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What can you tell from this World War One Navy uniform?


GITom1944
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I'm trying to ID the sailor in this photo for my local Historical Society. I'm not well versed on Navy uniforms and insignia but I think the insignia on the right sleeve is an expert rifleman badge. Ruling possibilities in or out might help me to pin down who it is. I'd like to:

 

1. Confirm he's Navy (vs. Coast Guard, Merchant Marine or Naval Auxiliary Service).

2. Confirm the era/time period.

3. Include or exclude possibility he is a member of a Naval Militia.

4. Is the white thing in his left breast pocket anything other than a handkerchief?

 

I've included some close-ups and enhancements to show details. Any help would be appreciated.

 

post-2064-0-71558000-1492654200_thumb.jpg

 

Tom

 

 

 

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Salvage Sailor

Aloha Tom,

 

He appears to be a USN S1c and the broad rimmed flat hat says 1920's to me although it could be WWI, (I'm seeing a white seam on his right shoulder signifying Seaman) That is a handkerchief in his breast pocket.

 

Difficult to make out the specialty mark with the angle and poor definition in the photo, but I'm thinking it's an Expert Rifleman mark.

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The Rifle mark rarely has a white border which is interesting, I think most SN would've had the chance to qualify with rifle too bad you cannot see the hat talley.

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The Rifle mark rarely has a white border which is interesting, I think most SN would've had the chance to qualify with rifle too bad you cannot see the hat talley.

 

Thanks for the info. I agree on the talley. I tried to manipulate the image with Photoshop but all I could see was a few random blobs.

 

Tom

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MastersMate

Salvage Sailor noted the 1920s. Looking at the photo with the detail of the flat hat gives a clue to that ers. If you look carefully at the top, you can see a light outline of the inner portion of the cap itself. Before 1922 Uniform Regs, the diameter of the top of the cap was about 11 inches. The size of the quarterings, the parts that made the underside of the top were specified and weren't bigger that 2 inches. Try to gauge the distance scale between the inner outline and the outer edge. Looks more that two inches. The 1922 USN uniform regs did not specify the diameter of the top..

 

May be of some help or not..

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