USMC Utility Covers

[craig_pickrall]

This is a sampling of Utility Covers over a period of approximately 55 years. I'm sure there are many other examples not shown here. Please add any additions that you might have. I decided to stop by the time span of my collection prior to the new digital camo so if anyone would like to add those please do (Brig??).

 

COLOR COMPARISON of the earlier examples shown.

 

[craig_pickrall]

Overseas cap type

 

[craig_pickrall]

P1944 HBT Cover

 

[craig_pickrall]

[craig_pickrall]

Korean era HBT Covers

 

[craig_pickrall]

[craig_pickrall]

[craig_pickrall]

Immediate post Korean War

 

[craig_pickrall]

Mid 1950's and still HBT

 

[craig_pickrall]

Late 1950's to early 1960's

 

[craig_pickrall]

1973

 

[craig_pickrall]

Korean made during Vietnam era

 

[craig_pickrall]

Vietnam made - type used by Force Recon or some advisors

 

[craig_pickrall]

Vietnam made

 

[craig_pickrall]

Private purchase types to go with the ERDL Uniform

 

[craig_pickrall]

[craig_pickrall]

Woodland pattern 1982 dated

 

I think this was the first of the authorized camo covers.

 

[craig_pickrall]

Woodland pattern 1997 dated

 

[craig_pickrall]

First pattern desert camp (6 color chocolate chip)

 

[craig_pickrall]

2nd pattern desert camo

 

[Greg Robinson]

Here's a rule breaker. A CAP, UTILITY, SATEEN, COTTON contract dated in 1956 when conventional wisdom says they were still making HBT covers.

 

And I own a cotton sateen utility shirt (covered button "gomer pyle" pattern) dated 1958 which is earlier than most people say these were made.

[Greg Robinson]

And another rule breaker....the pattern with the solid EGA and sewn seam above the stencil that's usually regarded as post Korean War. This one is dated Sept 1952.

[craig_pickrall]

Greg, thanks for the additions. That is two good ones. I knew you had the early dated sateen but it was more trouble than it is worth to try and revise the caption on my pics. Once it is saved as a jpeg they are hard to edit. The second cover with the solid EGA and sewn pleats I didn't know about or didn't remember. That is very nice. Does it have the reinforcements behind the pleat?

[Greg Robinson]

Yes, made just like the mid '50's caps that had the later style EGA.

 

I find it interesting that my 1956 cap has ink stamped markings. Most had white labels with the exception of the very last pattern HBT which had no markings at all, just "cutter tags".

[Greg Robinson]

I have another cap that has an undated white spec label. It does have a stock number but what they did was add four zeros to the old FSN which makes it fit the format of the newer NSN. So I assume it's made around the time they went to NSN's and that was the mid 1970's. Another unique feature is the EGA is very faint and I've seen this before on caps that were being sold on ebay but which weren't identified by date. So is this a "later" feature....a subdued EGA?