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US Navy Gray uniform 1943: comment, reference, and question.


Skytroop
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I have had a "dog Bowl" or "dixie Cup" hat in my collection for years now which was manufactured from gray fabric rather than dyed.

 

I recently ran across this article from "All Hands" October 1943 p. 67 which beggars a question on my part (see end of post).

 

"Gray Uniforms Authorized for Enlisted Men at Sea"

 

"In order to provide protective coloration, slate gray working uniforms will be issued to all enlisted men serving at sea. The new uniform will not be ready for several months, and when available may be authorized for wear by enlisted personnel below the rating of CPO. The present undress whites still will be worn for dress and liberty."

 

"Design and fabric of the new uniform, including hat, will be the same as the white uniform now worn. Only the color will be changed. Dungarees also will continue to be worn for work at sea and ashore but the new uniform is expected to ease the wear to which dungarees are subjected aboard ship."

 

"Slate grays have previously been authorized for commissioned officers and chief petty officers (Information Bulletin, September 1943, page 73) for wear both afloat and ashore."

 

 

The part that caught my attention is "Design and fabric of the new uniform, including hat, will be the same as the white uniform now worn. Only the color will be changed". Has anyone seen an enlisted undress uniform made from slate gray material?

 

I'll try to get some images of my "dog Bowl" to share with you all.

 

Sam

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Interesting: we've had a lot of photos of and discussion of the gray uniforms for Chiefs and officers but I cannot find anything about enlisted gray uniforms. I seem to recall the gray for the upper ranks did not last long, so perhaps the enlisted ones never got beyond the experimental stage.

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Noted Navy uniform expert John Stacey did an article on this very subject in AAMUC FOOTLOCKER a few years back. They did experiment with them here in the US -- I think it was for some sort of Shore Patrol guards who escorted prisoners on railraod trains. The idea was quickly dropped. Photos of the uniform are rare.

 

G

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I have heard that the enlisted jumper was tested in smaller quantities for 6 months and that the enlisted personnel that used them really liked them, but since the chief and officers gray uniform wasn't well recieved the Navy chose not to adopt it for regular use. I als read somewhere that they were tested both on ships and at certain shore stations. I believe that is why you find so many lower petty officer rates in Gray. The insignia makers thought the Navy was going to adopt it and made quantity of insignia to wear on them, only to be left holding the bag when they weren't adopted.

 

I saw one on ebay a few years ago and saved photos of it for reference. Here they are.

 

Robert

post-6492-1253930515.jpg

post-6492-1253930537.jpg

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Outstanding Robert,

 

I appreciate it very much and shamelessly saved all the images myself :-)

 

From the tone of the article in "All Hands" the uniform was approved for shipboard use.

 

I have also heard that the grays for Officers and Senior Non Com's were not that enthusiastically embraced by the cadre and I do know that they were authorized up to some time in 1948.

 

I have the "dog bowl" that goes with this jumper and was going to take some photos of it today but this morning I misplaced my camera before I could even get out of the house on my way to the LCI and did not have time to conduct a search. I will hopefully find where I set it down before the weekend is out and get a pic of it to go along with this.

 

Sam

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To my understanding the issue gray dixie was so well received, the Navy produced them in the later war years. How do I know this? I found an entire box of them that were never issued at my nearby surplus store. Pretty neat find!

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OK here are the photos of the Dog Bowl I promised to post (Found that pesky camera).

 

 

Hat1.jpg

 

Hat2.jpg

 

Hatlabel.jpg

 

Enjoy.

 

Oh and please be aware that the color of the hat is very much like that of the jumper shown in the previous post. For some reason, maybe the flash, the images show a pronounced blueish hue. This is an imaging artifact and not a true representation of the color of the item.

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