Navy shoulder boards- '50's, '60's or '70's

[LIFER]

Okay, after checking for info. on these, I know they are made after the '40's. They are curved, and the eagle is looking left. I have two sets. One is 5" long, the other is 5 3/4" long. Are the shorter ones from the 50's /60's, and the longer from the 60's / 70's?

[Lee Ragan]

I believe the shorter shoulder boards are made for females and the longer ones are worn by males. That's the way it usually works with shoulder boards.

[Dave]

Typically, the female boards are attached differently than the male boards...but that could have changed over time, depending on the era of the boards.

 

It would be good to post up a picture of the two sets to see the differences.

[MastersMate]

Might be worth checking just what USN female uniforms and when were they introduced that would require the wearing hard shoulder marks. I read an article concerning the Coast Guard introduction of a 3/4 size shoulder marks for CG female officers in 1983.

[MastersMate]

From the 1959 USN uniform regs, it gives dimensions as 5 1/2" length, nothing mentioned of a smaller size. May have to locate copies of uniform regs from the 60s onward. I cannot find them online. Be interesting to know when different sizes were prescribed for the USN. Good luck.