United States Army uniforms in World War II

Summer and winter service uniforms were worn during their respective seasons in the continental United States.

[1] The enlisted men's winter service uniform in 1941 consisted of a wool serge four-button coat with four pockets in olive drab shade no.

Shirts, which featured two patch pockets and no shoulder straps, were either OD 32 wool flannel or khaki cotton chino cloth.

The peaked cap was discontinued for official issue to most enlisted soldiers after the end of 1941, but remained a popular item for private purchase.

[8] Issue footwear consisted of russet brown low-quarter leather cap toe boots.

The male officer's winter service uniform in 1941 consisted of a four-button, four-pocket coat of finer wool fabric in olive drab shade no.

[6] As with enlisted men, officers could not wear khaki shirts as an outer garment with the wool trousers.

However, for dress purposes officers also had the option of purchasing a khaki summer service uniform of tropical weight suiting fabric.

During the war in Europe a short jacket was adopted by General Dwight D. Eisenhower as an alternative to the 4 pocket service coat.

There were also non-standard conversions of service costs made for soldiers, particularly officers, by tailors in the United Kingdom with degrees of variation.

Prior to 1943, the ANC winter service uniform consisted of the ANC pattern dark blue cap or garrison cap with maroon piping, suit jacket with maroon cuff braid and gold army buttons, light blue or white shirt, black tie and light blue skirt; shoes were black or white.

After 1943 the ANC adopted olive drab service uniforms similar to the newly formed WAC.

The colors essentially mirrored those of their male counterparts of corresponding rank in the equivalent service uniform although fabrics differed.

The temperate climate field configuration consisted of the olive drab wool trousers, shirt, and russet brown shoes from the service uniform worn with canvas leggings, helmet and web gear.

However, the M-1941 field jacket received considerable criticism; it was poorly insulated and the light cotton shell provided little protection from wind or rain.

In addition, the light OD 3 coloring was deemed inappropriate for use in northern Europe, as it stood out against most backdrops, making soldiers more visible targets.

Additionally, a fatigue-duty uniform made of 8.2-ounce heavy cotton herringbone twill (HBT) cloth was issued.

Initially, this was a circular-brimmed "clamdigger"-style hat which was later replaced by a billed cap that was based on a design used by railroad workers.

before Normandy, the Reinforced M42 Jump Uniform was issued, with canvas patches at the elbows, knees, and shins.

The uniform was worn with distinct jump boots instead of the low-quarter shoes and canvas leggings used by standard infantry.

It was made of windproof cotton sateen and was issued in a new darker olive drab color, OD 7.

In 1943, after extensive testing in the swamplands and jungles of Florida and Panama, the U.S. Army determined that an experimental tropical uniform made of Byrd Cloth (known in Britain as Grenfell Cloth), would best protect soldiers from insects and disease while cooling the body and minimizing losses from perspiration.

In use, the uniform was intended to cool the wearer even when continuously wetted, as might be expected in a humid, rainy jungle environment.

[23] The uniform featured a short-tailed shirt, trousers with cuffs fitted with half-inch boottop fastening tapes, and a flap-protected fly to keep out crawling insects such as leeches, ticks, and chiggers.

The uniform, always in short supply because of a shortage of Byrd Cloth, was used in combat by members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)[25] and the Mars Task Force (Army 5332nd Brigade-Provisional) in Burma.

[26][27][28] Because of the shortage of suitable weaving machines and resultant cost of weaving Byrd Cloth, a less expensive 5-ounce OD cotton poplin shirt and trouser were issued on an experimental basis in 1944 for use in jungle and tropical regions; while reports were favorable, existing HBT stockpiles were deemed adequate, and the uniform was not adopted.

Designed as an improvement over the Type II shoe for field wear, it was essentially identical to the former in construction, but was made with a full rubber sole and heel and flesh-out uppers to improve water repellency by the addition of waterproofing wax.

This boot was otherwise identical to the Type III shoe but had a longer tongue and permanently attached two-buckled leather cuff which was designed to replace the unpopular canvas leggings.

In January 1945, some Army units operating in the ETO received shoepacs for wet winter wear.

The shoepac was a leather boot with rubberized lower top and sole, worn in conjunction with the wool ski sock.