1930s USN Officer

[FA_MAJ]

I'm an Army guy, so I'm way out of my depth here and am turning to the USN experts out there. This photo is of my buddy's granddad. It is Captain Richard Henry Woodfin, USN. USNA Class of 1938. Any guesses about when this photo was taken? Looks like perhaps he was an Ensign. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, so there is some speculation that it was his first duty station after graduation and that the photo was taken there. Does that make sense with the uniform? When did that headgear stop being worn? Looking forward to the replies!

 

[Justin B.]

He is an ensign. Full dress events like that usually happened at major bases with a lot of admirals and such; Pearl Harbor wasn't the fleet base till mid-1940, but it's hard to rule anything out. Woodfin was promoted to LTJG in June 1941. The cocked hat, epaulettes and frock coat were suspended in 1941 and never came back.

[carnut63]

Agree, this could have been taken '38-'41. Not sure what is in the background. These full dress uniforms were worn at change of commands as well as visits from dignitaries.

[1930artdeco]

My guess is that he is in the D.C. area if he was an ensign. Because most officers did not buy the full dress outfit unless you dealt with large ceremonies like welcoming admirals aboard "this pic" or were meeting heads of state/ambassadors etc. So this pic could have been taken anywhere, D.C., Pearl, Philippines, etc...Just my two cents worth.

 

Mike

[Justin B.]

According to Navy Registers and Navy Directories, in 1939 and '40 Ens. Woodfin was assigned to USS Detroit CL-8, which was serving as flagship for Commander, Destroyer Squadrons, Battle Force, United States Fleet out of San Diego. In 1941 Detroit transferred to Pearl Harbor and was there on Dec. 7, though I'm not sure if Woodfin was still assigned to her.

 

Justin B.

[Justin B.]

Sorry to follow my own post, but I need to correct my earlier post: Wear of full dress uniforms was suspended in October 1940 (ALNAV #93), so the photo is almost certainly from his time assigned to Detroit.

[FA_MAJ]

Thanks very much for the replies! Very illuminating!

[jerseygary]

I'm a Yangtze River Patrol buff and from all the officer's memoirs I've read I know these full dress uniforms, hat and all, were worn fairly often on the river and in Shanghai when calling on ships of other nations. Kemp Tolley, as a young officer in the early 30's wrote about the hazzard of wearing this uniform with sword and hat and having to navigate the narrow hatches of a Royal Navy destroyer after a few gin's!

[Justin B.]

I'm a Yangtze River Patrol buff and from all the officer's memoirs I've read I know these full dress uniforms, hat and all, were worn fairly often on the river and in Shanghai when calling on ships of other nations. Kemp Tolley, as a young officer in the early 30's wrote about the hazzard of wearing this uniform with sword and hat and having to navigate the narrow hatches of a Royal Navy destroyer after a few gin's!

Yes, that's for sure. International visits had finicky protocol rules and wearing a too-informal uniform could cause offense. A station like China before the war, with all of its international concession areas and naval patrols, would definitely be one where an officer put the most mileage on his full dress gear.

 

Tolley's book is great, a very interesting situation and time.

 

Justin B.