Mustard greens: ever worn by AAF officers?

[zoomer]

Never seen it that I can recall. All WW2 uniform clothing (under flight gear) was Class A: dark OD, pinks or khaki.

1920s/30s pilots wore mustard greens with the A-1 (and presumably the A-2 when it came in). But the typical Class A uniform was that color then.

 

[watchmanjimg]

This is a damned interesting topic, and one that I hadn't considered before. I looked at some pictures on the 303rd BG site and very few officers appear to be wearing anything even remotely mustard in appearance. Despite the dangers, I assume flight duty was perceived as somehow less strenuous than ground-based activity, hence the prevalence of neckties and "semi-dress" chocolate or pink-and-green attire as opposed to mustard OD "field" uniforms.

There is one instance I know of where a flying officer wore mustard ODs. I once sold an officer's mustard shirt to a USAF member who was unofficially involved in the recovery of a downed fighter plane somewhere in Europe. He was trying to reconstruct the uniform of the pilot, who was still wearing what was left of it when they pulled his remains from the aircraft. I actually saw a picture of the original shirt and it was mustard OD, albeit tattered and bloodstained.

I'm looking forward to going through my reference books when I get home later on to see if there are any other examples.

 

[watchmanjimg]

Actually, see page 26 of Stanton's U.S. Army Uniforms of World War II for a picture of an AAF officer in mustard wool shirt. Perhaps less common than the chocolate OD, but still worn nonetheless.

 

[zoomer]

I just thought of something: was it too reminiscent of the aviation cadet uniform?

 

[watchmanjimg]

You may be on to something as the cadet uniform is obviously an enlisted version with unique insignia. The mustard officer's shirt, while distinguishable from the EM's by the epaulets and in some cases the collar design, was made of essentially the same fabric and therefore not as clearly indicative of one's elite status as an officer (this feature would be of particular importance to one hoping to avoid snipers in the field). Flyboys, by nature a cocky breed, may have gone one better in an effort to set themselves apart from the ordinary ground-pounder. Perhaps an unofficial custom?

 

[horseback leader]

I think you're right about being cocky and wanting to separate themselves from being 'lowly' cadets. But the uniform is not the same fabric (or pattern) as an enlisted tunic, though it's the same color. Cadet uniforms were originally a slate blue wool, officer style, but no lower pockets, no rank braid. I'm not sure of the date but nearer the war, the uniform changed to a 'mustard' green wool elastique (I have one of these uniforms if you guys want photos). Similar in pattern to an officer uniform, it again did not have rank braid, but did have lower pockets and was made with a faux belt, sewn all the way around the waist, with no buckle. It also had four visible brass buttons, three above the faux belt, one below. Wartime pattern jackets have a buckled-belt with three visible buttons above the belt and one plastic button under the belt buckle, not below the line of the belt.
The exception to this would be often seen in Eagle Squadron pilots and others stationed in England, where the USAAF uniform seems to be a mix of USAAF spec and RAF spec.

Dan

 

[watchmanjimg]

Dan:

I'd love to see the photos. Are you sure the uniforms depicted in Zoomer's post aren't typical EM? I've owned a mustard EM shirt with cadet insignia, although I never had the tunic.

 

[horseback leader]

Jim,

I'll post when I get home, as I'm on here from work :lol: right now. But yes, absolutely positive about the cadet uniforms. The fellow on the right in Zoomer's post, you can even make out the sewn down belt. I'll post pics asap though.

Dan

 

[watchmanjimg]

Actually, it appears we're both correct on this. I did a bit of research and it appears that aviation cadets wore the blue uniforms (which I had never heard of until you mentioned it today) until 1942, when they were issued the OD uniform you describe as closely resembling
the officer's version. Here's an original photo of a cadet so attired:

The following year, the cadets were issued enlisted OD and khaki uniforms (Rottman, US Army Air Force). Scroll down a bit on this page and you'll see several pictures of cadets wearing enlisted OD.

http://christvine.org/b/index.html

I've looked closely at Zoomer's pic and while I agree that the waist of the coat worn by the cadet on the right appears to have been closely tailored, I can't see any belt. Moreover, look at the breast pockets. They appear to be of a basic patch design without the pleated center section of the officer's version, and the flaps are straight across in typical EM fashion. Accordingly, I suspect this photograph dates to the mid/late-war period.

 

[horseback leader]

Jim

Just got on and saw your reply. Looks like we both were correct, yes. I haven't had time to get a photo of my tunic for you, but found one on ebay now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... otohosting.

Note the color is more mustard-y, not like the darker shade typically associated with Pinks/Greens.

Dan

 

[zoomer]

That could easily be the result of the camera flash.
In all other details that appears to be an officer's blouse, including the slight sheen given off by elastique twill.

 

[watchmanjimg]

I agree that sometimes camera flash throws off the shade, as does over a half-century's exposure to God-knows-what. However, that's definitely not a typical officer's blouse as it lacks the sleeve braid and has the false belt that Horseback Leader pointed out earlier in the thread. I guess in any event we've answered all of our questions. AAF officers wore mustard, albeit perhaps not nearly as often as the other officer's uniforms. Aviation cadets wore blue, dark OD, and mustard EM uniforms in that order during the war.

 

[zoomer]

Oof, I totally forgot about the braid!

About that waist treatment though - it is just like that on pre-ww2 blouses. It can be seen when they were worn without Sam Browne belts, a common practice in the AAC.
Pic of Gens. Foulois, Fechet, and Pratt, ca. 1930