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M38, M41 & M43 Mackinaws


craig_pickrall
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craig_pickrall

The M41 Mackinaw had a poplin collar and a waist belt. The wool lined collar was deleted.

 

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craig_pickrall

The M43 Mackinaw had a poplin collar and no waist belt. The waist belt was deleted.

 

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  • 1 year later...
kristopher5502

Has anyone ever seen a Mackinaw like this one before. I recently picked this up at an auction but now and completely dumb founded as to what exactly it is!!



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  • 1 year later...

A couple of M1938 Mackinaws- at right is one made of O.D. #3 duck, dated Dec. 23, 1940; the other is forest green (accute nausea for KhakiNazis) and dated Aug. 25, 1941:

 

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In 1941, the Mackinaw came under scrutiny due to the stiffness and critical importance for web gear manufacture of cotton duck; production began utilizing lighter shells and thinner wool (also a critical material).

Below are 2 such examples: on the left is one made of 8.2 oz. sateen (used on Arctic Field Jackets, Tankers) ; at right is one dated June 10, 1942 made of 7 oz. poplin (M41 Field Jackets, Alpaca-Lined Overcoats):

 

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Kristopher, it looks to me like what you've got there is a standard Mackinaw fitted with Army Eagle buttons; can you find any spec tags on it? They are normally under the shell, on the outer side of the right-hand pocket.

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Robert:

It looks like the Mackinaw in Craig's photo is the last variation of the M38, which was made of poplin and lighter-weight wool instead of canvas and heavier wool. In '42, when they did away with the wool collar, all the various Mackinaws were poplin until they quit making them around the end of the War.

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  • 4 years later...

A couple of M1938 Mackinaws- at right is one made of O.D. #3 duck, dated Dec. 23, 1940; the other is forest green (accute nausea for KhakiNazis) and dated Aug. 25, 1941:

 

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Hey Flage Guy, Got a question for you on the Mackinaw jacket shown on the left. The Forrest Green one. I just picked up one Identical to it. I had never seen a forest green Mack before. Nice Hilsdale clothing company Phila QM spec tag with a manufacture date of March 1941. The odd thing is, on the back of the collar where the take up tab collar fastening tab is, there is a NAVY type of HBT button, you know, the one with the wreath and not the Army 13 star button. I was wondering if yours had a similar button as well. Do you think that this may have been just using up surplus Navy buttons? Or is there some chance that these may have been made for the Navy as they are definaetly a forest green and much heavier than the Army Macks?

Best wishes.

Eric

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Hey Flage Guy, Got a question for you on the Mackinaw jacket shown on the left. The Forrest Green one. I just picked up one Identical to it. I had never seen a forest green Mack before. Nice Hilsdale clothing company Phila QM spec tag with a manufacture date of March 1941. The odd thing is, on the back of the collar where the take up tab collar fastening tab is, there is a NAVY type of HBT button, you know, the one with the wreath and not the Army 13 star button. I was wondering if yours had a similar button as well. Do you think that this may have been just using up surplus Navy buttons? Or is there some chance that these may have been made for the Navy as they are definaetly a forest green and much heavier than the Army Macks?

Best wishes.

Eric

Here is the Spec tag, and you can see the Forest or even pea green USMC or USN color heavy canvas that it is made out of.

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Vonrad, it looks like I have one of your Coat's brothers...here is the tag from the forest green Mackinaw:

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The contract prefix "W-669", as far as I know, is an Army contract number; the wreath dungaree buttons are on both of my canvas Mackinaws. They could well have been mainly a Navy-specific item, but that is up for discussion...

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Here are some wreath buttons fitted onto a garment which is darn sure not a Navy item- a One-Piece Jungle Suit, this one made by "H.D. Lee Mercantile Co.", the same "Lee" which produces denim blue jeans today:

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  • 10 months later...

Recently I saw a few of these on Ebay represented as a USMC 1930s Mackinaw and some people paid big bucks for one. I used to have one some time ago, and simply sold it as a civilian mackinaw, it had a story that came with it that it belonged to a Merchant Marine or seaman. I just saw another one this weekend at the Portland Antique. Any thoughts on these being USMC? post-130463-0-36773300-1437251459.jpg

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  • 7 months later...

Are there regulations about the use of the mackinaw coat?
I guess they where usualy worn on top of the m41 or m43 jacket isn't it?

And maybe during formal events over the type A jacket or the Ike jacket?

Or could they be used directly on top of the shirt?

All the Mackinaws I have seen sofare appear to be plain without any rank or unit emblems, or are there examples of Macknaws with insignes?

 

Questions, questions....

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Recently I saw a few of these on Ebay represented as a USMC 1930s Mackinaw and some people paid big bucks for one. I used to have one some time ago, and simply sold it as a civilian mackinaw, it had a story that came with it that it belonged to a Merchant Marine or seaman. I just saw another one this weekend at the Portland Antique. Any thoughts on these being USMC? attachicon.gifusmc mac.jpg

 

Those are definitely Marine/Navy issue, and were made with both sheepskin and pile linings. The pile-lined models are internally insulated with Poncho or Raincoat material. Below is one of the best-known shots of Marines wearing these, here in Iceland...hard to tell whether they are fleece or pile Coats.

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Here are 3 variants of this Winter Coat. The 2 at left are fleece-lined, and the right Coat is a pile model like the one in your photo. The far-left Coat has a dark blue cloth piping tape stripe around each cuff- what this signifies is yet a mystery to me.

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The sheepskin Coats were their own insulation, as opposed to the pile lining being backed with Poncho sheeting. A friend of mine had one of these with a camouflaged Marine Corps Poncho insulation; sure wish I would've gotten it :wacko:

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Are there regulations about the use of the mackinaw coat?

I guess they where usualy worn on top of the m41 or m43 jacket isn't it?

And maybe during formal events over the type A jacket or the Ike jacket?

Or could they be used directly on top of the shirt?

All the Mackinaws I have seen sofare appear to be plain without any rank or unit emblems, or are there examples of Macknaws with insignes?

 

Questions, questions....

 

As the Mackinaws were developed, they were meant primarily for Mechanized Units (Drivers, Artillerymen, etc.). They were considered heavy and a little tough to move around in, and from period photos I've seen so far of their use in the field, it appears that there were no other Jackets worn under them...just Shirts, Sweaters, etc..

 

I never gave it much thought, but you're right- these don't show up often with Divisional Insignia.

Below is a 1942 (2nd model) Mackinaw with a 2nd Cavalry patch:

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Close-up of the Duck.

 

Out of 10 Mackinaws, these are the only 2 which have anything sewn to them.

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