On 16 April 1943 the Chief of Naval Personnel sent a letter to “All Ships and Stations” causing nothing short of a tempest in a teapot. The order authorized the creation of the working slate gray uniform (this uniform is known alternately as “working grays” or simply “grays”). As uniforms go, this one was immediately unpopular among all those mandated to wear it and was so divisive that it was unofficially banned for wear in the Pacific Fleet. Despite its unpopularity, it remained an option for inclusion in seabags until 15 October 1948 and was finally abolished on 15 October 1949. Since the U.S. Navy set the style for uniforms worn by the seagoing professions during the Second World War, examples of the uniform occasionally appear with United Maritime Service insignia affixed.
In the early days of the Second World War, the United States Navy found itself without a transitional uniform to bridge the gap between semi-formal wear and one which could withstand the rigors of shipboard work – and keep those in command positions identified as such. Dungarees were a common item worn by enlisted sailors and officers alike; the only difference was the cap – seamen wore the white cap whereas officers and chief petty officers wore a cap with a visor. Regulations forbade the wear of such clothing offbase or in an office setting; thus U.S. Navy leadership took a cue from their aviators who adopted U.S. Army workwear – and clothed all officers in khaki uniforms with removable collar insignia denoting branch and rank (vid. ALNAV 16, 21 February 1941 – digest in Bureau of Navigation Bulletin, No. 291, April 26, 1941, p. 28). This proved a popular solution and soon most officers and chief petty officers wore their khakis with pride. As for the grays, bit of background on this uniform is useful.
The adoption of grays was not so much a practical matter than one of service pride. Fleet Admiral of the U.S. Navy Ernest J. King felt khakis smacked too much of the United States Army and wanted a proper Navy uniform; he saw this in the slate gray which he had a hand in designing. Yet, the slate gray was not Admiral King’s first foray into a uniform’s redesign. In the name of camouflage, he once ordered all enlisted sailors on the USS Texas to dye one of their white uniforms brown in a vat of coffee; this was an experiment that failed – as the sailors ended up with uneven colors ranging from “ecru to chocolate brown.” Admiral King gave up on that idea, but continued to tinker with uniforms as a staff of his related:
Legend has it Admiral King admired the Royal Air Force gray uniform so much he had his own herringbone twill version made up in U.S. Navy cut; and, his wife had a hand in the design the distinctive shoulder boards For him, grays were an instant sartorial success; thus began his offensive on the working khaki – which incidentally he authorized in an ALNAV in April 1941. Nevertheless, a full two years later, the working khaki was fast-tracked for abolition.
Not content with simply adding a new work uniform to replace the khaki, Admiral King decided to re-think the traditional service dress blue uniform – the classic officer rig of a reefer with six buttons – several months later after the announcement of the grays. With the adoption of grays, the khaki uniform was to be phased out. For visor caps (combination caps), the idea was gold chinstraps and scrambled eggs on visors would only be worn with dress blue and white uniforms; for service dress blues, and working khakis and working grays, the visor cap would have a black chinstrap with black buttons and plain visors. Muddling matters, blue service dress coats (reefers) would be worn with a gray instead of a white shirt – the gray shirt would have the collar insignia approved for the khaki shirt. As a cost-saving measure, the reefer was to have stripes on the outside of the cuff, and not all the way around. Grays also had blue-black plastic buttons, and the initial working gray shoulder boards were rounded at the top and covered in gray cloth with rank denoted by black lace.
Officers protested loudly about the changes in headwear, and the cap idea that came forth in June 1943 was scrapped after a month on the books – although scrambled eggs remained abolished for the duration of the war except in full dress. Officers also did not like the mix-and-match shirt situation; white shirts continued to be worn with reefers and gray with grays. Finding and buying shoulders boards was problematic; in August 1943, the standard Navy-blue with gold lace shoulder boards were authorized for wear with the working gray uniform. The blue-black plastic buttons on grays were made optional and gold buttons were authorized. The relaxed regulations on gold buttons and traditional shoulder boards were rescinded in 1946. Yet, prior to the reversal, local commands were given latitude in determining what shoulder boards and buttons were appropriate for wear.
As for cap ornamentation, only the standard U.S. Navy Officer cap badge was authorized on visor caps with gray covers. Some collectors of U.S. Navy insignia claim large-size bronze U.S. Navy Officer cap badges were worn – this is incorrect; the only bronze cap badges manufactured during the Second World War were miniature devices for wear on the visor caps of U.S. Navy Officers assigned to U.S. Marine Corps units (vid. BuPers Circ. Letter 47-44, 31 March 1944). Other collectors surmise black full-size cap badges were worn; however, these are post-war Balfour productions for use on pith helmets in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The black cap badges are an early (failed) example of the U.S. Navy’s attempt to subdue all metal insignia. The logic is understandable given the Navy’s mania for matching insignia components – although grays tossed all reason aside!
With the constant re-writing of regulations in an attempt to appeal to those who were to wear the uniform, the working gray was never as popular as the working khaki uniform. The working khaki was never abolished – with the nation at war, khakis were awash in the disbursement system and the procurement of grays’ fabric competed with soldier’s fatigues since they were of the same weight; and, since clothing the infantry was of tantamount priority, a uniform redo for the U.S. Navy officer and petty officer community was of secondary importance. When Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz succeeded Admiral King in 1944, he reversed the order to abolish the working khaki uniform. Nevertheless, the sometimes derisively called, “Bus driver gray,” “Dishwater gray,” “King gray,” or “Confederate Navy” uniform remained mainly worn on the East Coast, but eventually migrated to the Pacific Theater of Operations with by war’s end – much to the chagrin of Admiral Nimitz, no doubt. However, with Admiral King’s retirement, the working gray uniform went along with him.
Although United States Maritime Service did not have regulations on the books governing the wear of working grays, it was worn by East Coast ship’s officers and at USMS officer-upgrade schools.
slate gray uniform, usmm
slate gray garrison cap, usms
The full dittybag entry for the garrison cap is here.
Of particular interest with this uniform are the blackened bronze buttons and the either “vegetable ivory” or rubber buttons. These are positively black instead of the blue-black of U.S. Navy regulations and are the star-anchor-star design of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Cadet Corps. The shoulder boards are those of a third mate with cap-bodkin buttons of the same pattern as the buttons on the coat.
However, the presence of the buttons is not proof of the uniform being worn or issued at Kings Point – I have no photographic evidence of cadet-midshipmen ever wearing grays – only a graduate (see below). These same buttons were worn by members of the ATS; thus it may be a case of button re-appropriation by suppliers. And ATS deck officers did wear these generic shoulder boards. Yet, the USNR badge in combination with the junior rank does point to the owner being a Kings Pointer.
The garrison cap was in the pocket of the working gray uniform’s coat. It is not as faded as the rest of the uniform and is in relatively good condition. Both visor and garrison cap were authorized for wear with grays. A garrison cap would be worn solely aboard ship or at shore installations; a visor cap could be worn “walking out.”
If we are to follow U.S. Navy regulations for the placement of the rank insignia, the rank pin is supposed to be on the seam. In taking a closer look at the rank device on the cap, it does not match the lace on the boards affixed to the coat – it does match an unphotographed pair of USMS lieutenant boards that were in the pocket along with the cap.
Academy-issued uniform? Probably not. Kings Pointer in the employ of the ATS? Possibly maybe. But probably not since the Army at the time, as lax as it was with uniforms, didn’t appreciate USMS insignia on its uniforms. A Kings Pointer in the Merchant Service? Definitely maybe.
The above photograph – circa August 1945 – is a clear example of the working gray uniform as worn by a graduate of Kings Point. Although it is often difficult to determine whether a uniform is khaki or gray due to similarities in shading in period black and white photographs; the cut of the pockets indicate this uniform is indeed gray – during the Second World War, working gray coats have patch pockets, not bellows style like a khaki coat. Of note is the use of the embroidered USNR badge – more often than not, this was used on gray uniforms and not on khaki uniforms; the use of the USNR badge on my uniform detailed above is not common, but not unheard of.
The above is one of the few photographs I have come across of a Merchant Marine officer wearing grays – judging by the gilt buttons and shoulder boards with gold lace, date this photograph as being taken in 1943. His rank is a bit tricky: if his shoulder boards are USMS – he is either a first mate aboard a troopship or the skipper of a Liberty or oiler; if his boards are Merchant Marine, he is most probably a first mate.