Scarecrow Posted May 2, 2018 Share #1 Posted May 2, 2018 I recently purchased this officer's "crusher type" visor cap. My question is concerning his ASN. As you can see his ASN starts with a W-. When did the US Army start using the O- for officers'? This cap may be early or slightly pre war, as it has a bound thick leather visor. Any help appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 2, 2018 Share #2 Posted May 2, 2018 The W prefix in WW2 was for regular army warrant officers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted May 2, 2018 Thanks Matt! I must have 40-50 WWII US Officer;s visor caps in my collection and for those that are Id'd this is the first one I've had with a "W" prefix. Again, your input much appreciated. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 2, 2018 Share #4 Posted May 2, 2018 Paul, Im a big fan of the visor cap. Do you have a thread showing all of yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 2, 2018 Share #5 Posted May 2, 2018 Paul, Im a big fan of the visor cap. Do you have a thread showing all of yours? Me too! I lost count of how many caps I have, but W prefixes are rare. It's possible he either wore a regular officers cap badge instead of the WO one, or he was commissioned later on. Nice cap either way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted May 6, 2018 Paul, Im a big fan of the visor cap. Do you have a thread showing all of yours? Beast, Thanks for your comments. I don't have a posting showing my visor caps but when I get a few minutes I'll take a couple of photos. Quite a few are on mannequins so a little difficult to get a "group" shot but will do my best. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted May 6, 2018 Me too! I lost count of how many caps I have, but W prefixes are rare. It's possible he either wore a regular officers cap badge instead of the WO one, or he was commissioned later on. Nice cap either way! Matt, Again thanks for your comments, much appreciated. Another question, if the "W" is for Warrant Officers would Air Corps Flight Officer ranks have used the "O"? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 6, 2018 Share #8 Posted May 6, 2018 Not 100% sure... From Wiki: During World War II, the Army also expanded the service number prefixes to include several new one letter designators in addition the original three prefixes (R, F, and O) which had been created after World War I. In all, the following prefixes were used during World War II. A: Used by female members of the Women Army Corps F: Used by field clerks during the First World War K: Used by female reserve and specialist officers with service numbers 100 001 and higher L: Used by enlisted members of the Women's Army Corps N: Used by female nurse officers O: Used by Regular Army officers R: Used by Army enlisted personnel with service #s from 1 to 5 999 999 upon reenlistment T: Used by flight officers appointed from an enlisted status V: Used by officers of the Women Army Corps W: Used by Regular Army Warrant Officers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share #9 Posted May 7, 2018 Paul, Im a big fan of the visor cap. Do you have a thread showing all of yours? Hi Beast. Here are some photos of some of my visor caps. I have quite a few more but they are RAF, RCAF, Polish, ATA, and RAF Ferry Command, so not sure I can show those. Do not want to violate Forum policy about non US items. Took these photos quickly with my IPhone so not best quality. The last two photos are of three of my favorites. The very poor shots behind glass are of two of my Id'd AVG caps. One belonged to Bill Reed and the other George Paxton. The last one is a pilot from the Mexican 201st Fighter Squadron. The 201st was assigned to the US 58th Fighter Group and flew P-47's in the Philippines. Since they flew with and were assigned to a US group I hope its Ok to show this photo. This cap was made in Mexico City. Also, as you can see I have many of my caps on mannequins and not just displayed on shelves. Hope you enjoy the photos. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted May 7, 2018 Share #10 Posted May 7, 2018 WOW! Great collection, thanks for showing them! BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nack Posted May 8, 2018 Share #11 Posted May 8, 2018 Holy cow! Excellent displays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 8, 2018 Share #12 Posted May 8, 2018 Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 14, 2018 Share #13 Posted May 14, 2018 Fantastic! That Mexican cap is top notch! Do you put any material between the Styrofoam heads and the caps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share #14 Posted May 15, 2018 Fantastic! That Mexican cap is top notch! Do you put any material between the Styrofoam heads and the caps? Hi Erick, Yes, I cut out a circular piece of cotton cloth, just large enough to cover the entire crown. Then secure it with a common pin in the center of the disc into the Styrofoam. Hasn't failed me yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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