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USN Cap Garrison Aviator by Bancroft

Article about: G'day all, Figured I'd post this one I've had for a bunch of years and never took pics of it by it's self

  1. #11

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    Quote by Eagle mtn View Post
    Hey Rene, is the tag on the jacket missing?
    Yeah it's missing, I once worked out the maker but I've forgotten who it was now!!

    edit I remember now it's a Gordon and Ferguson

  2. #12

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    Hate to be a killjoy, but with a service number of 580555 your man was decidedly a post-war commissioned/designated naval aviator.

    Naval aviators stopped wearing wings on their garrison caps around April 1943. Miniature wings on aviator officers' garrison caps were ordered changed to the miniature cap device per BuPers Circular Letter 51-43. Miniature wings of CAPs' garrison caps were replaced in the summer of 1944 with the miniature CPO cap device per BuPers Circ. Ltr. 145-44. I can only think of one person who continued to wear the miniature wings despite the change in uniform by 51-43 and that was FAdm William Halsey, but during the war, when he was an Admiral, there were only four Admirals senior to him . . . I don't believe any of them ever mentioned it. Besides, Halsey wore both the miniature wings AND the miniature cap device on his garrison cap, wings above the cap device. The change in uniform was spelled out in the 1947 re-write of the uniform regulations. The 1947 regulations served two purposes, to catch up on all the wartime changes and remove the special wartime cases and, of course, eliminate once and for all the grey uniform. From the 1947 regs re Garrison Caps:

    ". . .
    3-12. Caps, Garrison (Optional):
    (a) Commissioned Officers (except Chief Warrant Officers). - Metal pin-on rank device on
    right side and miniature cap device on left side.
    (b) Chief Warrant Officers. - Metal pin-on corps device on right side and miniature cap device on left side.
    (c) Warrant Officers. - Metal pin-on corps device on each side.
    . . .
    "

    Not remotely like how it was written in the 1941 Regulations,, eh?:
    ". . .
    “9-13. Cap, Garrison (for Commissioned and Warrant Naval Aviators and Chief Petty Officers Designated as Naval Aviation Pilots). –
    “In lieu of officers’ and chief petty officer’s regulation caps, a garrison cap may be worn with winter and summer working uniforms. The garrison cap when worn with these uniforms shall be made of the same material as coat and trousers of uniform. Miniature aviation insignia shall be worn on the left side of this cap two inches from the front.”
    . . .
    "

    And the first big change to the 1941 Reg was in February 1943 when the garrison cap was authorized for all male officers and CPOs, in khaki, blue, and white, and, of course, green for the aviators. With that change everyone, except aviators, was required to wear the miniature cap device as appropriate, officer or CPO; aviators continued to wear the miniature wings until the promulgation of BuPers Circ. Ltr. 51-43. Officers assigned on line aviation units who were not aviators, the AV(S) and such, could wear the aviation green uniform, but their garrison caps sported the miniature cap device. (Waves and Nurse Corps were not authorized garrison caps until much, I'd have to look it up, and even then, though only when they were on station, not out in public. Regretfully, my interests lie pretty much only in the naval aviation end of the business, so going away from there things start to get a little fuzzy.)

    Certainly, as long as no one looks at the name & service number, wings on the cap are just fine and IMO always look better than the cap device. Likewise the gent to whom you can attribute your LTJG's blouse, LTJG Stern, would not have worn the wings on his garrison cap either as he was commissioned an ensign after the change.

    But again, if you don't slap a name on it, the cap with the wings is a perfectly acceptable accessory.

    Please do not take any of the above as a criticism, I think you've fine pieces there. Just wanted to point out some pitfalls.

    I've all my father's wings dating back to December 1940 when he was designated Naval Aviator #6953, including a couple miniatures for garrison caps and even smaller miniatures for wearing on the lapel of a civilian suit . . . he always wore one of those on whatever suit being worn for social occasions along with the Navy Cross lapel pin.

    I could certainly take the remaining aviator's garrison cap of my father's and take off the cap device and put on wings, but then I'd have to take off his last rank insignia and replace with a Lieutenant's and even then I'd only just ever so gently put it back in the drawer. Things like his caps, I just can't bring myself to dispose of, but I prefer to keep them the way he had them. I regret not arguing more strenuously over his decision to dispose of his uniforms when we were closing out the house for him to move to mine. I at least convinced him that they should be stripped of sewn on ribbons, wings, shoulder boards, yea, even buttons before disposal some 20 years ago. Also made sure his ensigns' fore and aft cap and epaulets, flight jacket, and flight helmet did not go way. On the other hand. we've precious little space around here as it is and was, not sure where I could have crammed a couple of closets full of uniforms.

    Regards,

    Rich

  3. #13

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    Cheers for the in depth info there Rich- Huge Thank You

  4. #14

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    Rene -

    Thanks for taking my post in the spirit offered. Sometimes I come across somewhat abrupt and seemingly critical, glad you saw all though that.

    Regards,

    Rich

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