Identifying WWII-era Neckerchiefs

[TeamScience]

Hi all, 

Did a bit of  reading online but didn't find any satisfactory info (in fact, some of it was contradicting).  Is there any reliable way to identify neckerchiefs made in the WWII-era as opposed to post-war or reproduction?  Thank you! 

[atb]

Please further describe or post an image of what you're calling a neckerchief.

[TeamScience]

1 hour ago, atb said:

Please further describe or post an image of what you're calling a neckerchief.

The piece of rolled/folded fabric that is tied or fastened around the neck.

[atb]

Finding old US Navy uniform regs from various years online would be my first try. Hopefully there are some naval uniform guys on here.

[DD937]

The 1897 Uniform regs simply states "Of black silk thirty six inches square" The 41 regs show a picture and the 51 regs state s " Shall be made black silk, or suitable alternate fiber, plain and 36" square". there isn't from what I have seen a ton of specific info on the neckerchief. From what I have seen it is hard to differentiate between WW1,WW2,Korea and possibly up to 1972 ish. Although I have one stenciled (WORTMAN, R.A. 472-10-29) I suspect it is from the 50-60's and is of the same pattern as the rest except for the fact that it is noticeably lighter in weight. I believe when this uniform returned in the early 80's the neckerchief lost any of the ornamentation of the past and truly was plain and I think slightly thicker material, I never cared for it and either wore a WW2 one or a pre sewn one I found on my last ship that was left over from a Great Lakes Cruise which I wore into the late 80's until I got in a hurry to press it for an inspection and ruined it with a hot iron (that day still troubles me). SOrry, I cannot transfer pictures right now, they really would not be super helpful.

[sigsaye]

4 hours ago, DD937 said:

The 1897 Uniform regs simply states "Of black silk thirty six inches square" The 41 regs show a picture and the 51 regs state s " Shall be made black silk, or suitable alternate fiber, plain and 36" square". there isn't from what I have seen a ton of specific info on the neckerchief. From what I have seen it is hard to differentiate between WW1,WW2,Korea and possibly up to 1972 ish. Although I have one stenciled (WORTMAN, R.A. 472-10-29) I suspect it is from the 50-60's and is of the same pattern as the rest except for the fact that it is noticeably lighter in weight. I believe when this uniform returned in the early 80's the neckerchief lost any of the ornamentation of the past and truly was plain and I think slightly thicker material, I never cared for it and either wore a WW2 one or a pre sewn one I found on my last ship that was left over from a Great Lakes Cruise which I wore into the late 80's until I got in a hurry to press it for an inspection and ruined it with a hot iron (that day still troubles me). SOrry, I cannot transfer pictures right now, they really would not be super helpful.

I was issued the old style, in boot camp, January 1973. It was the same as my dad’s, who retired in 1967. Still had the 3 ridges along the edges. 

[DD937]

When you think about it how many uniform items stayed so much the same for as many years as the neckerchief? I would suspect that a sailor could wear an old style one and as long as they had a proper square knot who would be the wiser?

[29navy]

The WWII ones had a line pattern along the edges like this:

[DD937]

10 minutes ago, 29navy said:

The WWII ones had a line pattern along the edges like this:

This is the ornamentation I mentioned that is found at least from WW1 through to the late 60's and most likely 1972

[TeamScience]

On 2/1/2025 at 3:58 PM, DD937 said:

The 1897 Uniform regs simply states "Of black silk thirty six inches square" The 41 regs show a picture and the 51 regs state s " Shall be made black silk, or suitable alternate fiber, plain and 36" square". there isn't from what I have seen a ton of specific info on the neckerchief. From what I have seen it is hard to differentiate between WW1,WW2,Korea and possibly up to 1972 ish. Although I have one stenciled (WORTMAN, R.A. 472-10-29) I suspect it is from the 50-60's and is of the same pattern as the rest except for the fact that it is noticeably lighter in weight. I believe when this uniform returned in the early 80's the neckerchief lost any of the ornamentation of the past and truly was plain and I think slightly thicker material, I never cared for it and either wore a WW2 one or a pre sewn one I found on my last ship that was left over from a Great Lakes Cruise which I wore into the late 80's until I got in a hurry to press it for an inspection and ruined it with a hot iron (that day still troubles me). SOrry, I cannot transfer pictures right now, they really would not be super helpful.

 

On 2/2/2025 at 5:04 AM, DD937 said:

When you think about it how many uniform items stayed so much the same for as many years as the neckerchief? I would suspect that a sailor could wear an old style one and as long as they had a proper square knot who would be the wiser?

 

Amazing!  Thank you for the reference!  And yes, it seems that a lot of the components of Navy uniforms stayed effectively unchanged for many years before WWII and many years after--especially the neckerchief.  It certainly makes for a lot of uncertainty when trying to find a "correct" one for a period-correct uniform. 😵‍💫

[sigsaye]

34 minutes ago, TeamScience said:

 

 

Amazing!  Thank you for the reference!  And yes, it seems that a lot of the components of Navy uniforms stayed effectively unchanged for many years before WWII and many years after--especially the neckerchief.  It certainly makes for a lot of uncertainty when trying to find a "correct" one for a period-correct uniform. 😵‍💫

The uniform actually went through a number of changes from 1893, to 1973. Basically the same style, cut, color, fabrics, and assorted details. But, the neckerchief, remained the same.