Original Set. One-of-a-Kind. This is one of the scarcest patches we have ever had on a WWI uniform, the RAR patch for the Railway Artillery Reserve, a very interesting unit which utilized the only American-made artillery used in the war. Under this unit were six U.S. Naval Railway Batteries, the only Naval personnel to see combat in the major offensives on the Western Front. 

In November 1917, Rear Adm. Ralph Earle, the head of the Navy’s Bureau of Ordnance, suggested that if the Navy mounted “several naval 14-inch guns . . . fitted with high angles of fire, and with specially formed shell, fitted with delayed action fuses,” they might be able to outrange the German Lugenboom guns, then pounding the vital port city of Dunkirk from a distance of some 24 miles. Earle added that after securing Dunkirk these guns, if mounted on railroad cars so they would be mobile and self-sustaining, could be used offensively to bombard German supply and railroad centers well beyond the front lines. Thus the Naval Railway battery was born. As an aside, note that contrary to popular belief, the Naval Railway battery was not intended to combat the German Paris-Geschütz gun that had fired on the French capital from some 75 miles away during the critical German offensive in the spring of 1918.

The insignia adopted by this unit was a “Woozlefinch,” which one officer who served in the unit described as “neither flesh, nor fish, nor fowl.” This was a perfect description of both the unit and the men that composed it. This hybrid operation was created by the Navy, manned by Sailors, but operated under the command of the U.S. Army’s Railroad Artillery Reserve and, interestingly, were the only American-made artillery used in the war. This is the insignia seen on the shoulder of this uniform, worn by an officer of the RAR who was wounded in action as indicated by the wound chevron on his right cuff. 

The unit was subdivided into six groups, one for each battery and these groups were further subdivided into crews: a train crew, a construction crew, and a gun crew. Finally, everyone in the unit was expected to serve as infantrymen if needed. While in operation the Naval Batteries had no support from the Army and should Germans units advance on them, they were expected to “fight alone.” Gratefully for them, the Germans were in retreat throughout their period of service.

The first detachment arrived in France June 10, 1918, but waiting for their equipment and preparing the trains meant that they did not leave for the front until Aug. 18. They served continuously from then until war’s end on Nov. 11, 1918.

The guns served to support General Pershing's army offensive in the Meuse-Argonne sector of the Western Front in France. They operated as single-gun batteries designated Battery 1 to Battery 5. Battery 2, commanded by Lieutenant (JG) E. D. Duckett, US Navy, had the distinction of being the first all-US gun (crew, gun, and ammunition) to fire in action on the Western Front. On 6 September 1918 they fired from the forest of Compiegne at the important German railway center of Tergnier in support of an Allied attack.

The uniform bears U.S. & Ordnance collar insignia which are the same “Flaming Bomb” insignia seen on French Helmets. There are three overseas chevrons on the left cuff indicating 18-23 months overseas, and one wound chevron on the left cuff, indicating one wound in action, likely from artillery shrapnel given his unit. The left shoulder bears a gorgeous French-made patch for the RAR, with the backing being made from a French Horizon Blue uniform, with the Woozlefinch in the center surrounded by Railway tracks. The uniform including the patch has some light mothing but nothing too serious. There is a maker’s tag on the interior for Hart Schaffner & Marx for Wallach Bros. New York. The breeches are in similar condition and complete the uniform well.

This is an extremely gorgeous uniform with an amazing history, ready for further research and display.