Item Description
Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is an M41 field jacket and Original U.S. WWII USAAF Type B-1 Summer Flying Cap named to Lieutenant F. E. Yarnall.
The jacket it in approximately size U.S. 40 and is in overall excellent condition. It is ink stamped Lt. F. E. Yarnall in both the neck and interior lining. The front has a leather name tag with faded YARNALL and Naval Pilots Wings in silver. Also included is an excellent B-1 hat in size US 6 3/4.
Olive Drab Cotton Field Jacket (also known as OD Cotton Field Jacket, Parsons Jacket, M-1938 or M-1941) was a field jacket used by US Army soldiers, most famously during the beginning of World War II. In 1941 it started to be phased in as a replacement for the wool four pocket service coat, but around 1943 it was replaced in turn by an improved M-1943 model. Due to wide adoption, M-1941 is usually recognized as a symbol of the World War II American G.I.. The jacket was made in a lighter shade of olive drab called OD number 3.
History of the M41 field jacket:
When the US entered the war in 1941, the OD cotton field jacket was the standard outer garment for all army personnel, except those that had other specialist clothing (such as paratroopers, who wore the parachutist's coat and trousers (M-1942/43) Tankers, who were issued the famous (and widely sought-after) tankers jacket, or in extreme cold-climate conditions (parkas in cold weather, etc.). As a result, the field jacket could be seen worn in every theater of war and by nearly every type of soldier, making a rather ubiquitous symbol of the World War II American G.I..
Throughout the course of the war, the OD cotton field jacket proved to be an inadequate outer garment. The jacket's thin lining provided poor insulation during cold weather and the light cotton shell provided little protection from wet weather and wind. In addition, the lighter shade of OD 3 faded quickly and resulted in a beige color, thus compromising the effect of camouflage (many troops in the field found this out the hard way, and often turned their jackets inside-out because the wool lining was a darker shade of OD and didn't gleam in the sunlight like the poplin shell did.
The OD cotton field jacket was officially replaced as standard with the adoption of the M-1943 uniform ensemble, which included the much improved M-1943 field jacket. The OD cotton field jacket was redesignated limited standard and issued until supplies were exhausted. Photographic evidence shows that soldiers continued to wear the older jacket all the way through the end of the war, due to supply shortages and squabbling between the Quartermaster Corps, and field commanders who all had their own ideas of what the troops should "look like".
Collar to shoulder: 10.5”
Shoulder to sleeve: 26”
Shoulder to shoulder: 18”
Chest width: 25”
Waist width: 24”
Hip width: 24”
Front length: 26”
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