jack miranda]

Here is a pic of my recently acquired bridge coat,

made by Naval Uniform Shop, Brooklyn, NY. Zip-in liner is missing.



I took the brass off and put on peacoat anchor-and-rope buttons. Fits perfectly. Also featured is a new B! Wear newsie in dark brown tweed. Yep, raining in Seattle. A lovely day.

 

[Doctor Damage]

made by Naval Uniform Shop, Brooklyn, NY. Zip-in liner is missing.

I took the brass off and put on peacoat anchor-and-rope buttons. Fits perfectly.

Normally I wouldn't remove original buttons, but in this case I think the coat looks better with standard peacoat buttons (although it looks to me like you need one more!). You might not have the liner, but your coat looks heavy enough to be warm; some of these bridge coats look too thin to be of much use without the liner. Anyways it looks great!

 

[David Minton]

Normally I wouldn't remove original buttons, but in this case I think the coat looks better with standard peacoat buttons (although it looks to me like you need one more!). You might not have the liner, but your coat looks heavy enough to be warm; some of these bridge coats look too thin to be of much use without the liner. Anyways it looks great!

I wonder if there is a wide variety of materials since they were private purchase items by officers (and more recently Chiefs)? My 1943 Bridge Coat is very heavy.

 

[davyjones007]

Thanks! The only problem I have with this coat is that it came with the throat latch but the buttons were not sewn on the collar to wear it. I am sure that I could return it and have them sewn on, but I am not sure when I would ever use it. It seems as though I do not get that many opportunities to wear it. One, I have to be wearing my Blues and two, the temperature has to be cold enough. Norfolk is the only place I have been stationed that has been cold enough to even to consider wearing it. I was stationed in Kansas for a year and tried to wear it as much as possible since I was on an Army base and they don't have anything like it for their uniform anymore.

I always liked those Bridge coats. So much nicer than our all weather coats. Even though they are warm with the liner zipped in. I miss the old blue wooly pulley sweaters. Didn't Brooks Bros take over the contract for most of the dress uniforms?

 

[Treetopflyer]

Didn't Brooks Bros take over the contract for most of the dress uniforms?

Brooks Brothers is available at Navy Uniform shops, but so are three other name brands. If I wasn't retiring in three years I would purchase a Brooks Brothers set of Blues. It's not worth the investment for a Uniform that I will only wear a couple of times before I retire. They are great quality and look good.

 

[David Minton]

It was below freezing outside when I made it to the coat closet on the way out this morning, so I decided to wear my 1943 dated Bridge Coat to work. Between dropping off my daughter at day care and walking up the stairs to my office five people complimented me on the coat I was wearing. It goes to show style doesn't need to be expensive.

 

[fishmeok]

I will have to post some pics but I was lucky enough to find one at the Goodwill in my size (46) It has the rank stripe on the sleeve so from reading the above it is early post-war vintage (Halloween in the best time to hit the thrift stores, they pull out all the "costume" stuff and a lot of it is pure vintage). I have been thinking about doing the same thing Ben did and change from the gold buttons though. Makes me a little uncomfortable as I never served in the Navy and do not want anyone to think I am posing as something I am not...

Cheers
Mark

 

[Peacoat]

I will have to post some pics but I was lucky enough to find one at the Goodwill in my size (46) It has the rank stripe on the sleeve so from reading the above it is early post-war vintage (Halloween in the best time to hit the thrift stores, they pull out all the "costume" stuff and a lot of it is pure vintage). I have been thinking about doing the same thing Ben did and change from the gold buttons though. Makes me a little uncomfortable as I never served in the Navy and do not want anyone to think I am posing as something I am not...

Cheers
Mark

Mark, did you get a pea coat or a bridge coat? I have not known of chiefs to have rank on the sleeves on a bridge coat. Officers never wear rank on the sleeve, but on shoulder boards on the epaulets. I believe chiefs do (or did) wear rank on the left sleeve of their peacoats. but not the bridgecoat. Almost all (100%?) of the chiefs and officers now wear bridge coats instead of the peacoat, and have for many years.

Treetopflyer is currently on active duty in the Navy and has a good grasp of these things both present and of the recent past.

Yes, please post some pics. PC

 

[Treetopflyer]

Mark, did you get a pea coat or a bridge coat? I have not known of chiefs to have rank on the sleeves on a bridge coat. Officers never wear rank on the sleeve, but on shoulder boards on the epaulets. I believe chiefs do (or did) wear rank on the left sleeve of their peacoats. but not the bridgecoat. Almost all (100%?) of the chiefs and officers now wear bridge coats instead of the peacoat, and have for many years.

Treetopflyer is currently on active duty in the Navy and has a good grasp of these things both present and of the recent past.

Yes, please post some pics. PC

Officers can wear either the Bridge coat or a Pea coat with converted gold buttons and shoulder boards. These converted Pea Coats are called "reefers." Chiefs wear Reefers with only the gold button conversion and not the shoulder boards. I have never seen a Chief wear a Bridge Coat.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Mark, did you get a pea coat or a bridge coat? I have not known of chiefs to have rank on the sleeves on a bridge coat. Officers never wear rank on the sleeve, but on shoulder boards on the epaulets. I believe chiefs do (or did) wear rank on the left sleeve of their peacoats. but not the bridgecoat. Almost all (100%?) of the chiefs and officers now wear bridge coats instead of the peacoat, and have for many years.

Treetopflyer is currently on active duty in the Navy and has a good grasp of these things both present and of the recent past.

Yes, please post some pics. PC

Officers can wear either the Bridge Coat or a Pea Coat with the gold button conversion and shoulder boards, they are called "Reefers." Chiefs can wear the Reefer without the shoulder boards. I have never seen a Chief wear a Bridge Coat.

 

[Treetopflyer]

OK, since I can't seem to edit my post, I will add another. Bridge Coats up until the mid-1950's had officer rank on the ower sleeve, but in black stripes, not gold like the dress blues.

 

[Peacoat]

OK, since I can't seem to edit my post, I will add another. Bridge Coats up until the mid-1950's had officer rank on the ower sleeve, but in black stripes, not gold like the dress blues.

Yes, the officers had the black stripes, indicating rank, just above the cuff, but that was 40 or more years ago.

As to chiefs wearing peacoats (reefer), that was years ago. I just checked with a Master Chief friend of mine. He said he hasn't seen a chief wearing a peacoat in years and years--maybe 30 or 40 years, now. He said when he made E-7, he packed away his peacoat and went to the bridgecoat. He has been retired as an E-9, for 10 or 15 years, so maybe things have changed since he retired, but I doubt it. He said these days, all chiefs wear the bridgecoat.

So, there is a discrepancy in our information as to the peacoats/bridgecoats for chiefs. Not sure that it makes any difference in the overall scheme of things, but I would like to know what you are seeing at the Patuxent NAS now that it is getting to be cooler weather.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Now that the Navy Working uniform (NWU), or Aquaflage as I call it, is being worn by all non-aircrew personnel, the Gortex jacket that matches it is being worn in the cooler weather.

I am attending a formal event in January that both Enlisted and Officers will be at. I plan on wearing my Bridge Coat to that event. I will see what the E-7 and E-8 are wearing for cold weather gear.

 

[Treetopflyer]

According to the current United States Navy Uniform Regulations, NAVPERS 15665I, the Overcoat, Blue (Bridge Coat) and the Reefer are both authorized for E-7 and up. Article 3501.42 of the regulations addresses the description and wear of the Reefer and Article 3501.39 addresses the Bridge Coat.

 

[TheEyeball]

Hi, first post here. Name's Ross. From Indy.

Thought this might be of interest. I bought a new bridge coat off Amazon. I immediately had the buttons replaced and took the shoulder loops off. I've never been in the military and don't want to disrespect those who have served, so I really wanted to make the coat as civilian-looking as possible, while keeping the great shape and lines you can only find in a bridge coat!

Front with original buttons, then with black buttons:


Inside breast tag and retail tag from sleeve:


The coat is a deep black. Here it is compared to a dark navy blue suit coat, which looks black until you see it next to the bridge coat:


The buttons I used. Took some looking to find 1" (25mm) shank buttons. Was much harder than I thought it would be. They are black leather, but looked dull and unfinished so I covered them in Tarrago self-shine cream to make them a deep, rich, shiny black:


The wool is slightly crushed where the shoulder loops were but I expect it to rebound with time and use. Already looks better after steaming next to a hot shower for 15 minutes:



Thanks for looking, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

 

[Treetopflyer]

Nice work on the conversion.

 

[Peacoat]

Yes, good job Mr. Eyeball, and welcome to The Lounge.

Does your bridgecoat have a zipper on the inside so that a liner can be zipped in, or is there insulation in the lining in the coat? My bridgecoat has the zipper, but no lining. The shell isn't as thick as the peacoat, and isn't as warm. With the liner, it would be a very warm coat because it covers more than the peacoat.

 

[Atticus Finch]

I'm still amazed at how frequently older vets compliment me on my peacoat. I was boarding a plane last week and had already noticed that many of the younger male passengers were wearing peacoat-like jackets. And some of those jackets were't bad copies, at least to my novice eye. I had paused for a moment in the isle when I heard a voice say, "You an ex-squid?" I looked down at an older guy, pointing to my peacoat. I replied that I wasn't, but my jacket was. He smiled and said he knew it was the real deal and that's why he had asked about my service. He knew because he had worn a peacoat exactly like mine over fifty years ago.

AF