A hat made of bleached cotton drill with a rounded crown of six triangular segments; to have turn-up brim about 2⅝ inches of double material and flaring at the top, stiffened with about 80 rows of white cotton stitching through the brim; to have a sweat band about 1 inch wide of same material as hat; inside seams of crown to be reinforced by strips of same material about ½ inch wide; to have a double loop fastened at the point of crown of white ½ inch tape.
The original purpose of the hat was to provide protection against the sun in warm and hot weather conditions.
ENLISTED MEN (Below the rank of Chief Petty Officer): The white hat was worn with the following uniforms;
- Dress, Blue, B.
- Dress, White.
- Undress, Blue, B.
- Undress, White, A.
- Undress, White, B.
- Dungaree, Suit.
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1886 - First type of white cloth hat introduced into regulations. This hat was constructed of canvas and had a higher dome with a much shorter turned up brim. From a distance it resembled a Bowler hat.
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5 June 1944 - Joint Army Navy specification JAN-H-47.
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14 June 1945 - Joint Army Navy specification JAN-H-47A.
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1946 - Joint Army Navy specification JAN-H-47A-1.
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28 November 1951 - Military Specification MIL-H-47B.
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June, 1958 - size increments of ⅛ eliminated if favor of ¼ increments.
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1973 to 1978 - Phased out in favor of a white visor cap during this period.
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April, 2016 - Female Seamen issued the white hat for the first time.
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Naval Clothing Factory, Brooklyn, NY.
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Naval Clothing Factory, Brooklyn, NY.
According to the publication Selling To The Navy (1940), the Naval Clothing Factory partially manufactured white hats. It was commonplace for the Factory to pre-shrink material, cut the material using patterns, and then send the pre-cut material along with any necessary ornamentation to local piece-meal workers for sewing into completed garments. This was the case during the pre-war era for many items including the white hat. Other items such as enlisted men's blue jumpers, trousers, and overcoats were completed entirely at the Factory. Still other clothing items were contracted out to external vendors by the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts. Though plant output more than likely increased during the War years, it is unknown if the Naval Clothing Factory continued to be responsible for all white hat production during this time. To date no evidence has been located to show that the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts issued contracts on the open market for white hats during the War years. However, due to the vast demand for clothing items caused by wartime expansion of the ranks, it would not be surprising to find that some white hat production was contracted out by the BuSA. For example, though traditionally made at the Naval Clothing Factory, some Enlisted Men's blue clothing was in fact contracted out during wartime. The absence of a specification number from common trade publications until the first Joint Army Navy specification was published in 1944 suggests the possibility that production of the white hat remained at the Naval Clothing Factory until this time.
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The WW2 era white hat exhibited the following key features:
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Bead around edge of brim.
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Two laundry loops protruding approximately midway from the rear crown strapping seam.
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Fabrics:
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6½ to 7 ounce bleached cotton drill.
Fasteners:
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Two cloth loops located on the inside crown for attaching laundry stops.
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Size Label:
Somtimes a small cloth label attached to the sweatband seam at the rear of the hat.
Contractor Label:
None observed.
Inspector Labels: None observed.
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Midshipmen Hat - Same as standard white hat but with a one-inch blue band around edge of brim. This hat was worn by officer candidates with the blue dungaree uniform.
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Gray Hat - The same as the white in every aspect except that it was manufactured in slate gray color. This hat was worn with the enlisted man's gray working uniform.
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White hat dyed blue - As ordered by commanding officer to be worn with the blue dungaree outfit or by deck personnel during general quarters.
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White hat dyed khaki - As ordered by commanding officer for wear by shore parties with the undress white uniform also dyed khaki. This option provided shore parties and ground personnel a means of camouflage when this element was deemed desirable.
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Equipment:
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Clothes Stops - varying lengths of cotton rope used to tie folded clothes together or hang them from a clothes line for drying.
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Stencil or indelible marker - used to mark name and service number on clothing in a specific location prescribed by the Navy.
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Not applicable.
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Preceded By:
WWI era type exhibiting the following features:
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Coarse stitching on brim.
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No bead on edge of brim.
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Laundry loops in center of crown.
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Upper edge of sweatband not sewn down around entire circumference.
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Sweatband approximately 1⅝ inch wide.
Superseded By:
Immediate post-war type with external features identical to the WW2 version. The only notable difference is that there is only one laundry loop attached to the inside crown.
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US Coast Guard:
Hat, White - issued identical to US Navy hat.
US Maritime Service:
Hat, White - issued identical to US Navy hat.
US Army:
Hat, White (Specification QMC 6-333, 6-333A).
Issued to Army Mineplanters; Transportation Corps units including Army Transport Service and Harbor Boat Service; Enlisted Men aboard amphibious or cable ships; Air Corps rescue boat service.
Prior to the establishment of Joint Army Navy Specifications in 1944, the Army white hat had eight sections to the crown instead of six. Transportation Corps regulations called for a Transportation Corps cap button to be sewn to the center of the crown.
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ENLISTED MEN:
Initial Basic Allowance (1940-47):
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Quantity (3) Hats, White.
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The white hat was an essential component of the enlisted man's wardrobe. This included the undress blue, undress white, and dungaree outfit, which covered most working conditions with an exception of extreme cold and arctic areas. Thusly, the white hat was used in every major theatre of operations and campaign that the US Navy participated in during WW2. In North Atlantic or Arctic operations, the hat would have likely remained in the seabag or below deck. It should be noted that during WW2, especially from 1943 onwards, Navy doctrine discouraged the use of white hats and uniforms on deck while ships were in a theater of operations and under general quarters. It was felt the white color attracted unwanted attention. During these situations men were instructed to wear gray colored steel helmets, or sometimes men wore the white hat dyed blue.
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The fact that no contract labeling was attached to the white hat makes tracking when design changes occurred extremely difficult. Adding to this difficulty is the lack of any published specification numbers prior to the JAN specifications that appeared in 1944. This leaves guesswork involved in determining when some major changes occurred to the hat. Empirical evidence and the specifications that are available indicate the white hat was being continuously refined over the years. Additionally, the absence of any contract information leaves uncertainty as to whether there were any manufacturers other than the Naval Clothing Factory during the WW2 period.
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As of this writing it is unknown precisely when the design changes that distinguish the WW2 from the WW1 white hat occurred. Nor is it known if these differences (described above in the lineage box and slide features 3, 4 & 5) occurred at one time, or happened gradually. For instance, Naval uniform regulations dated 1922 give a specification for a sweatband width of 1 inch - a characteristic of the WW2 era hat (the width of the WWI sweatband was 1⅝ inch). An examination of period photos indicated that the bead around the brim of the hat (another feature indicative of WW2 and later hats) seemed to appear in the late 1920's. Conversely, photos taken in 1924 and earlier showed hats without the bead present on the brim. Based on the information in the 1922 uniform regulations and period photos, it appears at least some of the differences that distinguish WW1 hats from WW2 hats occurred as early as 1922 around the time the new uniform regulations were written.
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Another question that often arises is when the laundry loops inside the hat were reduced from two to one. For the same reasons stated above, the precise date is unknown. However, uniform collectors seem to agree that this occurred around the time of the Korean War, or just before. Uniform groupings from known WW2 veterans inevitably contain the two loop hats. Thus the presence of the two loops is generally thought to distinguish a WW2 produced hat from one made later. Published specification numbers show that changes occurred to the hat three times between June 1945 and November 1951 further suggesting this was a likely time this change occurred.
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Navy Department, Bureau of Navigation. United States Navy Uniform Regulations 1941.Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1941.
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Navy Department. United States Navy Uniform Regulations 1947. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1947.
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United States Navy, Bureau of Personnel. Information Bulletin No. 318. The American Navy At Sicily. Bureau of Naval Personnel. Washington, D.C., September 1943.
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Navy Department. United States Navy Uniform Regulations 1922. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1923.
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Navy Department. Uniform Regulations United States Navy Together With Uniform Regulations Common To Both Navy And Marine Corps 1913. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1913.
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War Department. Army Regulations No. 55-380. Transportation Corps: Prescribed Uniform For Army Transport Service And Harbor Boat Service. 31 December 1942. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1942.
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War Department. Table of Equipment No. 21. Clothing and Individual Equipment. 15 December 1943. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1944.
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Navy Department, Bureau Of Supplies And Accounts. Selling To The Navy: For The Information Of Those Desiring Business Relationship With The Navy. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1940.
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Seventy-First Congress, Third Session. Hearing Before Subcommittee Of House Committee On Appropriations. Navy Department Appropriations Bill For 1932. (pp. 338-343, Manufacturing Of Clothing By The Navy) Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1931.
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Saberjet, et al. Dixie Cup Dating. The US Militaria Forum, 01 August 2010 to 07 October 2012, www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/
index.php?/topic/83174-usn-dixie-cup-dating/
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