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Question about USN deck jackets


Tonomachi
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I've read where USN deck jackets were the property of the particular vessel you were on and issued out temporarily as needed however I have also read where others have said if you found one that fit you real well you kept it. So were they a temporary issued piece of clothing or a permanent piece of issued clothing? Most have the USN stencil on the left front but many do not. Others have stenciling on the back indicating the vessel the jacket came from. Others I have seen graffitied up with different drawings and the like with what looks like black felt markers so was this something allowed on some vessels and not others or would these have all been post war civilian done graffiti? I have seen some deck jackets with patches sewn on mostly on the right side but I have also seen some sewn on the left side above the pocket or lower on the pocket itself as well as the shoulders and back. So were their USN regulations covering where exactly one was supposed to sew these patches, did it depend on which vessel you were serving on like a surface ship as opposed to a submarine and did these regulations change after WW2? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

 

 

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Ok. Foul weather jackets were Organizational Clothing. Property of the ship/station. They were technically issued out when required, to be turned back in when called for. Most get turned back in because they get really beat up by those that get them. Paint, grease, oils and fluids. They get torn, zippers broken and cuffs snagged and frayed.

 

Some, however do not get turned back in. It fits well, was issued new, not beat up. You hung onto it. It meant that when they were reissued next time, you didnt get one. BTW, there was no way of telling if you would get the same one again. As for your other questions. I was issued a jacket in 1974. It was new and a size too big for me (I wore a size 50 jacket , so this was great!). I never turned it back in. Zipper broke. I replaced it with one from an Army field jacket. I also took the breast pockets from the Army jacket and put them on my foul weather jacket, moving the original pocket to the sleeve. On the back, I painted crossed flags, ( I was a Signalman). Then names of ships I served on. When I made Chief, I painted an anchor behind the flags. I had ships patches in the front at various times. The regs do not apply to the jackets, as they are originational clothing. But guys put what they chose on them. No one said anything. WW2 was much the same. Those vets taught us.

 

Markings on the back are pretty much what the ships Bosun wants on them.

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Ok. Foul weather jackets were Organizational Clothing. Property of the ship/station. They were technically issued out when required, to be turned back in when called for. Most get turned back in because they get really beat up by those that get them. Paint, grease, oils and fluids. They get torn, zippers broken and cuffs snagged and frayed.

 

Some, however do not get turned back in. It fits well, was issued new, not beat up. You hung onto it. It meant that when they were reissued next time, you didnt get one. BTW, there was no way of telling if you would get the same one again. As for your other questions. I was issued a jacket in 1974. It was new and a size too big for me (I wore a size 50 jacket , so this was great!). I never turned it back in. Zipper broke. I replaced it with one from an Army field jacket. I also took the breast pockets from the Army jacket and put them on my foul weather jacket, moving the original pocket to the sleeve. On the back, I painted crossed flags, ( I was a Signalman). Then names of ships I served on. When I made Chief, I painted an anchor behind the flags. I had ships patches in the front at various times. The regs do not apply to the jackets, as they are originational clothing. But guys put what they chose on them. No one said anything. WW2 was much the same. Those vets taught us.

 

Markings on the back are pretty much what the ships Bosun wants on them.

Many thanks for this explanation.

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Did they ever come in tall sizes? I haven't seen one.

. I dont think so. Im 6ft, 4, and SS long as I got them to fit in the shoulders and sleeve length, they were great.
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MastersMate

While serving as 1st Lt. on a Boston cutter, I did something that shocked most of the crew.. After the spring time turn in of foul weather jackets , we did an actual detailed inventory of what was on board and did, in fact, survey a large number of them that were just plain beaters and rags.. Those that were worth it were sent out for professional cleaning and repair. Those that were deceased, were replaced with new stock.. For some reason, they were just recycled year after year on board.. It was a worthwhile exercise in maintaining ships organizational clothing.

 

In the FWIW department, the Fireman ( E-3) that maintained and repaired the CWO guarters vacu-flush toilets got a brand new jacket. It is good to stay on the happy side of the porcelain throne king. The wardroom messmen also got new jackets for their extra attention to the care and feeding of CWOs. An older, slower gentleman, that performed the general janitor duty at the base was the butt of years worth of jabs, he got a brand new jacket with a base Boston patch sewn on.. Irritated a few of the base homesteaders. The rest for the crew were left to the devices of the Bosn Hole keeper..

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  • 3 weeks later...

246f9f9eef4253f8e9acdad01ac59305.jpg

This lot has loads of names all over them but a few has no names

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

. Again, if we got one that was in good shape and fit, we put our names all over it and never turned them back in! As mentioned by Masters Mate, above. When I retired, I had 3 from 3 different ships. 2 I gave to my guys on the signal bridge I retired from. One was so trashed ( 29+ years old and my favorite), I tossed.
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