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M-1926 enlisted summer service coat


fordmustanggt_350
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fordmustanggt_350

Hey guys,

I have a friend that is offering me an enlisted M-1926 summer service coat and I was just curious to know a bit more about them. I have not dealt with them very much. Any photos of enlisted guys wearing them? The coat is in great shape, without the buttons but has the two zinc "U.S. Army" buttons inside. How much do these typically run for? Were they only authorized for wear in certain areas? Would they have been authorized in the U.S. during the summer? The guy that the tunic came from was a guy stationed in Hawaii. When did they leave regulation?

Anyway any info is helpful.

Thanks,

Kevin

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Actually, "M-1926" for this uniform is a misnomer. There was no specification published for the EM version of this coat (in khaki cotton) until the mid 1930's. Some MAY have been purchased locally in HI or the PI, but these were typically OD cotton as opposed to khaki.

 

Those khaki coats made in the PI typically have a cloth belk loop on each side -- the bottom is sewn down, the top has a button. These are not QM issue -- they were locally tailored.

 

I suspect the galvanized buttons on the inside will be located near the waist -- on both sides, over a thread grommeted hole. The button supported a small tab with a brass belk hook attached -- the hook itself went through the hole.

 

I do have a QM-issue EM coat of they type I am describing -- worn in Panama. Unfortunately, I sold my PI-made EM coat some time back.

 

Should I post pix of mine?

 

G

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Hi,

 

I too have assumed that the cotton kahki service coat was M-1926, however I've never been able to find one with anything than a Philadelphia QM label inside. As for value, I paid $24.00 on eBay recently for the one pictured, but it's a size 36. In 1938 the 8.2 oz cotton khaki shirt replaced both the Enlisted Man's Cotton Khaki Service coat and accompanying oxford cloth khaki shirt as an exterior garment to be worn warm climates.

 

8.2 cotton khaki shirt & label:

 

 

post-772-1247017866.jpg

 

post-772-1247017891.jpg

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Here's mine -- this is Army Spec. No. 6-66 -- a devlish number if I ever saw one. It is dated 1934.

post-528-1247066741.jpg

Note the brass belt hooks -- see attachment on inside.

post-528-1247066751.jpg

BTW -- this one is from 1st Coast Artillery, Panama Department. Note the CA on the marksmanship badge and the "E" for excellence on the cuff.

 

IMG_0760__Small_.JPG

 

Sorry, my tag on the above coat is washed out. It is located on the back of the lower right pocket.

 

And, finally, an example of belt loop on a typical Philippines made khaki coat

IMG_0757__Small_.JPG

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fordmustanggt_350

Gil a couple of questions. Are those rimless eagle buttons on the coat? Also what is the flap, is that keeping the belt ramp in the coat? What does it look like under ir the ramp sewn in? The coat that I now have has the button, but does not have the flap or ramp. Do you know when these were being used? I do not know if I have ever seen any photos of these in actual use would it be something that would have been used stateside or only in the Pacific Theater bases?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

Here's mine -- this is Army Spec. No. 6-66 -- a devlish number if I ever saw one. It is dated 1934.

 

Note the brass belt hooks -- see attachment on inside.

 

BTW -- this one is from 1st Coast Artillery, Panama Department. Note the CA on the marksmanship badge and the "E" for excellence on the cuff.

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Buttons are rimmed.

 

Not sure what you mean by "ramped" -- if you are referring to the belt hook attachment, this is a khaki cotton rectangle, folded over and stitched, with a button hole on one end and the hook exposed on the other. The piece buttons into the coat with the hook extending through to the outside.

IMG_0761__Small_.JPG

IMG_0762__Small_.JPG

 

And, just in case anyone wants to see a closeup of the details of the insignia, here it is:

 

G

IMG_0763__Small_.JPG

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  • 9 months later...

I found one of these so called M-1926 enlisted cotton khaki coats at a local thrift store today. There are no labels, not any signs of one having been there. There are also no belt loops, hooks, etc.

 

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I changed the title on this a bit to see if we can attract some more input. I was kind of amazed in doing an extensive search at how little there is online about this uniform.

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According to William Emerson in Encyclopedia of US Army Insignia and Uniforms they first appeared in 1929 and were worn until March 1938 when the khaki shirt and tie were authorized without the jacket. They were worn in tropical areas, I am not sure just what that means, of course Hawaii, the Canal Zone, and the Philippines but may also have been authorized in Florida as the old white service uniforms were and this is the same sort of thing. They were not standard summer issue through out the US though.

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According to William Emerson in Encyclopedia of US Army Insignia and Uniforms they first appeared in 1929 and were worn until March 1938 when the khaki shirt and tie were authorized without the jacket. They were worn in tropical areas, I am not sure just what that means, of course Hawaii, the Canal Zone, and the Philippines but may also have been authorized in Florida as the old white service uniforms were and this is the same sort of thing. They were not standard summer issue through out the US though.

 

Thanks for that info: again there is just not much out there.

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everforward
I found one of these so called M-1926 enlisted cotton khaki coats at a local thrift store today. There are no labels, not any signs of one having been there. There are also no belt loops, hooks, etc.

 

post-214-1271283625.jpg

 

post-214-1271283404.jpg

 

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Well, I'm not sure what the significance of the chevron is, but the coat in the pic is cut like an Officer's coat rather than one for an EM......I'm also wondering if the front buttons are replacements, while the 4 pocket buttons are originals.....hmm....

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Well, I'm not sure what the significance of the chevron is, but the coat in the pic is cut like an Officer's coat rather than one for an EM......I'm also wondering if the front buttons are replacements, while the 4 pocket buttons are originals.....hmm....

 

There is a chevron on each sleeve.

 

The buttons on this coat are the kind that can be removed for laundering:

 

button_ring.jpg

 

It is possible that some originals were lost and that replacements were added. They are two different styles of buttons: the large ones are the typical sort of brass buttons that appear to be anodized, while the small ones have a greenish tint to them:

 

buttons.jpg

buttons_back.jpg

 

I took some metal polish and tried to clean the back on one of the small buttons to see if I could get rid of the greenish tint and make it look more like brass again. Well to my surprise, the whole finish came right off, revealing a bare shiny steel finish. I did this on half of the back - the top half in the photo below. The contrast doesn't show up too well in the photo, but I tested with a magnet and it for sure is a steel button that had been coated with something. Because it originally was supposed to emulate a brass button and because it had turned green, my guess is that the coating was some sort of thin copper plating. If it was done with a cyanide copper plating solution the copper layer should have adhered to the steel but because there was obviously no adhesion between the copper layer and the steel, these were probably coated by immersing them in copper sulphate, an easier and cheaper process.

 

button_small.jpg

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everforward

When I get time I'll post some pics of the ones I have from the Interwar period---they are not khaki but they are cut the same way so they should be good for comparison. Both are from the 30's....one Officer, one EM style.

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Well, I'm not sure what the significance of the chevron is, but the coat in the pic is cut like an Officer's coat rather than one for an EM

 

Think I have this figured out. The patch is for the Army Specialized Training Program which is explained at http://www.astpww2.org/

 

"The Army Specialized Training Program ("ASTP") was established by the United States Army in December 1942 to identify, train and educate academically-talented enlisted men as a specialized corp of Army officers during World War II. Utilizing major colleges and universities across the country, the Army provided a four-year college education combined with specialized Army technical training over a period of one and one-half years to those enlisted men who were accepted into the program. The men of the ASTP were distinguished by the octagon shoulder patch insignia of the program which was worn on their uniforms (shown below). It depicts the lamp of knowledge crossed with the sword of valor -- an allusion to both the mental and physical capabilities of these specialized officers-in-training.

 

 

ASTP soldiers were to serve as Army officers in both the successful prosecution of the war and the restoration of civilian governments in Nazi-occupied Europe after the war's end. But due to the impending invasion of Normandy and the need for additional manpower in its ground forces in Europe, the Army disbanded the program in early 1944. Most of the ASTP soldiers were then assigned to the infantry, where they fought in the European and Pacific Theaters of Operation."

 

Putting the ASTP soldiers into an officers service uniform would have been the same as putting Army aviation cadets - not yet commissioned - into officers uniforms.

 

So, I guess this one is not an enlisted style coat.

 

It probably has stayed in such good shape over the years because it got packed away as soon as the guy left the ASTP.

Putting the ASTP

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  • 7 months later...
According to William Emerson in Encyclopedia of US Army Insignia and Uniforms they first appeared in 1929 and were worn until March 1938 when the khaki shirt and tie were authorized without the jacket. They were worn in tropical areas, I am not sure just what that means, of course Hawaii, the Canal Zone, and the Philippines but may also have been authorized in Florida as the old white service uniforms were and this is the same sort of thing. They were not standard summer issue through out the US though.

This type coat was common at Fort Sam Houston.

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This type coat was common at Fort Sam Houston.

 

 

I have been trying to find out where someone from the third division would be posted wearing a light

jacked like that. I can't seem to find much about the third in the interwar years.

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  • 1 month later...
I have been trying to find out where someone from the third division would be posted wearing a light

jacked like that. I can't seem to find much about the third in the interwar years.

Update....Ft Douglas (Salt Lake City) Utah.

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  • 4 months later...
fordmustanggt_350

Guys,

I know this is a old topic but are there any photos of the uniform in wear? Would these have typically worn with the khaki jodhpurs and wool leggings? I am looking at doing a pre WWII Coast Artillery impression and was curious to see what the rest of the uniform looked like. Also what kind of headwear? I am guessing the khaki visor cap? Also were these the types of uniforms worn by the troops in the Philipines prior to the war?

Thanks for all the past comments.

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