Army Regulations No. 600-40
Personnel: Wearing Of The Service Uniform
Dated 28 August 1941 (36 Pages)

About Army Regulations 600-40

Army Regulations 600-40 was a handy pamphlet used to describe how the different types of Army uniforms were to be properly worn. It was divided into several sections using different criteria to help bring clarity to the topic. This was accomplished through discussions on the appropriate uniform that should be worn for a specific event or occasion, how different classes of personnel should be dressed, and the publication even included a listing of each uniform article with the criteria for when it should be worn. It also included sections on the location and positioning of insignia, as well as how and when decorations and service medals were to be worn. The final few pages of the pamphlet provide some very useful illustrations showing the proper positioning of insignia on hats, caps, service coats, and shirts. AR 600-40 went hand in hand with another pamphlet designated AR 600-35, Personnel: Prescribed Service Uniform, which set forth the specific designs and acceptable materials used for the current Army uniform.

In setting forth the various criteria for the use of uniforms and components, study of AR 600-40 can help us better understand each uniform type and its intended purpose. For example, the pamphlet describes when the winter and summer service uniforms should be worn, what uniform articles were to be worn while on field duty, the type of work situations that merited the use of fatigue type uniforms - all examples of information that can help paint a clear picture of how and when various uniforms of WW2 were used. This publication can also be used to identify when new types of uniform components became standard wear throughout the Army and others became more limited in use. And to some extent, the section entitled Various Articles of Clothing can be used to help determine what specific types of clothing designs were being used during a given time period. It should be understood that Army regulations covering the design and wearing of uniforms were constantly changing during the war years, and were updated on a regular basis by the use of periodic circulars until a new pamphlet was published. At the bottom of the front page of each new pamphlet, it was noted what publications were being superseded. Thusly, each pamphlet should be seen as a single snapshot in time regarding the status of the Army uniform of WW2, and not as a representation of the entire war years.