Article about: Hello All, I recently came across a WWII Marine camouflage uniform that I am completely unfamiliar with. It has no tags on it and is made of the same material that a mosquito net would be ma
Hello All,
I recently came across a WWII Marine camouflage uniform that I am completely unfamiliar with. It has no tags on it and is made of the same material that a mosquito net would be made of. I've inclosed some photos of the uniform. The only possible mention of it I can find on the internet is from a book called "Grunt Gear" by Alec S. Tulkof. Could this possibly be the experimental uniform mentioned in the book and if so, what do you think the value would be? Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give me.
According to the book "Grunt Gear" there was an experimental uniform made for Marines in the Pacific that was made of this material. There were only 410 made and they were eventually found to be to flimsy for the field. That is the closest I've come to this mystery. It would be great if this is one of those uniforms but at this point I'm just eager to find out what it is. I've never seen one before.
There are two things (other than the material used) that strike me as odd on this uniform, these are the hood and the pockets. Unfortunately I do not have a copy of 'Grunt Gear' so I cannot comment on whether it is the experimental uniform mentioned in this book, however, I did find the below images on the internet (apologies for the picture quality). This uniform is referred to as 'Fortisan mesh' and is similar in cut to the standard 'Jacket, HBT, Camouflage, USMC' - could this be the one referred to in 'Grunt Gear'? It would make sense that they keep a similar design but change the material, if this is he case then it means 'your' (I don't know if you own it) uniform is something different! The black and white images are from Kenneth Lewis' excellent book 'Doughboy to GI'. There are two images in the book that show experimental camouflage clothing, however, none match 'your' uniform. It is interesting to note that in the image of the three men their uniforms appear to be made from lightweight material and the one on the right (although the camouflage is completely different) appears to have a hood. Bear in mind that the Army and USMC used the same camouflage pattern. I am going to go out on limb (and probably be proved totally wrong!) but I think that it is more likely to be an experimental uniform for the Army rather than the USMC, my reasoning for this is the lack of USMC stamp (although I except that if experimental it may not necessarily have a stamp) and the general cut and design of the piece, the hood and slanted pockets don't strike me as very USMC. As stated I could be totally wrong and experimental USMC should not be dismissed nor Para Marines!
Looking at your pictures again, are they pockets on the jacket or 'slashes' to allow access to clothing beneath the jacket? The material looks to thin to be worn as light weight clothing (you'd be effectively naked!!! - compare it with the coloured images above, that material, albeit a bit see through it is of a heavier weight but looser weave to allow the air to circulate). If they are 'slashes' on the jacket could this be experimental 'sniper' clothing introduced prior to the standard USMC/Army camouflaged clothing to be worn over the existing (non camouflaged) uniform or possibly even designed for the European Theatre of War?
You are correct! They are slits instead of pockets. I also thought that this might be something that would go over a standard uniform for that reason. It is the same material that was used for the sniper helmet cover/hood. A couple of more details, it has a zipper front (Talon zipper) and string tie waistband in the pants. The hood has a piece attached in the front that can be worn over the face. Perhaps it is something that would have been used by a sniper over his standard field uniform. After all, the USMC did away with the camouflage uniform during the war, opting to keep the camouflage helmet cover only. I think we're getting closer. Thanks for the help! Here is a link that shows a pair of gloves made of the same material.
Yes, it has slits where the pockets would be. A little more info, the smock has a zipper (Talon) front and the pants have a drawstring waist. The hood also has a flap, made of the same material, that can be worn over the face. I'm starting to think this might be some sort of pullover to be worn over the standard uniform for a sniper. I just wish I could confirm it.
I've found a couple of more pictures showing matching gloves and the helmet cover. I'm almost convinced that this was meant to be used by a sniper. Still no confirmations though. I'll keep searching.
Experimental Marine Uniform?
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