purpose of epaulettes

[wop54]

Why A2 Flight Jackets have epaulettes? I've been told that they were useful when someone had to help the wounded or unconscious pilots to get out of the cockpit after a difficult landing or a crash....is that true?

 

[Stony]

So I guess the Navy and Marine pilots weren't getting any help out of their planes?

 

[Atticus]

Hi Wop54,

Welcome to the forum!

I am no expert on this subject, but I think that epauletts were common on officer's clothing during WWII. As such, I think they were basically decorative and served no practical function beyond being a place on which to wear rank insigna.

AF

 

[Atticus]

So I guess the Navy and Marine pilots weren't getting any help out of their planes?

Nah. By the time help arrived Navy and Marine pilots had already sunk.

AF

 

[JRaptor]

I think they are there to keep something the pilots wore in place, like a parachute or some kind if strap or webbing that passes through them.

 

[hacker]

It's a carryover from the days when officers wore their rank on their shoulder representing the responsibility they carried and enlisted men wore their rank on their sleeves as they were the "muscle"....read that somewhere once!

Hacker

 

[zoomer]

I do know that until 1942, Army officers wore ranks on their shirt epaulets as well. Must have made carrying anything on a shoulder strap a painful ordeal.

 

[watchmanjimg]

I believe they were purely symbolic. In some cases, epaulets were an exclusive feature of officer's uniforms although this is by no means an absolute. For instance, in WW2 EM service coats as well as Ike jackets had them as did the officer versions. The original M41 jacket had no epaulets, but they were included in the second pattern. The M43 jacket had them all along, as did its successors the M50 and M51. Interestingly, the original M65 did not have epaulets but this was very short-lived. The notion that A-2 epaulets were intended to keep anything but rank insignia in place is cut against by the fact that the epaulets are sewn down on both sides, which would require one to thread straps through the narrow openings. I'm not sure this is even possible with some types of equipment, and being strapped into a seat in this fashion would mean certain death in an emergency.

 

[rgraham]

It is interesting though. It seems like they would be one of the most time consuming items to put on the jacket. And if it is simply some form of decoration, that would seem unlikely. I mean, they really are solidly sewn down with those X boxes. Also, couldn't they accidentally catch on something in an emergency? They do look cool, no matter what their purpose, and the jacket wouldn't be the same without them.

 

[fishmeok]

It only takes about 15 minutes for me to make epaulets start to finish- probably a lot less for the people who made them during the war. The trick is to sew the 4 parallel lines first, then install the epaulet on the shoulders with the X stitching before the sleeves and collar are put on or the body sides sewn together. Goes pretty quick once you get used to it. I think they are purely decorative insignia holders on A-2's.
Cheers
Mark

 

[rikitiki]

My guess, cause they look COOL! For me, the epaulets are the major reason A-2's look so good.

 

[SuinBruin]

I think they make the jacket look military and thus distinguishable from civilian jackets -- which fits with pinning rank insignia to them.

 

[dujardin]

just a small reflexion....
in case of emergency
1. i will pull on something that every pilot and/or crewmember have, his parachute harness.
2.parachute harness come ON the jacket so that you can pull on the epaulets.

this one will for sure resist....epaulets ???????????????
purely decorative for me

byeeeeeee marcel

 

[srivats]

Long back, epaulets on military shirts were once used as a place to hold the caps the soldier wore ... caps of these kind:

As time went by, these epaulets became symbols of all things military ... so even we moved on to having different kinds of caps, the epaulets stayed.

 

[markc]

Technically speaking what we are calling an "Epaulette" should be called a "Passant". The Epaulette is actually the decorative or rank denoting piece attached to this strap, e.g.

Epaulette (as I'm sure Marcel knows) is derived from the French "épaule" meaning shoulder and literally means "little shoulder".

One thought is that they could be traced back as far as the shoulder pteruges on Roman uniforms.

The shoulder strap (or Passant) is actually called an Epaulette in Canada.

The British army stopped wearing rank denoting epaulettes in the field before WW1 (as they proved an inviting target for snipers).

The Americans switched from epaulettes to shoulder straps in 1836 (for field duty).

Wiki is a wonderful thing!

Cheers,

 

[rich]

The earlier L-2B's also had epaulettes though, which I think were discontinued later. I don't think the MA-1 ever had them but weren't both these jackets in service concurrently? Sorry to deviate.............

 

[Cobblers161]

My impression has always been that epaulettes serve to display rank insignia, certainly the case with the RAF in present day.

 

[John Lever]

I think they are Roman in origin and were an indication of rank.
As far as usage goes, I have seen berets stored beneath them.

 

[Cobblers161]

Certainly in the RAF we'd use them for berets but it wasn't an official military useage, in other words if caught we could rightly be asked to remove them. It was a pose as it looked quite cool, or so we thought!

 

[better duck]

I think they are there to keep something the pilots wore in place, like a parachute or some kind if strap or webbing that passes through them.

Certainly not a parachute harness! Strange things would happen if you fed the harness through the epaulets (if that were possible, which it is not, as parachute harnesses are not constructed that way - anybody have a photo of a ww2 parachute harness??) the jacket would be pulled up over the guys head when the parachute opened and he was hanging under his opened canopy.