What winter jacket did General Patton wear?

[BellyTank]

Yes.


B
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[BellyTank]

Oh yes.


B
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[H.Johnson]

Say what one likes about Gen. Patton as a strategist, he often displayed the sort of elan that it was probably hoped a cavalry officer would carry over to being an armoured commander when that sort of transition was made in teh late 1930s.

By contrast (no names, no pack drill) some other allied armoured commanders treated their armoured assets as something to be protected.

Gen. Patton always impressed people with his abiity to speak good French.

 

[Lone_Ranger]

Ooops! Just noticed the double post. Sorry about that!

 

[Edward]

Edward,

The modification is that the epaulettes (the 'sticky-up, short flaps') are removed from Gen. Patton's jacket, nothing added. Officers normally wore their 'pips' (or whatever they call them in the US) on the 'flaps. Perhaps the Lt. General is showing that one can't fit three stars on a small square flap... If you look carefully I think you will see that the stars are painted on.

There is a famous painting ('Bastogne') of him in the same jacket that is possibly taken from this painting.

Yes, looking at it again, I would agree. painted on insignia are also less likely to fall off in the heat of battle, too!

 

[MrBern]

in time for veterans day

heres a review of the 1970 movie. You can see George C Scott wearing winter jacket.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/11/10/movies/1194832271100/critics-picks-patton.html

 

[Satori]

Yes, a modified B-3 (eppaulettes etc). And look what the guy on the right is wearing!

A B-10 I think.

 

[H.Johnson]

A B-10 I think.

Yes, it is.

 

[theprofessor]

from all i've heard, patton's leather winter coat was of his own design. it may resemble others, but it was made specifically for him, to his exact specifications and design. check out orvis.com, they offer an impressive version of the patton leather winter coat.

 

[H.Johnson]

I would be interested to know where you heard that, if provable it would be a useful addition to the historical record of military clothing. I've seen various photographs of Gen. Patton in the same jacket from various angles and as far as I can see the only feature that doesn't resemble an average manufacturer's B-3 is the shoulder seams, which are 'forward set' to a greater extent than you will see on most issue B-3s.

He may have had it tailor made (most general officers in WW2 wore at least some 'private purchase' uniform rather than issue items) but it is to all intents and purposes a B-3 pattern.

On another thread in 'Outerwear' we see the unfortunate friction that can be caused by the difference between loungers who believe advertisers' claims and those who don't. I'm not going to add to that friction, but just look at the photographs of the Orvis item on the website to which you refer and look at any of the many photographs of Gen. Patton in his jacket. They bear no resemblance - even the number of pockets is different!

 

[BellyTank]

From this photo, above, it appears that the jacket actually has a sewn-on/sewn-down (he has to accommodate his stars.)epaulet.
(in the first Patton/B-3 image in this thread, it does seem as if the jacket has a too-far-forward shoulder seam and the epaulet is not apparent.)
This would be a Patton thing to do, as the photos of him wearing a Tanker jacket also show a sewn-on epaulet, where there is normally none.
I would say that this is the only departure from a normal B-3, without seeing a lot more photos. Having a shearling jacket of B-3 style tailor made during wartime seems unlikely- field modification seems more likely.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that the Orvis jacket in question, given its title and "story" and what it looks like, is ridiculous and the price, ridiculous-er.


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[H.Johnson]

I think you may be right. But let us not get drawn into examining the advertising claims of Orvis and their colleagues...

 

[BellyTank]

I apologise.
Again, I have fallen to temptation.

Yes, I should exercise the Gurkha rule of thumb.

It will never happen again, oh great Rajputin.


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[alden405]

I have pics of Patton wearing an A2,a b10 and B3 in addition to a winter combat jacket

Ill hit the scanner this evening and razzle dazzle the Georgy fans

 

[cco23i]

In the movie Patton (G.C. Scott) is shown wearing a 41 field jacket, then a tankers jacket then a crappy copy of a B-3, the B-10 jackets have knit cuffs and a knit waisteband, you can see the sheep skin on the cuffs and waisteband of the jacket Scott is wearing while in the Bastogne scenes.

Scott

 

[Edward_Lindey]

I have seen that jacket in person, though I cant remember much about it. Gen. Patton was quite the dresser. His swager stick had a bayonet hidden inside. I encourage everyone to check out the Patton Museum at Ft Knox Kentucky. Quite a display.

I also think it was a B-3 with modifications.

Edward

 

[aswatland]

The picture of Patton wearing his B-3 on the Museum website and the photo of the jacket in the display cas clearly shows the insignia was on a leather shoulder strip, suggesting the standard rank insignia tabs were removed prior to these additions. Apart from this modification it appears to be a standard B-3. It is a duo tone B3, with seal shearling and russet leather facings, which would suggest a date from 1942-3.

http://www.generalpatton.org/

 

[Naphtali]

Daniel Hunter inserted a photograph of Patton wearing sheepskin jacket and Single Action Army revolver. Is his holster belt beneath the jacket, the drop holster hanging below it, or over the jacket? I cannot tell.

 

[csmiller]

Gen. Patton's coat

Hi all,

In a magazine that just came out (on local newsstands) called "Patton - In His Own Words" they make mention of his coat. On page 66 there is a caption that refers to a good picture of him on page 67. The caption says: "1944: In a letter to his wife Beatrice, Patton wrote that Army Air Force General Jimmy Doolittle was sending him "a fleace lined (sic) leather coat." Patton wore the bomber jacket during the Battle of the Bulge. And in the picture, the General Stars do look painted on.

Craig

 

[thecardigankid]

From this photo, above, it appears that the jacket actually has a sewn-on/sewn-down (he has to accommodate his stars.)epaulet.
(in the first Patton/B-3 image in this thread, it does seem as if the jacket has a too-far-forward shoulder seam and the epaulet is not apparent.)
This would be a Patton thing to do, as the photos of him wearing a Tanker jacket also show a sewn-on epaulet, where there is normally none.
I would say that this is the only departure from a normal B-3, without seeing a lot more photos. Having a shearling jacket of B-3 style tailor made during wartime seems unlikely- field modification seems more likely.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that the Orvis jacket in question, given its title and "story" and what it looks like, is ridiculous and the price, ridiculous-er.


B
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I agree with you that this photo shows what appears to be an epaulet sewn on/down but when compared to the photo of him in Africa it seems there is no denying the earlier photo has no epaulet and the stars are painted on. Maybe the epaulet was something he added later on in the war?