Favorite Military Uniforms (1 Viewer)

[Currahee Chris]

Hey gang:

Just wanted to solicit everyone's opinions on favorite uniforms. I tried to come up with 10 but only made it to 9:

9.) AWI era British Dragoon cavalry- Very fashionable but warm and itchy- they were wool correct?? Still, a field of those guys charging down on horseback would have given me reason to pause.

8.) WW1 US Doughboy- good, tough and durable uniform- WW1 Unis' were probably the most battle hardened uniforms in all of Military history. Trench warfare just denegrated the uniforms of all armies.

7.) Continental Bluecoat- Sharp and stylish. Quite adaptable and durable for its time.

6.) WW2 US Airborne field uniform- great unforms.

5.) British Paras field uniform- no era in particular. Big fan of their looks and durability. I think the British have slightly better tailors than we Americans do, which is why I give them the edge over ours.

4.) Spartan hoplites- Love the Crimson, just great colors which added to their intimidation factor. The crimson did serve a purpose- to help "hide" the blood of their fallen foes.

3.) Modern US urban warfare unis- Just love this uniform. All reports that I have heard claim they are very durable and get the job done. The exciting thing about this uniform- the US is giving them away FOR FREE!! All ya gotta do is signup.............

2.) Marine Dress Blues- earned- NEVER given.

and finally:

1.) The Romans- from legionaire to Legatus- these guys came to battle dressed to the nines.

Ah, just my two cents. No real thought put into it. The Fallschirmjagers would probably be number 10.

 

[Louis Badolato]

1. Any and all Highland Regimental uniforms from the 19th Century. Sorry but the Highlanders just look so freakin' cool. I especially love the Gordons!

2. Civil War Union Zoaves Uniforms. Those fire red pants . . .

3. Napoleonic French Hussar Uniforms. Pelisse and Dolman . . . need I say more.

4. 11th Hussars from the Charge of the Light Brigade . . . the above, plus cherry pink pants!

5. Ancient Roman Legionaries.

Those are my top five.

 

[sceic2]

Cracker Jacks and a Dixie Cup or a Donald Duck hat do it for me.
Steve McQueen plays a Machinist Mate First Class (please see aviatar above) in the movie Sand Peables. Notice the dragon needle work on this cuffs. It was still the rage to get this during the late 60's and early 70's and I had some too. Great tailors (and many other things) in Hong Kong.

 

[Tex]

1) US Navy dress uniform summer and winter for both officers and enlisted. And Service Dress Khaki, which is apparently coming back.

2) US Marine blues.

3) Royal Horse Artillery of Napoleonic era

4) USNA parade dress (had to add it)

5) RCMP red

6) US Army dress uniform, circa 1890

7) US Army fatigue khakis worn (at least in theory) circa 1900 (Boxer Rebellion)--To me the pre-Smokey-the-Bear campaign hat was distinctly American

8) US Cavalry dress uniform, late 1850s, early 1860s with Hardee hat

 

[Currahee Chris]

Cracker Jacks and a Dixie Cup or a Donald Duck hat do it for me.
Steve McQueen plays a Machinist Mate First Class (please see aviatar above) in the movie Sand Peables. Notice the dragon needle work on this cuffs. It was still the rage to get this during the late 60's and early 70's and I had some too. Great tailors (and many other things) in Hong Kong.

Was it within regs to do that?? I know when I was in, we had guys "Ranger Rolling" their softcaps- looked cool (on some of them, who were rangers, pathetic wanne be's on the rest). The Ranger roll is not allowed though in the regs. Some other issues- like Hi Tech's for boots instead of normal Joe boots.

There were some variations on the nametags as well when I was in Korea, kind of put some "flaring" to the letters that the commanders frowned upon stateside.

 

[Mister Dave]

In no particular order:

Early WWI Highland regiments. So cool with some retained bits of color in the kilts, diced hose and glengarries. Also love the look of P08 web gear in general.

Again, Highland regimental attire in the later Victorian era, both in Khaki and Scarlet with pith helmets...e.g. Black Watch at Tel El Kebir, Gordons at Kandahar, Camerons at Omdurman, etc...

Napoleonic era British marines...very cool head gear.

British Foot Guards in the Crimea with cross-belts and bearskins.

WWII era British paras. See previous comments.

US Army Combat Uniform. Looks awesome and feels very comfortable in almost any climate.

I could go on, but those are the first to come to mind.

 

[sceic2]

Was it within regs to do that?? I know when I was in, we had guys "Ranger Rolling" their softcaps- looked cool (on some of them, who were rangers, pathetic wanne be's on the rest). The Ranger roll is not allowed though in the regs. Some other issues- like Hi Tech's for boots instead of normal Joe boots.

There were some variations on the nametags as well when I was in Korea, kind of put some "flaring" to the letters that the commanders frowned upon stateside.

As long as when you were off duty (on liberty especially) or working out of sight of those who cared, the sleeves were rolled up. The stiching was on the inside of the cuffs and can only be seen if you roll them up.

There are also many different ways to shape the dixie cup. Rolled tops to various degrees with creases on the front or sides. Everyone could and would customize their white hats. Of course when it comes to inspections or being on watch, the sleeves were rolled down and the hat was shaped properly, most of the time.

 

[PolarBear]

How about this one of Margaret Bourke-White just before her B-17 bombing mission in North Africa? I know this is a favorite of Louis Boy the Jerries must have been surprised to see this!
Randy

 

[Chuck Harris]

Cracker Jacks and a Dixie Cup or a Donald Duck hat do it for me.
Steve McQueen plays a Machinist Mate First Class (please see aviatar above) in the movie Sand Peables. Notice the dragon needle work on this cuffs. It was still the rage to get this during the late 60's and early 70's and I had some too. Great tailors (and many other things) in Hong Kong.

I wish I still had my Dress Blue Jumper with my Dragon Needle Work. Just for the memories. I haven’t thought about this in years. It was a work of Art. And no I it would not fit me any more.

 

[Louis Badolato]

How about this one of Margaret Bourke-White just before her B-17 bombing mission in North Africa? I know this is a favorite of Louis Boy the Jerries must have been surprised to see this!
Randy

In the museum I have a photograph of one fo my deceased great uncles in an identical flight suit. They really do look cool.

 

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,

Here’s my top ten...

1. Royal Marines...Dress blues with white sun helmet — both for Marines and Bandsmen on parade. Nothing beats a Royal Marine Band — of course I am just a wee bit biased.

2. Royal Marines Lovat Greens — modern walking-out dress for Marines...Similar to US Marines except the original green beret!

3. Modern day French Foreign Legion on parade...super sharp.

4. Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler...You don’t have to like their politics to admit that the black parade uniforms with white equipment “looks the business”.

5. US Marines Dress blues...great!

6. British Guards Regiment on Parade.

7. French Imperial Guard.

8. Any Scottish Regimental Pipes & Drums wearing the kilt.

9. Royal Gurkha Rifles on parade in #2 dress with either “pill-box” style hat or large brim slouch hat.

10. 11th Hussars at the time of “The Charge of the Light Brigade”.

Actually, I have about 200 other selections that make the grade but this gives you the rough idea.

Best wishes and...happy collecting!
Andy C.

P.S. I also think virtually all WW2 U.S. Army uniform was both practical to wear and looked good!

 

[debrito]

For me is the Volksturm officer with his MP44 WS063 on the Defenders set of Fall of Berlin.

 

[Currahee Chris]

For me is the Volksturm officer with his MP44 WS063 on the Defenders set of Fall of Berlin.

Rod- of all the people I have met, you are the only person I can ever recall who mentioned the Volksturm as a favorite uniform. Very interesting selection there sir.

 

[ROAN]

1. Any one of late 19th-early 20th century Indian Army Cavalry full dress or review order officer’s uniforms.
Couple of favorites:

A. 1st Duke of York’s Own Lancers(Skinner’s Horse) full dress:

Black trousers with two gold stripes down the legs, dark yellow tunic with black plastron and facings, white spiked helmet

B. Guide’s Cavalry-both service and review order:

Drab trousers, tunic, and spiked helmet, scarlet facings


2. 11th Hussars

Crimean, or late 19th, early 20th century review order, or in Number 1 dress for Coronation with dark red peaked hat, shoulder mail.


3. Any review order Highland, Lowland Regt.


4. “Pinks & Greens”-U.S. Army WWII-early 50s:

Dark olive drab gabardine wool “Ike jacket” (same material as officer’s winter service dress coat) worn with:

a. Dark olive-drab gabardine “chocolate” or light shade olive drab(“pink”) gab. shirt

b. “Pink” shade gab. trousers


5. Royal Horse Artillery review order



6. Late war black Panzer uniform or the variation worn by Hermann Goring Div. officers in Italy:

short black Panzer jacket with Luftwaffe blue peaked hat and riding breeches, black riding boots(how to you spell “jaunty”?).

 

[Warrior]

My top five;

1.) British Red Devils, World War II, the brass you know whats.
2.) Iron Brigade, ACW, frock coat, gaiters and hardee hat.
3.) French Foreign Legion, circa early 1900's, Beau Geste here we come.
4.) 14th Brooklyn ACW, Union army.
5.) French Imperial Guard, when men were men.

 

[ROAN]

4. “Pinks & Greens”-U.S. Army WWII-early 50s:

Dark olive drab gabardine wool “Ike jacket” (same material as officer’s winter service dress coat) worn with:

a. Dark olive-drab gabardine “chocolate” or light shade olive drab(“pink”) gab. shirt

b. “Pink” shade gab. trousers

an example of above....

 

[ROAN]

One of my favorite pieces of US Army WWII equipment-the ubiquitous Parsons M1941 Field Jacket

 

[ROAN]

And the equally ubiquitous A2 with an original Dobbs Fifth Ave. “Crusher”(calling card inside hat belonged to “Warren M. Dean, Lieutenant, Air Corps, Army of the United States”)

 

[binder001]

Some of my favorites;

WW2 US Army wool shirt and trousers (M1938 pattern). I always wore this as a basic uniform when reenacting. The M1941(Parsons) jacket looks cool, but the "tanker jacket" (Jacket, Winter, Combat, for Armored Forces) is much more comfortable to me (The Parsons doesn't close tight all the way up), but the M1943 Field jacket can't be beat for being warm and practical (lots of pockets). I still like to wear this jacket's decendants such as the M1965.

German Waffen SS camouflage tunic - I did a battle as a Jerry and liked the smock over the wool uniform.

The US M1942 paratrooper jump uniform - a military classic!

I like the looks of many ACW uniforms, especially the Union cavalry shell jacket with full yellow trim over the Kersey Blue trousers with black leather gear. I also like the look of a Confederate artilleryman with the bright red trims on a light grey uniform/hat.

I also admire a number of British uniforms form the "colonial" era. Look at the appearance of the 24th Reg't of Foot in the movie "Zulu" - very neat outfit.

I aways admired the armor of a Norman Chevalier from 1066. Not so complicated as full plates.

As stated earlier, nobody did it like Rome. Quite practical for the time.

I realize that the new DCUs are very practical, but just can't get into the "washed out" digital camo. I still think the original BDUs in Woodland pattern were very sharp looking (at least when new).

Gary

 

[Louis Badolato]

And the equally ubiquitous A2 with an original Dobbs Fifth Ave. “Crusher”(calling card inside hat belonged to “Warren M. Dean, Lieutenant, Air Corps, Army of the United States”)

That is sharp! I bet the flyers got all the girls . . .