Category: hawespipe-blog

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Floating Plant & Dredging Fleet Personnel







The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has traditionally operated a wide variety of watercraft in support of the water resources and infrastructure under its purview. These vessels are found in the major waterways of the United States and its territories – once including the Panama Canal Zone when it was a U.S. territory, and South Vietnam during the war. Floating Plant (including the Dredging Fleet), as these vessels are known, are manned by civilian crews. The officers are licensed by U.S. Coast Guard; and presently most are graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy or other U.S. Maritime schools.

The military-status of Floating Plant personnel has had a chequered past. During the Second World War and the Korean War, unlike their colleagues serving in the Army Transportation Service, they were militarized and called to active duty. At the tail end of the Vietnam War, during the organizational reforms of the U.S. Army, Floating Plant personnel were deemed civilians.

In order to identify the officers serving on dredges, towboats, and ships of 60 feet or more, the Corps of Engineers directed they wear uniforms starting in 1969. The officers already wore khaki Navy-inspired uniforms with a variety of insignia denoting rank. Up until this point, hat badges were improvised and worn at the individual’s discretion. Some wore a Maritime Service-style gold wreath with a Corps of Engineers branch insignia collar device in the center; others wore ball caps or garrison caps with the same.

With the new regulations came an end to improvisation and officially sanctioned khaki uniforms, headgear and employee identification. The khaki uniform was retained and reefers abolished, and officers were given a combination hat. The means of determining an individual’s position aboard is indicated by identification plates: Master, Engineer (rank) and Mate (rank). License state is indicated by the color of the wear hat’s chinstrap: gold-colored for Coast Guard-licensed officers, black for all others. The Floating Plant personnel also wear a unique hat badge. The symbolism of the insignia is explained thus:

[…] silver Engineer castle with a gold anchor supporting on its stock, a silver eagle, wings displayed. The anchor represents the maritime functions of Floating Plant Personnel and the eagle represents Federal service.

The original directives provided for changing of hat cover from khaki to white, depending upon the season; current regulations do not state as such.

Governing regulations for Floating Plant personnel uniforms:

  • ? (30 October 1969).
  • ER 670-2-3 (20 April 1987).
  • ER 1130-2-520, Appendix S & W (29 November 1996).

It is really this hat badge and that of the U.S. Army Transport Service that piqued my interest in Sea Service hat badges. Having been raised in the Navy and always keen on matters maritime, I had never known that the USACE had a civilian-manned fleet of ships. I am still mostly unsure who strikes the current insignia, as they do not have U.S. Government contract manufacturer hallmarks; so for all I know, they may be made in some Army machine shop in Philadelphia.

Floating Plant, 1970s
55mm x 63mm. Gray gun metal body and gold anodized anchor.
No hallmark.

 

 

Floating Plant, 1990-present.
55mm x 63mm. Grey gun metal body and gold anodized anchor.
No hallmark.

Reverse of badge is coated in thin layer of dark gray acrylic; also on reverse, not the crisp detail lacking in the earlier version. The beak is damaged; perhaps due to poor stamping/filing.

U.S. Corps of Engineers Branch Insignia
25mm x 18mm. Gold-plated brass.
No hallmark. Circa 1950.

This example was worn on Floating Plant personnel garrison hat. This device is pre-Second World War; apparently it was passed down from through the decades via a thrifty Quartermaster.  Note cut-out windows and fine detail.


Floating Plant Variant
60mm x 70mm. Copper with “gold coating”
N.S. Meyer Inc., New York hallmark. Allegedly circa 1950s-60s.

This is most probably a fantasy or fake. This badge is comprised of elements found in unofficial (pre-1968 ) woven and metal variants of Floating Plant hat badges: wreath, castle & eagle.

The wreath is of traditional U.S. Army Transport Service & ROTC design; most Floating Plant variants are of contemporary period Maritime Service-style wreaths. The wreath has pitting as seen in casts. The reverse shows that the manufacturer had some difficulty in positioning the bars for soldering.

The castle has an N.S. Meyer Inc. New York hallmark. If this were a poor fake, we’d see evidence of sheared-off keeper pin posts.

Capping the emblem is an eagle; this eagle is MSTS officer-style (circa 1950s-1960s).

Overall nicely polished. Not quite sure what to make of this. Fantasy, fake, pattern or variant. Who knows?

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Shipboard Organization and Stewards

united states lines.The opening chapter of the fifth edition of The Blue Jacket’s Manual United States Navy (1917), devotes some 28 pages on the subject of “Discipline and Duty.” Afterward, the first section of the book meanders into opportunities of specialization, courts-martial, and customs. Only in the second and third sections are seamanship topics covered. The emphasis of the first section of the book underscores the fact that the smooth functioning of a man-of-war depends upon order, hierarchy, and the clear indication and compartmentalization of purpose; the same is also true to some extent on merchantmen.

In Navy parlance, the Commanding Officer is the head of the ship; all officers and seamen report to him. Just as a ship is compartmentalized, so is its hierarchy. Officers have rank and specialty; each carrying with it a certain grade of responsibility – sometimes mirroring ability and time in the service. In the U.S. Navy there is a small constellation officer types: line, restricted line, limited duty, corps, and warrant. Positions among sailors (Ratings in the British Royal Navy and Enlisted in the United States) are known by “pay grade” or rank; and “rate” or field of specialty. Enlisted sailors may be: recruits, seamen, petty and chief petty officers. There are also officers-in-training: midshipmen at the Naval Academy, Navy ROTC midshipmen, and individuals in Officer Candidate School (aviation or otherwise).

To some extent, merchant navies and large commercial fleets have historically mirrored these relationships among personnel, although not as elaborate or seemingly baroque. At the apogee of the U.S. shipping industry in the 1940s, most seamen found themselves licensed and arrayed in various divisions and departments. For example, a U.S. Liberty Ship during the Second World War usually held these Departments and rates:

Master: Commanding Officer and Purser (who doubled as Pharmacist)
Deck: Chief Officer, 2nd Officer, 3rd Officer, 3rd Junior Officer, Deck Cadet, Boatswain, Carpenter, Able Seaman (6), Ordinary Seaman (3)
Radio: Radio Operator, Jr. Radio Operator
Engine: Chief Engineer, 1st Asst. Engineer, 2nd Asst. Engineer, 3rd Asst. Engineer, Deck Engineer, Engine Cadet, Oiler (3), Watertender (3), Fireman/Stoker (3), Wiper (3)
Steward’s: Chief Steward, 1st Cook, 2nd Cook & Baker, Galley Utilityman, Messman (4)

Over time, and especially during the late 19th and early 20th century, the British, German and American navies developed systematic indicators of personal shipboard position. These found manifestation in cuff lace, buttons, badges and various devices. The British led the way in defining this symbolic language and shipboard organization; the United States followed, reaching full elaboration in the period preceding the Second World War. Both the U.S. and British navies relegated rate to the arm; the U.S. Government marine – comprising of the Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Public Health Service and Maritime Service – followed the lead of the U.S. Navy.  Interestingly, the U.S. Army Transport Service, and not the U.S. Maritime Service nor the U.S. Navy provided its Petty and Chief Petty Officers with hats designating rate. In the latter two services, rate resided on sleeve or collar; it is an academic exercise for the reader to determine what is most important to the various services – shipboard trade or rank.

Woven or stamped, as follows is a cursory list of some common devices: stars and fouled anchors for deck officers and boatswains, carpenter’s rules and axes for ship’s carpenters, quills and keys for clerks and yeomen, globes for electricians, sparks for wireless (radio) operators, propellers or cogs for engineers and machinists, ship’s wheels for helmsmen, batons and swords for masters-at-arms, and increscent (a crescent moon with the points facing dexter) for stewards and commissary personnel. The latter insignia has the unique distinction of being silver in color for stewards in almost all foreign and merchant navies, and in the U.S. Army Transport Service.

Silver and gold feature prominently in not only in maritime rank insignia but in all U.S. military services. Following U.S. military insignia lore, “gold is worth more than silver, but silver outranks gold.” This is due to the fact that the U.S. Army decreed in 1832 that infantry colonels would wear gold eagles on an epaulet of silver and all other colonels would wear silver eagles on gold. When majors and lieutenant colonels received their leaves of rank, this tradition could not continue. It came to pass that silver leaves represented lieutenant colonels and gold, majors. However, the case of lieutenants differs: first lieutenants had been wearing silver bars for 80 years before second lieutenants had any bars at all; second lieutenants were granted a single gold bar in 1917. With the standardization of U.S. military insignia in the early 20th century, these insignia revisions applied to U.S. Navy officers. On naval uniforms – rank insignia notwithstanding – in particular, gold was applied to base elements of insignia, such as anchors on the U.S. Navy hat badge; and silver to mottos and symbols of the eagle and federal shield. Gold remained the province of officers and senior positions, whereas silver and pewter were relegated to the enlisted. Curiously, the motto “U.S.N.” on the U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer hat badge was silver, whereas the “U.S.N.” hat badge of a steward was gold. This follows the mentioned reversal of colors between officers and enlisted – with the steward belonging to a class attached to and not of officers.

In rank-based shipboard society, it is only at dinner hour that some rules
are suspended for the few – the stewards. During the Second World War, in the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army sea services officers and men messed separately; furthermore, on British merchantmen at the time, officers and departments messed separately (as detailed by Lowery in Ultramarine). Up until the present-day, the U.S. Navy has the further distinction of having not only separate wardrooms and mess for officers and enlisted men, but also for Chief Petty Officers. By virtue of tradition, the latter have a separate galley serving portions greater in quantity and open later than those of their fellow sailors. Given the strict hierarchy aboard ship, and the stern rules banning enlisted personnel from the officers’ wardroom and chiefs’ mess, stewards and commissarymen transcend these strictures to serve food. An unauthorized sailor found in these spaces could find himself at Captain’s Mast or at court-martial and suffering harsh disciplinary proceedings (it also goes the opposite way; officers may not fraternize with enlisted sailors on or off duty; doing so, they face dismissal from the service). Since instant recognition is important aboard ship, a special hat with a distinct badge and often always white square-rig sailor uniform or special white blouse and duck trousers (even when the uniform of the day may be service dress blue) marks the steward apart.

The U.S. Army Transportation Service officer stewards have a tradition in their uniforms and insignia reaching to a time before even the color blue became a color associated with uniforms maritime. In pre-Enlightenment England, aristocratic lords gave their servants lead or pewter badges to sew onto their clothes to mark them as their own. From the 15th century onward, royalty in the British Isles distributed uniform suits of clothes to courtiers, as did leading bankers to all employees. In time, this became a practice of all British “great houses.” It is worth mentioning that these suits of clothes, although well made, denoted the wearer as not being a member of the aristocracy, with the visual cue of silver braid. It came to pass that a traditional livery color became silver. By the 19th century, officer stewards became a facet of shipboard life in the Royal Navy; as they were considered servants, their uniforms followed precedent. In time, stewards wore prestige items, such as coats and visor hats; albeit, with markers of their inferior status – servants although a class apart, needed to impart a pleasing image in the wardroom. Nineteenth-century British commercial liners, offering first-class passage to the monied, mirrored military fashion – which in itself was a reflection of aristocratic costume – in the clothing its officers, sailors, and stewards. The U.S. Army Transportation Service, born out of necessity during the Spanish-American War, built a fleet of ships larger than that of the U.S. Navy; some of the larger transports (considered “show boats”) ferried military personnel and U.S. diplomats to far-flung newly acquired U.S. possessions. The ships were manned by civilian personnel who wore uniforms following the fashion trends of the day: deck officers wore gold lace on their cuffs and stewards were accented in silver – as were their counterparts on the commercial liners. At the same time, the newly-imperial United States began to carry complements of Filipino nationals alongside African-American cooks as stewards onboard its ships. Taking this into consideration, ships could be construed as reproducing the “great house” tradition with colonials and second-class citizens filling menial roles.

After the Second World War, with the independence of the Philippines
and integration of the U.S. Navy, the servant status of stewards gradually faded away. In today’s U.S. Navy, the traditional steward is no more – he is a Culinary Specialist (cum Mess Managment Specialist in 2004).  Up until 1975, Stewards and Cooks were two separate ratings in the U.S. Navy, sharing much of the same responsibilities – with a difference.  At that time, the Steward’s Mate (SD) rating was abolished and combined with that of Commissary Specialist (CS) to form the Mess Management Specialist Rating. Prior, stewards served as cooks or bakers for officers’ mess; they also tidied-up officers’ quarters and in a subservient role, served meals in the wardroom. The Commissary Specialist (CS) did nothing but cook for enlisted personnel but in a more democratic fashion.

Old systems die hard, especially among those who enjoy a perceived, albeit subaltern privilege. Even with mandated rate reorganization, the older stewards did not wish to go into the crew’s galley, and by the same token the Commisarymen refused to enter the wardroom; in effect, the indoctrinated segregation held, and the two classes of men remained in their respective work areas.  However, in the 1960s the U.S. Navy instituted a practice of rotating seamen in and out of ships and shore stations in an effort to broaden once compartmentalized skill sets.  Men new to the rate shifted easily between both the wardroom and the galley – especially with the abolition of many of the steward’s servant duties; officers now shined their own shoes and made their own bunks.  However, despite the regulations and rate shuffling, the tradition of the “Tip system” remains; wherein an individual officer or CPO tips a “Mess Cook” to shine his shoes and tidy up his wardroom.  Moreover, with rate combination, the old mess cook system still applied to the wardroom with stewards merely renamed “Mess Attendants”. In the present day, with 90-day rotations, they still do menial chores such as cleaning the wardroom, running laundry to the ship’s laundry and maintaining “Officer Country.”  It is also worth noting that the 90-day “Mess Cook” does all the cleaning, and most of the serving in the cafeteria-style enlisted mess deck; he also hauls food from the storerooms and reefer decks to the galley.  These days, apparently galleymen require direction from outside the ranks – previously the province of Chief Steward – as a non-CS First Class Petty Officer – also assigned 90-days at a time – oversees the Mess Cooks; he is the Mess-Decks-Master-At-Arms. As a historical footnote, during battle, Stewards were stretcher bearers; and Commissarymen served in gun crews and firefighters; no longer.

Much can be said about the symbols worn by the stewards: from the 1930s onward, they wore the crescent over horizontal bars, their cook counterparts wore rank chevrons. With the institution of the rate in 1948, Commissarymen wore keys over a quill, and then in with rate integration, both badges changed to quills and a cookbook – the symbol of stewards in 1963.   As can be divined, over the decades, the rate has been dissolved and reconstituted, with various roles removed and added; including the loss of the traditional crescent.

The images found with this entry illustrate different examples of insignia worn by stewards aboard various types of ships. It is worth mentioning that the crescent symbol has been used throughout the U.S. military to denote food stores and cooks (and outhouses); this symbol can be traced to either represent a camp cook’s “crescent rolls” or the traditional heraldic symbol of “increase.”

References:
Jonathan Alexander and Paul Binski (editors), Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200-1400. Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicholson: London, 1987, Cat 448

Jim Garamone, “Insignia: The Way You Tell Who’s Who in the Military” in Defense Link. U.S. Department of Defense: Washington D.C., November 1999.

Bureau of Naval Personnel, “Filipinos in the United States Navy.” Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center: Washington D.C., October 1976.

P & O Lines (The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company)
Catering Petty Officer.
Badge, 50mm diameter. Silver wire on wool backing.
Circa 1970s.

British Royal Navy hat insignia has the following pattern:

Tally – ratings.
Fouled anchor surrounded by a gold rope, surmounted by crown – petty officers
Fouled anchor surrounded by a gold rope and small wreath, surmounted by crown – chief petty officers.
Fouled anchor on oval, surrounded by a wreath, surmounted by crown – officers.

In this specific example, this is a private company, and they have employed the Royal Navy petty officer design for their own catering petty officers. In this case, a silver sun surrounded by an alternating band of blue and silver – blue and white being the traditional heraldic symbol for waves.

The British are noted for their fine craftsmanship in regard to nautical insignia; I have been hard-pressed to find a poorly made British item of insignia from the middle of the last century.


P&O Lines (The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company)
Catering Officer.
Badge, 65mm x 45mm. Silver wire on wool backing.
Circa 1970s.

This hat badge follows the classic British passenger liner steward badge design of taking an element of the deck officer’s hat badge, enlarging and turning it silver. In this example, the P & O deck officer’s badge is the setting sun on heraldic waves surmounted by a fouled anchor.

This particular badge was issued prior to 1973, when P & O hat badges took on their current configuration.



Military Sea Transport Service
Commissary Chief Petty Officer Badge.
35mm x 24mm , Cupro-nickel.
Hallmark, Gemsco A.G.O. G-2 . Circa 1953-1963.

The US Army Transport Service and US Navy Transport Service merged at the end of the Second World War to form the Military Sea Transport Service. This organization came under the purvue of the US Navy. In the mid-1960s, the service changed its name to the Military Sealift Command. Throughout each of its permutations, the MSTS/MSC retained the insignia of the ATS with slight modifications. With the change of MSTS to MSC, the crescent flipped.

This silver crescent is worn by commissary officers as a collar device or by Chief Petty officers as within a wreath as a hat device. The old days of woven steward’s hat badges are no more. The hallmark is consistent with Institute of Heraldry (IOH) manufacturer’s numbers; in this case 1953-1963 – often a “-N” will mean that the Navy approved the insignia.


US Army Transport Service
Commissary Chief Petty Officer woven hat badge.
Silver thread on wool backing; attached to mohair band. No synthetics.
Device, 70mm x 40mm.
Circa Second World War.

During the Second World War, standardization was secondary to getting boots on the ground. In the specific case of the Army Transport Service/Transportation Corps – Water Division, the Mariners were civilian, therefore were not overtly compelled to adhere to uniform standards.

Men did hold rank and rate aboard ship, and the distinctions were subtle. Chief Petty Officers wore visor hats with their rate on a hat badge. Unauthorized, but worn devices were woven. Issued devices were metal. In terms of steward hat insignia, I have noted three variations: silver-aluminum thread, yellow thread with small gold foil devices and stamped metal wreaths with un-affixed silver crescents.

As a means of identification: ATS/TC-WD wore silver steward insignia; that is silver crescents and also silver metal hat badges. The U.S. Maritime Service and War Shipping Administration wore gold steward insignia – following the U.S. Navy precedent.




United States Lines
Steward Department Officer hat badge.
Wreath, 70mm x 43mm. Brass with silver wash.
Flag, 25mm by 23mm. Enamel on brass.
Manufacturer: Gemsco. Circa Second World War.

This hat badge can be definitively dated to the Second World War by the Gemsco hallmark on the reverse; the hallmark is Gemsco surrounded by a wreath. The enamel flag design is consistent with USL flags from the period. Other variations of the flag, from the l931-1938 period have the USL initials – these flags are seen on badges throughout the Second World War. A sleek eagle design debuted in the mid-1950s, around the time of the SS United States launch.

Given the high quality and crisp detail of the stamped wreath, and fine enamel work, this hat badge was worn by a Chief Steward. The silver wash has flaked from the surface of the wreath but is especially present in areas of low relief.


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American President Lines wool hat badge

American President Lines wool hat badge

Gemsco hallmark on flag.
Wool backing and wreath of gold bullion thread.
House flag, enamel with gold fill.
Second World War era.
badge: 70mm x 50mm
flag: 25mm x 22mm

 

As noted in a previous post, shipping companies’ ships were appropriated for the duration of the war with seamen and officers militarized. This is an example of the cited officers’ badge of wool backing.

Some have subtly speculated that wool backed badges without an eagle (with an eagle, such hats are known as “high pressure” hats) were worn by warrant officers or chief petty officers. Whereas, the truth of the matter is that ships appropriated by the Maritime Service and run by the shipping companies by their own personnel were not as rigid in uniform distinctions between grades of officers; in fact, shipping companies did not use a rating scale: officers were ranked according to seniority and responsibility (and licensure if in the Maritime Service proper). For example, seamen’s documents from after the war, and belonging to sailors on MSTS ships, showed a corresponding rank and rate, as such things did not exist in the Merchant Marine. As for officers aboard American President Line ships, their uniforms were prescribed by their company, and any hats and devices, and reefer jackets and cuff braid were oftentimes custom made and personal purchases. This particular device came from S. Appel & Co, a uniform company that had shops in both New York and Miami.

American President Lines
House Flag.
Woven cotton and canvas, no synthetics; attached to manila rope.
Flag, 4 x 6 feet
Circa Second World War.

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S/T Ocean Eagle

In case you’re curious about the header image, that is the Liberian Tanker Ocean Eagle sinking in the harbor off of San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 March 1968.

  • NOAA Report
  • Office of Naval Research Oceanic Biology Program Report

    • The accident was devastating to local ecosystems as it was the most severe oil spill experienced in U.S. territorial waters up to that time; in its wake came improved methods for containing spills and improved tanker safety practices.

    I have gone through various U.S. government publications, however they are careful to remove references to owners and the name of the ship’s captain. If anyone might know of the shipping company that manned the ship at the time of the accident, I would be keen to obtain their hat badge.

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    Massachussetts Maritime Academy

    The late 1800s saw a flurry of state nautical school openings with funds provided by U.S. Congress. One of them, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy began its life as the Massachusetts Nautical Training School in 1891. In 1913, along with training vessel and curriculum changes, its the name changed to the Massachusetts Nautical School. And, along with its move to Hyannis from Boston in 1942, its name changed its present form.

    The Second World War saw many changes in the structure of MMA corps of cadets. Like other state and federal maritime schools and academies, cadets were ushered into a rush program of 16-18 months from matriculation to graduation. America’s entry into the war called for an increased number of men to serve on the many convoy ships, merchantmen, and ocean-going vessels either under construction or underway. The US Navy instituted the v-12 program whereby to increase the number of young men joining the ranks of the Navy’s officer corps.

    With each change in name, MMA’s cadet insignia changed, with the exception of uniform buttons. The buttons depict the central device of seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MMA’s hat and uniform insignia have mirrored those of the U.S. Naval Academy, albeit with hat badges having “M.N.T.S.” and “M.N.S.” above the anchor; if you look at this page, you can see an example of the later. In the 1940s until the present, MMA has used insignia indistinct from the USNA – including the abandonment of woven for metal anchor devices on hats. It is the aforementioned indistinct insignia that has prompted this entry and a means for sleuthing an insigne’s period.

    When I had originally purchased this grouping, I was told that all items are from the United States Naval Academy and from the Second World War. I looked a bit closer and noticed the curious buttons. After examining the shoulder boards and corresponding rank ladders – those of a midshipman battalion lieutenant (junior grade) – I knew spot-on that the insignia was from the MMA and from the cited period.

    Here are my meandering notes:
    * Interestingly, unlike USNA boards, the stars are not metal, rather woven. The shoulder boards came from a private uniform shop, “Boston Uniform Co.” – it was located at 66 Chelsea St. in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The company last appeared in public records in 1958. But! Embroidered shoulder boards were not worn in the 1950s.

    * The ladders are plainly marked with the Hilborn-Hamburger manufacturer’s mark – “H-H” within a stylized eagle; such a mark was used on H-H insignia prior to the mid-50s. The fact that the insignia is clutch back – as opposed to pin – means that it was issued mid-war onward.

    * The buttons are brass and were manufactured by Waterbury Button Co. in Connecticut. Waterbury now has its archive online; however my specific button was not present – in this case, a useful tool proved not so.

    * Regarding the anchor devices: in an MMA setting, these would specify the class of wearer. Each collar insigne is unmarked. And, of the many examples present (4 pairs), they are either brass or gold-plated – you can still see the Brasso residue on a pair.

    * A blacklight test would show that the cap-band is not made of synthetics, but of Mohair; the band stitching corresponds to 1940s patterns. Mohair has a distinct warp and weft; the band has the correct texture for the period.

    If I hadn’t the other items alongside the cap badge, I would have been hard-pressed to determine the correct era and I would have misidentified the piece as being merely a Navy ROTC or perhaps USNA hat badge. And such is the joy of collecting.

    Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
    Cadet hat badge, reverse.
    Threaded screw and one non-rotating point (bent).
    Unmarked, cast. Gold metal plate over white metal.
    Circa Second World War.

    mma cadet insignia group

    Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
    Shoulder boards.
    Cadet/Midshipman Battalion Lieutenant (Junior Grade).
    Wool over hard board, gold bullion woven star and rank stripes.
    Brass fastener with Commonwealth of Massachusetts seal.
    Manufacturer: Boston Uniform Co., Charlestown, Mass.
    Circa Second World War.

    mma cadet insignia group

    Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
    Collar insignia, class rank anchors.
    Three examples, gold plate and brass.
    Clutch-back.
    Manufacturer: no mark.
    Circa Second World War.

    Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
    Collar insignia, rank ladder reverse.
    Cadet/Midshipman Battalion Lieutenant (Junior Grade).
    Gold plate.
    Clutch-back.
    Manufacturer: encuse Hilborn-Hamburger mark (H-H in stylized eagle)
    Circa Second World War.

    Please see: Hilborn-Hamburger maker’s mark on reverse of MMA rank ladder for detail.

    Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
    Reverse hat band, stitching detail.
    Band: Mohair. Hat screw post holes, worn with stitching.
    Badge plate: Leather and wool.
    Circa Second World War.

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    British Petroleum Shipping Co.

    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge
    Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.
    Circa 1960s.

    With contemporary events unfolding regarding the catastrophe in the Gulf, it is worth pausing for a moment to think about transport of petroleum products. One of the safest, economical and most expedient methods to transport liquid petroleum and its derivatives is via ship. In fact, about 34% of all worldwide seaborne trade is devoted to the transport of oil. This entry is the first of several regarding oil tanker fleets and officer insignia.

    British Petroleum was originally formed as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909 to exploit oil deposits in Persia. The British Tanker Co. Ltd started in 1915 to handle sea transport and achieve a contained, integrated oil company model akin to its American counterparts. The parent group was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935. In 1951 the company’s Iranian assets were nationalized, a crisis partly resolved by negotiation in 1954 when the company was re-named British Petroleum. In 1955, the fleet was re-christened BP Shipping. During the 1970s BP extended its oil interests to the North Sea and Alaska, and eventually moved to major oil fields in the Middle East and Gulf of Mexico. The fleet and its manning remained in the province of BP until 1986 when staffing went the way of a modern crimping system known as “agency manning” concurrent with BP re-flagging its fleet under various flags of convenience.

    At present, BP Shipping is based out of Singapore and operates a fleet of 77 vessels and charters an additional 115. Its vessels are comprised of crude oil tankers, product tankers and LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers. In its employ are some 2300 mariners and 600 onshore personnel. In all, 50% of BP’s maritime cargo is carried on these ships worldwide. BP remains one of the few major oil producing corporations that continues to man a fleet under its own house flag.

    British Petroleum Shipping hat badges may be found in three distinct variations:
    1. 1915-1926. Merchant Navy-style hat badge with the current house flag – a red flag with a horizontal white band expanded at the centre in the form of a circle, the band bearing the black letters “BTC”, the “T” being larger. I have read of the red being bordered in black; however I have yet to see an example.

    2. 1926-1955. Similar to the illustrated hat badge, with then current house flag – a St. George’s flag with a green diamond in the center – with a golden lion passant gardant above all.

    3. 1955-1968 (present?). The illustrated badge; the golden lion replaced by a red lion rampant.

    Images and analysis of several of the older badges may be found here.

    References:
    Bill Harvey, BP Tankers: A Group Fleet History. London: Greenhill Books, 2006.

    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, obverse
    Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.
    Circa 1960s.

    In terms of British hat badges, the BP Shipping follows the British standard design of house flag as central device, Royal Navy wreath and Tudor maritime crown surmounting all. Over time, the embroidered leaves have grown thicker; and catalogs may denote the badge as belonging to the agency placing Deck and Engineering officers aboard BP vessels – Chiltern Maritime Ltd.

    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, detail.

    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, variation.
    Circa 1950s.

    Note the bronze-toned Tudor crown and the British Merchant Navy-style wreath.

    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Chief Petty Officer hat badge, obverse.
    Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.
    Circa 1960s.

    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Chief Petty Officer hat badge, detail.

    British Petroleum Tanker Co. Ltd.
    House Flag.
    914.4 x 1422.4 mm
    Circa 1955-67

    The house flag of the BP Tanker Co. Ltd. On a white field, there is a red St. George’s cross with a green diamond in the center, bearing a red lion, rampant. This design was in use from 1955 to 1968 and was re-introduced in 1984. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The lion is printed. A rope and two Inglefield clips is attached.

    British Petroleum Tanker Co. Ltd.
    House Flag.
    Circa 1940s.

    The house flag of the BP Tanker Co. Ltd. from the 1940s. On a white field, there is a red St George’s cross with a green diamond in the center, bearing a golden lion passant gardant. This design was in use from 1926 to 1955. The flag is made of a wool and cotton bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The lion is printed.

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    British Tanker Co.

    British Tanker Co.
    Officer hat badge
    Metal, gold wire, silk and colored thread on wool backing.
    Circa 1940s.

    Lately there has been an increased number of television commercials urging tourists to flock to vacations on the Gulf Coast – all of which are sponsored by British Petroleum. This brings to mind that last year I presented a British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, here. In that post I mentioned an earlier hat badge used between 1926 and 1955; presented now is said badge.

    The period in which this hat badge was worn was an exciting one for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and by extension British Tanker Co. – profits were terrific, ships were built, the War came and Persia became Iran. There was much expansion of British oil exploration throughout the Middle East, and the Kingdom of Persia in particular. With government backing, the tanker fleet became one of the largest in the world, and its ships could be seen plying the waters between the Persian Gulf and the Suez on up to the British Isles – with regular stop-overs at the Port of Aden, where British interests created a safe haven for its sailors in the protectorate. In an effort to have a more efficient and profitable tanker fleet, vessels were fitted with modern tanks, pumping systems and numeous safety measures. The Second World War came, and with the declaration of hostilities, British Tanker Co. found its fleet under attack; by war’s end, a third of its assets sunk and later replaced. By 1955, the British Merchantile Marine reached its zenith, and afterward met an eventual swift decline. BP survived, the fall, however.

    References:
    Over this past year, I have come across many excellent and encyclopedic works on general British Petroleum history, with scant passages on its tanker fleet throughout. Bill Harvey’s book remains the best reference for BP tankers, in specific.

    Bill Harvey, BP Tankers: A Group Fleet History. London: Greenhill Books, 2006.

    Henry Longhurst, Adventure in Oil: The Story of British Petroleum. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1959.

    Ronald W. Ferrier, The History of the British Petroleum Company, Vol. 1: The Developing Years, 1901-1932. London: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

    James H. Bamberg, The History of the British Petroleum Company, Vol. 2: The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954. London: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

    James H. Bamberg, The History of British Petroleum, Vol. 3: The Challenge of Nationalism, 1950-1975. London: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

    British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse
    Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.
    Circa 1940s.

    The central badge device is comprised of a rectangular British Tanker Co. house flag of applied ribbed silk fabric – with details stitched in silk floss – and outlined with coiled gold metal. The flag is surrounded by laurel leaves of gold purl with stems of applied coiled gold metal. Surmouting all is a stamped gilt base metal lion passant gardant. All is stitched on a padded black wool base.

    British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse detail

    British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse detail

    British Tanker Co. Ltd.
    House Flag.
    838.2 x 1219.2 mm
    National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Pope Collection.

    The house flag of the British Tanker Co. Ltd, London. On a white filed is a red cross with a green diamond in the center bearing a gold lion passant gardant. This design was in use from 1926 to 1955 – the central lion symbolizing the Company’s Iranian interests. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fiber bunting; it has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The flag’s central design is painted. A rope and two Inglefield clips are attached.

    British Tanker Co. Ltd.
    British Gratitude ship model.
    Scale: 1:192
    National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.

    The British Gratitude is depicted the model below in wartime rig with paravanes, light anti-aircraft machine guns, and anti-torpedo net booms and posts. British Gratitude was owned and operated by the British Tanker Company. Built in 1942 by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, it was 470 feet in length and 8463 tons gross, very small by contemporary standards. It survived the Second World War and continued to have an active career under the ownership of British Petroleum. She was eventually sold for breaking up in 1959.

    From the Collection of Lyle Halkett I present two interesting British Petroleum hat badges.

    The first is a modern pattern of the first British Tanker Company design, followed by that of a 1940’s pattern of a BTC Petty Officer hat badge; both follow the same symbolic and stylistic language as other presented BP badges. Do take particular note of the Petty officer badge, as it follows the precedent set in The Mercantile Marine (Uniform) Order, 1921 Schedule which states that a Petty Officer’s cap badge is to be of the same design as hat of a officer’s with the exception that the surrounding oak leaves and acorns be deleted. The schedule outlines a previously announced, but not defined uniform order from 1919.

    British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse
    Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.
    Pattern circa 1940s.
    Collection of Lyle Halkett



    British Petroleum Shipping Co. Chief Petty Officer hat badge, obverse.
    Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.
    Circa 1940s.
    Collection of Lyle Halkett

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    Robin Line

    Robin Line ship officer hat badge.
    Three piece construction.
    Eagle and shield sterling; wreath brass/gold-plate. Company insigne brass and enamel. Late Second World War era.
    badge: 60mm x 65mm

    On the second page of the March 17, 1954 edition of the Wilton Connecticut Bulletin there is long column about a GOP Sunday Tea. The Bulletin reports that the tea was a breezy affair attended by the community’s upper crust; although not mentioned was the striking absence of Arthur Lewis, Jr. This would be explained by a single line next to the column reading: “Arthur Lewis Dies”, followed by  a pithy obit – speaking nothing about his frantic life nor his high-paced career or even funeral arrangements.  Perhaps the same-page announcement of solo-trumpeter Roland Kutik indicated him more a town favorite than the two decade cut-throat steamship executive.

    On his first vacation in years, Arthur R. Lewis, Jr. died of a heart attack in sunny Fort Lauderdale. He was the workaholic president of Seas Shipping Company, whose main and best-known subsidiary was the Robin Line. Lewis’ professional life was driven by his twin obsessions: profits and desire to crush his firm’s competition – the Farrell Line. The Robin Line and Farrell Line rivalry was one of the most vicious and vindictive rate wars in United States maritime history. This is striking in that the Lewis and Farrell families once shared a close personal and business relationship; in fact the Robin Line was established in 1920 by his father, Arthur R. Lewis, Sr. in concert with the Farrell family. Robin Line ships operated in the intercoastal trade as auxiliaries to various Farrell concerns; mainly the Isthmian Steamship Company – the US Steel shipping company – and the American South African Line – in which Lewis, Sr. had partial ownership. However for reasons not public and perhaps secreted away in the exclusive India House, this immediate and irreconcilable rift between the families resulted in the 1933 separation of ownership and management of all shared firms. The Farrells ended up with full control of the American South African Line and the Argonaut Line; the Lewises gained the Sea Shipping Company and its Robin Line.

    Soon afer the division of interests, Lewis, Sr. died and his son took up his mantle with gusto. Lewis, Jr. continued to operate the Robin Line’s four ships in the intercoastal trade and did not foray into international shipping. Relations between the families remained combative, and the opportunity for Lewis to strike a blow against the Farrells presented itself in the person of Sylvester J. Maddock. Maddock, an employee fired by the Farrells, convinced Lewis to bring the Robin Line into the African trade in 1935. As general agent, Maddock knew the ports and shippers in Africa and thus was able to build up the cargo volumes for the Robin Line at the expense of the American South African Line.

    When the United States Shipping Board established direct service between the United States and South Africa, British lines – which prior operated a triangular service via the British Isles and other regions – decided to mimic the American model to diminish the upstart competition in a once sole British preserve. In order to avoid destructive competition between each other and to stave off British ascendancy, the American lines involved in the trade, following the same framework for other regional conferences and agreed in 1924 to establish the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference. The Conference set rates, routes and number of sailings for its members. This was an outward conference with jurisdiction only over cargoes leaving the United States; the lines created a separate complimentary body – the South Africa-U.S.A. Conference – with jurisdiction over the inbound cargoes coming from South Africa to the United States. Although South Africa was the center of the trade, the conference, in spite of its title, held an undefined jurisdiction for decades over the east and west coasts of Africa, as far north as the Azores and the Canary Islands on the west coast of Africa and up to Tanzania on the east. When the Robin Line applied for membership in the conference in 1935, James A. Farrell, Jr., blocked the application, thus initiating a bitter rate war. To try to drive the Robin Line from the trade, the Farrells orchestrated the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference to reduce its rates from twenty dollars to eight dollars a ton, and eventually to four dollars; this last figure barely covered half of operating costs, and as a result both companies including the other conference members were taking heavy losses on each voyage. The Robin Line did not collapse, however, because it was shipping large volumes of automobiles to South Africa for Chrysler and Ford. When the Robin Line bid for membership in the Conference again as a way of ending the rate war in 1936, the Farrell family once again had the application rejected. The Farrels felt confident in the liquidity of the American South African Line since it had the advantage of a generous US mail contract under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1928 to keep it afloat; yet despite the lack of such a contract, the Robin Line managed to survive. The rate war continued until 1937, when a reduction in the government subsidy at last forced the Farrell family to call it off; but losses had been so great that the American South African Line was on the verge of bankruptcy and saved only by profits garnered from other Farrell shipping interests in the Atlantic trade.

    In 1938 the Robin Line managed to secure its own subsidy from the U.S. Maritime Commission, and the next year the Second World War with its high shipping rates temporarily served to halt the destructive competition. At the same time the Robin Line gained entrance into the much-coveted conference.  Flush with cash and subsidies, the Robin Line acquired several new ships for the first time in almost a decade.  These new ships were streamlined and were dubbed the “best-looking” freighters on the oceans by mariners at the time. With the ubiquitous automobile, farm and road-building equipment cargoes inbound, the Robin Line carried rock lobsters (crayfish), exotic timber, gold bullion and freight-neutral diamond cargoes outbound. These new ships were known for their extensive refrigeration plants for the former and welded-shut safe compartments for the latter, and smart crew accommodations.

    Although the two lines remained rivals, they preferred to respect the agreements of the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference. During the Second World War, the vessels of both lines were requisitioned, and both operated government ships for the War Shipping Administration under ships husband agreements. After the return of peace, the two lines resumed their bitter rivalry. In hearings before the U.S. Maritime Commission, the Robin Line, because of the opposition from the Farrell Line, lost the subsidies on the route from U.S. Atlantic ports to West Africa in 1947. However, when Farrell declined to handle the unusually large volume of automobile exports to South Africa, the Robin Line – who previously provided the service and won lasting goodwill among the automobile exporters – took up the slack to its benefit. In 1955 the last of the British lines withdrew from the route, leaving as active conference members only the Robin and Farrell Lines (American South African Lines renamed) in the region.

    With Lewis, Jr.’s death none of the family members wished to follow his breakneck work ethic, instead they elected Winthrop O. Cook as Seas Shipping Company new president. As president, Cook found before him the expensive task of replacing the company’s old wartime surplus vessels. Instead of investing in a costly and immediately unprofitable project, Lewis’ heirs decided to avoid the problem altogether and sold the Robin Line to Moore-McCormack in March 1957; making a tidy profit, as seen in the transaction records as argued before United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit (371 F.2d 528): “Seas Shipping Company, Inc., sold ten ships to Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. […] for $5,466,668 in cash and notes and 300,000 shares of Mooremac stock.” Soon thereafter, the new owner removed the vessels of the former Robin Line from the African trade, leaving only the Farrell Line in the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference.

    House Flags of Robin Line

    • Blue with a white lozenge bearing a red R. 1920-1942.
    • Blue with a white oval in the hoist, with a stylized wing with three sections sweeping toward the fly; oval contains red R. 1942-1957.

    Ships of Robin Line
    It is worth noting that the Robin Line was so called because all its ship names began with the word “Robin”.

    Pre-War
    Robin Adair (built at close of the Great War by Skinner & Eddy Shipyard, Seattle)
    Robin Doncaster
    Robin Goodfellow
    Robin Gray

    Second World War (1942-1948)
    Robin Adair
    Robin Doncaster
    Robin Goodfellow
    Robin Gray
    Robin Locksley
    Robin Sherwood
    Robin Tuxford
    Robin Wentley
    Post-War (1948-1955)
    Robin Doncaster
    Robin Goodfellow
    Robin Gray
    Robin Hood
    Robin Kettering
    Robin Kirk
    Robin Locksley
    Robin Mowbray
    Robin Sherwood
    Robin Trent
    Robin Tuxford
    Robin Wentley

    1955-1957
    Robin Doncaster
    Robin Gray
    Robin Hood
    Robin Kettering
    Robin Kirk
    Robin Locksley
    Robin Sherwood
    Robin Trent
    Robin Tuxford
    Robin Wenley

    Moore-McCormack purchase (1957)
    Robin Gray
    Robin Hood
    Robin Kirk
    Robin Locksley
    Robin Mowbray
    Robin Sherwood
    Robin Trent

    Principal Executives
    Arthur R. Lewis, Sr.: 1920-1933
    Arthur R. Lewis, Jr.: 1934-1954
    Winthrop O. Cook: 1954-1957

    References
    The Decisions volumes are particularly interesting as they document legislative activities around and Robin Lines gripes with the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference; relevant entries may be found under Seas Shipping Company.  Interestingly, the Maritime Commission and its successor Federal Maritime Board did not lend a kind ear to Lewis. Albion’s monograph is interesting in that it is an economic history of the South Africa trade with a focus on the Farrell Line; it presents the family in a positive light and takes an apologetic approach to its foreign-flag activities, anti-union stance and ignores overall poor crew conditions; Lewis and the rate war is mentioned practically in passing.

    “Arthur Lewis Dies.” Bulletin, Wilton Connecticut. March 17, 1954: p 2.

    Obituary. New York Times, March 17, 1954.

    Federal Maritime Board. Decisions, Vol. 4, 1952-1956. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1963.

    U.S. Maritime Commission. Decisions, Vol. 3, 1947-1952. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1963.

    War Shipping Administration. United States Maritime Service Training Manual, Deck Branch Training. Washington, D.C.: Maritime Service, 1943. p. 45.

    Robert G. Albion. Seaports South of Sahara: The Achievements of an American Steamship Service. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1959.

    Rene De La Pedraja.  A Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Shipping Industry: Since the Introduction of Steam.  New York:  Greenwood, 1994.

    Colin Stewart. Flags, Funnels and Hull Colours. London: Adlard Coles Ltd., 1957.

    Captain Frederick James Newdigate Wedge. Brown’s Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, 5th Edition. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, 1951.

    United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit. 371 F.2d 528: Seas Shipping Company, Inc., Petitioner, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent. Argued December 1, 1966 Decided January 16, 1967.

    Many kind thanks to Captain Jack Misner for sharing his recollections of his time with the Robin Line.

    Robin Line, Hat badge, obverse
    Eagle and shield sterling; wreath brass/gold-plate. Company insigne brass and enamel.
    Second World War era.
    Mounted on wool backing and mohair band.
    badge: 60mm x 65mm

    This badge uses the US Maritime Service officer hat badge as a base and has the the anchor device replaced with a company insigne. As mentioned in previous posts, this was a common practice followed during the Second World War by ship officers throughout industry. This particular badge is interesting is that it does not use the company house flag on the the badge, rather a bow design element. Some Robin Line ships used the Blue-White-Red wings flanking the R in oval device on the bow; the slight incline of the R denotes speed, which the Line was famous for.

    Do note the high degree of corrosion on exposed copper/brass elements and chipped enamel.
    The insigne is without or has a corrosion obscured hallmark. I am unable to remove the the badge from backing to determine any hallmarks on the other component elements; the top keeper nut is welded in place by corrosion.

    Robin Line, Hat badge, obverse detail

    Robin Line, Hat badge, backing and mohair band detail

    Robin Line, coat lapel badge
    No hallmark. Gold-plate brass. Second World War era.

    This badge would be found in pairs on either coat lapel of a ship officer’s reefer. This badge is gold-plated brass, with most of the gold rubbed away. Although the badge itself is without a readable hallmark, the pin snap has a miniscule H&H (Hilborn & Hamburg) star hallmark on its face and is marked Sterling.

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    U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia

    U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve insignia.
    Single construction.
    Eagle stamped brass with gold-plate.
    1939-1940.
    badge: 2-3/4in from tip to tip of wings.

     

    In October 1942, a curious chain of memoranda was passed between the New York State Maritime Academy Superintendent and various U.S. Navy officials. Prompted by Kings Point cadet uniforms having sewn on them a previously professional only device in preparation for a parade on the 24th of the month, the NYSMA Superintendent had a valid question, and perhaps potentially a little egg-on-face for his counterpart across Long Island Sound. The notes touched on the eligibility of cadets at the aforementioned academy to wear a relatively recent badge: the U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia. This insignia came to be called the U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia, or simply the Sea Chicken.

    (580) Dy
October 14, 1942

From: The Superintendent, New York State Maritime
Academy.
To: The Chief of Naval Personnel.
Via: The Commandant, Third Naval District.
Subject: Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia.
Wear On Academy Uniform.
Reference: (a) Art. 16-9 of Chapter XVI of U.S. Navy
Uniform Regulations, 1941.

1. Information is requested whether the insignia
described in reference (a) is authorized to be worn on
the dress uniform of cadets enrolled in this academy who
hold appointments as Midshipmen in the Merchant Marine
Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve, and who do not hold licenses
issued by Marine Inspection Service.

/s/ Thos. T. Craven.
[Vice Admiral T. T. Craven, U.S.N.]

    1st endorsemnet
JJ55-3
DMq09:cs

19 October 1942.

From: The Commandant, Third Naval District.
To: The Chief of Naval Personnel.

1. Forwarded.
2. The Commandant considers that the Merchant Marine
Reserve insignia is intended to give recognition to
merchant marine officers employed by private companies
who are members of the Naval Reserve, and, therefore,
does not recommend that cadets enrolled in the New
York State Maritime Academy be authorized to wear this
insignia.

/s/ Paul P. Blackburn,
By direction.

    26 October 1942
Pers-1016--KS
JJ55-3(1522)

From: The Chief of Naval Personnel.
To: The Superintendent,
New York State Maritime Academy,
Fort Schuyler, The Bronx, N.Y.
Via: The Commandant Third Naval District.
Subject: Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia - to be
worn by midshipmen, Merchant Marine
Reserve.
References: (a) Supt. N.Y.St.Mar.Acs.ltr (580)Dy
of Oct. 14, 1942.
(b) Art. 16-9, Uniform Regulations,
U.S. Navy.
Enclosure: (A) Copy of BuNav ltr. Nav-1644-XKS
(QR2(C)(66) of Oct. 4, 1941.

1. As midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve, at the State
Maritime Academies are required to wear a uniform
appropriate to an officer, and as these Academies are
under the supervision of the War Shipping Administration,
which succeeded to the training functions formerly
performed by the U.S. Maritime Commission, midshipmen,
Merchant Marine Reserve, under instruction at these
Academies, are authorized to wear the Merchant Marine
Reserve insignia on their Academy uniforms.

/s/ L. E. Denfield,
The Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel.

    Apparently, the Maritime Academies had a friend in the Chief of Naval Personnel, as in 1942 the matter was settled in that all cadets may indeed wear the insignia. All of this begs the question: what was this insignia, that caused such a stir of interest among Naval and Maritime Academy officials?

    The Merchant Marine Reserve had its beginnings in 1913 when US Congress wrote into law a reformulated the Naval Reserve Force. At the time, the Reserve was separated into five classes, and soon became six:

    Class I: The Fleet Naval Reserve:  Consisting of personnel having former active Naval Service.

    Class II: The Naval Reserve:  Consisting of persons of the seagoing profession who had served at least two years aboard a vessel on the high seas or larger lakes.

    Class III: Naval Auxiliary Reserve: Consisting of persons who had served or were serving in the Merchant Marine of the United States.

    Class IV:  Naval Coast Defense Reserve:  Consisting of personnel capable of performing special and useful service in the time of war.

    Class V:  Volunteer Naval Reserve:  Consisting of personnel qualifying for the other classes of the Reserve, who were willing to serve without pay in the time of peace.

    Class VI:  Naval Reserve Flying Corps:  Consisting of personnel who were from the Naval Flying Corps.

    Class III, Naval Auxiliary Reserve, comprised of officers and unlicensed seamen, was the precursor of the Merchant Marine Reserve program, and the one for which the U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia would ultimately be destined.

    Insignia for the Reserve was first prescribed in “Changes in Uniform Regulations United State Navy, 1913 No. 10” in 1915. This was the first official publication of distinctive uniform elements for the entire Naval Reserve. At the time, those Merchant Marine Officers in Class III wore their steamship line or company uniform with the Naval Reserve Force device on the collar of the “military coat,” or on the lapels of the “box coat.”  This device was a miniature of the commissioned officers cap device. There were also special buttons worn on Merchant Marine uniforms. The button field was plain, with an anchor and the letters “U.S.” on either side of the shackle above the stock, and with the letters “N.R.” on either side of the shank between the stock and the flukes.

    On June 25, 1938, the Naval Reserve Force underwent a name change to become simply the Naval Reserve. The classes were reduced to three with the original Naval Auxiliary Reserve renamed the U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve, and still remaining the class III program. The “Naval Reserve (Merchant Marine) Insignia, Special Distinguishing Insignia for certain licensed officers” as it was first known and later called the “breast insignia of the Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve (Eagle and Scroll badge)”, was approved for wear on Merchant Marine uniforms on April 7, 1938, by then Secretary of the Navy, Claude A. Swanson. This insignia replaced the miniature cap device and buttons originally approved for the Naval Auxiliary Reserve. The authorization for the aforementioned insignia was the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, in which it was stated: “Licensed Officers who are members of the United States Naval Reserve shall wear on their uniforms such special distinguishing insignia as may be approved by the Secretary of the Navy.”  The 1936 Act was based on the earlier Shipping Act of 1916 that required officers serving on vessels receiving a Federal government operating subsidy to be, if eligible, members of the United States Naval Reserve. Other Naval Reserve officers serving in merchant ships in positions that required them to wear “a uniform appropriate to an officer,” were authorized to wear the insignia. The insignia was emphatically not authorized to be worn with the naval uniform. Moreover, enlisted men of the Naval Reserve were not permitted to wear the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia.

    As authorized in 1938, the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia was composed of a gold embroidered bronze or gold plated metal pin consisting of a spread eagle surcharged with crossed anchors and shield 5/8in in height, 2-3/4in from tip to tip of wings; length of anchors 7/8in; and underset with 3/16 scroll bearing the letters “US” on one side of the shield and “NR” on the opposite side. Wearers were required to wear the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia on the left breast of their Merchant Marine uniform and nowhere else.

    The eagle design is based on the original eagle carved into the stern of the USS Constitution. The scroll pattern was often found on the stern of ships and contained the ships’ names. The shield has 13 stars and stripes with crossed anchors taken from the then current US Navy officer’s cap device and recalling the original Naval Auxiliary Reserve insignia. Following the design of the cap device, the original insignia design had the eagle looking to its own left. In 1941, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox prescribed a change wherein all Navy insignia bearing eagles were henceforth to have the heads facing their own right. According to heraldic law, the right side (dexter) of the shield is the honor side, and the left side (sinister) indicated dishonor or illegitimacy. The suggestion also has been made that the change was to have the eagle look toward the olive branches on the left side and peace as appears on the Great Seal of the United States, rather than the warlike arrows to the right. More information may be found here.

    The 1930s was a turbulent time. The U.S. shipping industry was in free fall due to the Great Depression, with foreign firms having taken over most overseas and making strident end-runs in domestic shipping. As war erupted across Europe and Asia, the belligerent nations, which once carried the majority of U.S. trade, swept their ships into national service, leaving the U.S. both lacking in both ships and men. The Federal government stepped into the fray by subsidizing ship construction and encouraging the training of young men to enter the trade, and the U.S. Navy found itself looking for warm bodies to man its ships in the eventuality of war in Europe and in the Pacific. Naturally, the U.S. Navy looked to Nautical Schools and Merchant Marine Academies for potential manpower. Nevertheless, manpower could only be had with concessions from both sides: military and civilian.

    At the invitation of the Navy Department, an informal conference of the governing bodies and Superintendents of the State nautical schools was held in Washington from April 12-14, 1938. The conference was attended by representatives from the then four State schools: New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and California. The object of the conference was to bring about a closer cooperation between the Navy Department and the State nautical schools; also to coordinate the work of the four schoolships. The end goal was to create a professional class of ship officers both adequately trained for the rapidly modernizing maritime industry and serve as potential U.S. Navy officers. Never before had a closer relationship between the two been groups been attempted.

    Captain Felix X. Gygax, U.S.N., Director of the Naval Reserve, in the Bureau of Navigation, presided over the conference. The opening addresses at the conference were made by Captain Chester W. Nimitz, U.S.N., Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, and Captain Gygax. In referring to the State nautical schools, Captain Gygax said:

    The Navy Department acknowledges and commends the splendid results that have been achieved, as attested by the fine record of the graduates of these nautical schools at sea, and the success of many more in positions of high trust and responsibility in connection with the administration and operation of the maritime industry ashore.

    The conference resulted in the following: First, the curricula of the State nautical schools were extended with schools preparing young men not only for service in the American Merchant Marine but also in the United States Naval Reserve. The following nine naval subjects were added to the course of study: Navy Regulations, Naval Law, International Law, Types and Characteristics of Naval ships and aircraft, Tactics and Manoeuvering, Ship Drills, Gunnery, Communications and Damage Control. The instruction in these subjects was to be given the form of lectures by commissioned and active duty Naval officers. Second, the Bureau of Navigation, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, issued instructions to local Naval District Commandants providing for the admission of nautical school students in the Naval Reserve as Merchant Marine Cadets, in accordance with the Naval Reserve Act, approved June 25, 1938. Third, the Chief of Bureau of Navigation and the Chief of Naval Operations recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that appropriate steps be taken to secure from the Maritime Commission the allocation of funds for the construction of suitable vessels as replacements for the then present State schoolships, as necessary; these ships were to be of such a character as to be readily usable as naval auxiliaries in an emergency. The recommendation was immediately approved by the Secretary of the Navy. Thus was the inception of the Merchant Marine Midshipman Reserve program which provided the beginnings of Naval Science Program at the Maritime Academies. The New York State Maritime Academy was the first of the schools to open its doors to Naval instructors in 1939; by the end of the year, a big gun found its way to Fort Schuyler.

    NYSMA cadets marching at World’s Fair 1939.

    Soon thereafter, with the storm clouds of war looming over the Atlantic, civilian instructors the Nautical Schools joined the Merchant Marine Reserve and sewed the new insignia on their reefer jackets. By 1940 the criteria for valid wearers of the insignia was broadened to include staff officers licensed under the Bureau of Marine Inspection and serving on ships with certificated of registry issued by the Secretary of Commerce under contract with the Maritime Commission. That same year, Merchant Marine officers employed by or under the supervision of the U.S. Maritime Commission and enlisted members of the Naval Reserve who were actually licensed and serving as licensed officers were authorized to wear the insignia. And other Naval Reserve Officers serving on merchant ships or under the supervision of the United States Maritime Commission were authorized to wear it; with the same stipulation that it not be worn on the Navy uniform.

    On the coattails of the limited National Emergency of September 8, 1939, Roosevelt declared a National Emergency on June 27, 1940; and finally an Unlimited National Emergency on May 27, 1941. The first declaration brought with it the activation of the Naval Fleet Reserve; the last, all members of the Naval Reserve not in deferred status were called to active duty. Members of the Merchant Marine Reserve immediately found themselves in reserve officer status if on requisitioned ships between the former and later declarations as per the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 Title III Section 302(g). Along with them, on October 5, 1940, cadets of the Maritime Commission aboard these ships were placed on active duty as Midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve due to previous Maritime Commission and Navy interagency agreements. By early 1942:

    […]There were 60 cadets serving as Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve, on active duty on Merchant Marine vessels taken over by the Navy.

    The school ships of the state maritime academies were not taken out of auxiliary status and activated; thus, students and non-Naval Reserve instructors remained unaffected. At the same time, with the allocation of government funds and provision of schoolships, schools (now academies) had their training programs vetted by the Maritime Commission. However, these same instructors became inducted into the Maritime Commission’s uniformed training organization – the Maritime Service. With the final action, came membership in the Merchant Marine Reserve. After the formal declaration of war on December 8, 1941:

    The Supervisor,  three Assistant Supervisors, the three District Cadet Training Instructors, the three Commanding Officers of Cadet Schools, and almost all Cadet Training Instructors in districts and at Cadet Schools hold licenses as officers of the Merchant Marine, and commissions in the United States Naval Reserve.  On January 6, 1942, the Navy ordered these Naval Reserve officer instructors to active duty status.

    It may be due to creative thinking by a Navy supply officer, a Maritime Commission purser or New York uniform supply house salesman, but Corps of Cadets members began to sporadically wear the insignia in 1940.  This would be due to a perceived de facto, and not codified de jure reserve status of the cadets and cadets holding a nominal officer status.  Ship officers, as defined by U.S. law, are those sailing under or holding a license as issued by the US Bureau of Marine Inspection.  Nautical tradition held that cadets were officers-in-training with rank below the lowest officer grade but rating privileges held by a mid-level unlicensed mariner.  Some shipboard cadets, known as “cadet officers”, previously held licenses but did not sail under them, and could conceivably claim  Merchant Marine Reserve status.  Others cadets perhaps (and did) don the insignia while on ships activated during the first emergency periods.  Either way, on paper this insignia was only valid while in active employ aboard merchant vessels.  If a ship were seized directly by the Navy, cadets became midshipmen – as happened to some merchantmen namely oilers and Maritime Commission designed freighters – and were officially barred from wearing the insignia on their uniforms aboard ship.  Moreover, the regulations did not state that the insignia was not for midshipmen, rather licensed officers.

    It is worth mentioning that the personnel of the Merchant Marine, Government Marine (e.g. Army Transport Service and Coast and Geodetic Survey) and Armed Marine (US Navy and Coast Guard) shared similar trades, but diverged in organizational culture. The Merchant Marine sailor of the late 1930s suffered through the deprivations of the Great Depression and union struggles against shipowners. Except for ship officers, many held no particular allegiance to ship or employer. With the Jones Act, foreign colleagues were ejected from vessels, thereby removing skilled labor, and introducing gaps in overall ship manning. Depending on the union, mariners could be militantly left-leaning or thoroughly apathetic in their daily struggle to make a living. The Navy rank and file also came from the same lower-middle-class background as the merchant sailors – although tempered by grueling training and autocratic hierarchy. Men in the Regular Navy took a dim view of civilians and reservists on shore and in their midst. Many officers of the former worked their way from the deck to the pilothouse; a small number came from the nautical schools and academies. Most active Navy officers came from the Naval Academy where they were molded and inducted into an efficient warrior class. It is at this intersection where academy graduates and the service found themselves: outsiders making an entrance into an unforgiving hierarchy bound by custom and regulation. It is no surprise that despite coexisting on the same waterfronts, the two groups held each other at arm’s length.

    Nevertheless, only after the formal granting of Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve status to all cadets in state and federal maritime academies in August 1942 – some months after the move of the East Coast Corps of Cadets from Fort Schuyler to their permanent home at Kings Point – did the mass distribution of the insignia to all Corps of Cadets members occur. This was done by the administrators of the Merchant Marine Academies, not the Navy. Absent is period documentation indicating Navy complicity. However, the insignia was only granted after a cadet completed preliminary training in basic Navy Science and swearing an oath. This oath was not compulsory but was done by all cadets. In fact, the Maritime Commission distributed a pamphlet depicting the insignia as an award granted cadets: “U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia Worn by Cadets of U. S. Maritime Commission and Officers of Merchant Marine Enrolled in Naval Reserve.”  Interestingly, at the time of press in early 1942, cadets were not yet called cadet-midshipmen.

    State maritime academy cadets did not wear the insignia at any point up to October 1942; graduating class photos attest to this fact. The lack of insignia would not be due to the absence of a Naval Science curriculum; a course of study created by a gentlemen’s agreement in 1938, and put into practice in 1939 – which coincidentally was the same year that the Corps of Cadets was invited to the NYSMA grounds by then Superintendent Tomb. Nor did not having Midshipmen, Reserve status; which state cadets were afforded in August 1942. Nor even lack of connection to the Maritime Commission; with accepting federal monies and federal ships with which came Federal curricula and staff. It would be due to a creative reading of provisions of wear of the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia did the Corps of Cadets come to wear the insignia; and a rather conservative reading that state cadets did not. It is notable in that the wide-spread distribution of the insignia to cadets only came with Tomb coming to Kings Point a month after its inception as the first superintendent in April 1942.

    Kings Point, from its outset, was linked strongly to NYSMA, although both diverged in raison d’être. The NYSMA was created to educate young men from New York for the maritime industry operating out of the Port of New York. The Maritime Commission Corps of Cadets, to bring young men from around the country without access to state schools, the opportunity to become licensed officers of the subsidized blue-water U.S. Merchant Marine. Thus, having looked at the successful model of staffing, cadet structure and uniforming, the early Merchant Marine Academy had similar components as the NYSMA. There was a strong cross-pollination of Kings Point and NYSMA instructors and potential students, Kings Point copying NYSMA regimental and honor system and using practically the same uniforms. At the permanent establishment of the NYSMA at Fort Schuyler, Tomb hailed the facility as being the future Annapolis of the U.S. Merchant Marine; after his transfer to Kings Point, he hailed the Merchant Marine Academy as the same. As such, there existed a friendly rivalry between the two. The mass distribution of the badge, and with it, a perceived honor status, can be viewed as a slight affront to – perhaps even antagonizing – the older school. NYSMA was hampered by New York bureaucracy and its expansion plans stymied by Federal land use provisos and local political posturing.  In this light, the Superintendent’s letter makes sense; as does that of the Commandant, Third Naval District. In essence, if the upstart institution may have the insignia, then so should NYSMA – or vice-versa. Whatever the case may be, all maritime academies, having their cadets subject to Midshipmen, Reserve status and the blessing of the Chief of Naval Personnel secured the insignia on October 26, 1942 – but not in time for the big New York Navy Day parade just two days prior. Thus, as an administrative matter in 1942, the Chief of Naval Personnel authorized Merchant Marine Midshipmen, USNR, under instruction at the state maritime academies, to wear the Merchant Marine Insignia on their academy uniforms, since these academies were under the supervision of the War Shipping Administration.

    Post-war saw a change in the military establishment’s view of the role of the Merchant Marine as an auxiliary and the desirability of Merchant Mariners in its reserves. In 1951, the Navy regulations were revised, and only cadets who were Midshipmen, USNR, at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy were allowed to wear the insignia on their academy uniforms – not on their uniforms if shipping out or serving on commissioned Naval vessels. With the 1952 abolition of the Merchant Marine Reserve under Public Law 467 by the 82nd Congress, came the resultant removing Midshipman, USNR status from Merchant Marine Academy cadets and therefore the eligibility of wearing the Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia. Despite being granted Federal status, having a military character and Naval Science courses, Merchant Marine Academy cadets became simply “officer candidates.”   This touched off a controversy in that one of the selling points in a Merchant Marine Academy (state or Federal) education were draft-deferment or exemption and the possibility to be granted a commission in the U.S. Navy upon graduation. Gone was the pin, escape clause, and privileges. However, due to an administrative oversight, cadets continued wearing the badge until mid-1954 with its overall disappearance on cadet uniforms in 1956. Apparently, the California Maritime Academy administration must not have gotten the memo, as in 1958, 18 of 50 graduates were sporting the insignia; in 1959, however, the insignia was absent. 1964 saw with the re-institution of the merchant marine naval reserve status at Kings Point; only to have it abolished in 1965 and superseded by a Naval Reserve commission for the class of 1968 with accompanying badge reappearance.

    The state academies had to wait until 1977 when their cadets became Midshipmen, USNR, of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) to pin the insignia back on their uniforms. Beginning in 1980, those cadets who signed a Training and Service Agreement and became Midshipmen, USNR, were also authorized to wear the Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia. Up until recently, all Midshipmen USNR enrolled in maritime training programs leading to a merchant marine license, were eligible to wear the insignia.

    With the start of the Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve (MMR, USNR) program in 1977, the insignia was authorized for the first time for wear on the Navy uniform of officers by this officer community. The requirement for wear was published in the 1978 Navy Uniform Regulations:

    To be eligible to wear this insignia, Naval Reservists must meet one of the following requirements:

    a.  Be licensed merchant marine officers who sail on their license at least four months every two years and are members of the MMR , USNR program.
    b.  Be officers in the Maritime Service holding merchant marine licenses and who are instructors at Federal, State and Regional Academies, and at industry, or union maritime schools who are members of the MMR, USNR, program.
    c.  Be merchant marine officers holding licenses as Chief Mate/First Assistant Engineer/Radio Officer or higher, with eight years of licensed sailing experience and currently employed in a maritime related position ashore, and who are members of the MMR, USNR program.

    On June 10, 2011, a change in the Merchant Marine, U.S. Naval Reserve program resulted in it being called the Strategic Sealift Officer program, and along with it a replacement of insignia (OPNAVINST 1534.1D § 12.b.5). The new device, Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare Insignia, will be available in May 2012. Despite patterns yet to be struck:

    The SSOWI is approved for wear by officers who have successfully completed the qualification requirements outlined in OPNAVINST 1534.1D. The insignia is gold in color and is two and three-quarter inches by seven eighths of an inch in dimension, reflecting the background of an eagle from the USS Constitution’s stern, crossed naval officer swords and a U.S. shield with fouled anchor from the U.S. Merchant Marine flag. The SSOWI will be available in two sizes (normal and miniature). The normal size SSOWI shall be worn on all uniforms, less dinner dress. The miniature SSOWI shall be worn with miniature medals on dinner dress uniforms (NAVADMIN 164/12 § 2.B).

    Good to know, I guess.  To the way of the shadow box and collector the illustrious “Sea Chicken” – once symbol of the larger debate of how Merchant Mariners figure in U.S. National Defense – shall go.

    References
    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education.  Public Document 42:  III Annual Report of the Commissioners of the Massachusetts Nautical School for the Year Ending November 30, 1938.  Boston:  Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1938.

    U.S. Congress.  Naval auxiliaries for use in the Merchant marine. Hearings before a special subcommittee of the Committee on Naval Affairs, House of Representatives, Sixty-third Congress, second session, on S. 5259, a bill to establish one or more United States Navy mail lines between the United States, South America, and Europe; and H.R. 5980, a bill to authorize the President of the United States to build or acquire steamships for use as naval auxiliaries and transports, and to arrange for the use of these ships when not needed for such service, and to make an appropriation therefor.  Washington D.C.: GPO, August 1914.

    Department of the Navy. “STRATEGIC SEALIFT OFFICER PROGRAM.” OPNAVINST 1534.1D § 12.b.5. Washington D.C., June 10, 2011.

    Department of the Navy. “STRATEGIC SEALIFT OFFICER WARFARE INSIGNIA (SSOWI).” NAVADMIN 164/12 § 2.B. Washington D.C., May 18, 2012.

    Original design of insignia as found in Uniform Board notes 1938.
    usnr badge design

    Dating the Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia is not very tricky. There are two main variations in design and two types: stamped metal and embroidered. The former continued to be worn until 2012 with planned phase-out in 2013. The embroidered device fell out of use in the mid-1950s along with all embroidered badges on US Navy officer uniforms. It has the interesting quality of being one of the longest-lived badges in the Navy and least awarded.

    1938-1941
    usnr insignia

    The first pattern, as noted in the text is the own left-facing eagle.  It was issued until mid-1941.

    This specific item is part of a Panama Railroad Steamship Company pursur grouping.  It is displayed along with a Merchant Marine Defense Ribbon; meaning it was worn at least until mid-Second World War.

    1939-1940
    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    This is a gold-plated pin from the pre-war period.  It was issued prior to mid-1941.  The insignia lacks a hallmark; as is the case with many pre-war items.

    This item is of particular interest as it comes from a U.S. Maritime Commission Corps of Cadets cadet grouping dating to the regiment’s sojourn at Fort Schuyler.  Of interest is the fact that the original owner was relatively old at the time of enrollment, being 22; meaning he was probably a “cadet officer” and sailed under his license until Navy enlistment in 1943.  At the time college students were less apt to drop their course of study to join the Corps of Cadets, with hawsepipers making up a handful of cadets during this period.

    1942
    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    This is a Vanguard insignia that comes from a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate that ended up being a junior radio officer; or a radio officer attached to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Further research is required on my part.

    usnr insignia

    1943
    ...

    The above is from March 1943 granted after the Acceptance of Appointment as Midshipman, Merchant Marine in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

    1944
    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    Embroidery of the insignia was still of a high standard in 1944. Notice the overall difference with…

    1945
    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    1946
    The following two insignias are from 1946.  Do note the difference in embroidery.

    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    The first is on a black wool backing for wear with the USMMA dress jacket as well as on the Service Dress Blue coat.

    The second is on a khaki twill backing; it was sewn on the khaki working coat.  This is an unusual example, as previously, cadet-midshipmen were directed to wear the pin device on khaki – khaki was commonly steamed, as opposed to dry-cleaned like the worsted wool.  When the pin was reinstated, this failed experiment was not repeated, as khaki working coats were no longer in a cadets-midshipman’s sea bag.

    usnr insignia

    The third device, with a Coro hallmark, also dates from the same period and was worn on dress whites of the period.

    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    usnr insignia

    2010
    usnr insignia

    The last item is a Vanguard insignia from 2010.  It was manufactured by International Insignia in Providence, Rhode Island.  Many Vanguard insignia items are actually jobbed out to International Insignia as Vanguard in recent years has apparently found contracting low volume orders more cost effective than striking them inhouse.  Notable would be the occasional IOH I-21 as opposed to V-21-N hallmark.

    usnr insignia

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    From a trunk in Bayonne, New Jersey

    United States Lines licensed officer cap badge, 1929-1931.
    Woven in silk and bullion. On a wool backing.

    In an old trunk in Bayonne, this cap badge was found. The finder was unsure what it was or why it was there.  It was among “junk”; that is: scraps of old clothes, balled up newspapers, and the like.

    This is a second pattern and short-lived USL officer’s cap badge. Another example is at the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian’s dates for use are incorrect. Another pattern cap badge was used prior to this from 1921-1929, and it was of the USL house flag (red USL over a blue field).

    A post illustrating all the cap badge changes of the United States Lines from its inception to the launch of the SS United States is in the works.