On This Date in Naval Aviation History: Aviation Greens Make A Comeback


Ah, Aviation Working Greens – my absolute favorite day-to-day uniform to wear during Norfolk winters and guaranteed way to get a non-aviator’s head to explode in the pre-Lehman years. Lots of mythology and conjecture as to how we came to acquire (a) the green uniform and (b) the accompanying brown shoes, so maybe this will help – some…  – SJS

8 Apr 1925–Almost two years after the special aviation uniform had been abolished, new uniforms of forestry green for winter and khaki for summer were authorized for Naval Aviators, Observers, and other officers on duty involving flying.

This picture of the first class of naval aviators at Pensacola is a good example of the early special aviation uniform.

When naval aviators first took to the air they actually used a variety of civilian clothes – chiefly because flying then was a dirty, greasy business (and for those stalwart wrench-turners and box-swappers keeping us in the air today, it remains a dirty, greasy business).  The problem was that the officer uniform of the time was a blue tunic with gold striping – or white with shoulder boards.  OK for ship and shore – not so for aviation.  Enter the Marines — sometime during the winter of 1912-1913 naval aviators began using the Marine’s khaki uniform and high-topped shoes (brown) for their workday uniform with some slight modifications (no belt and , dyeing their white covers in the process.  This was, in fact, the uniform used by aviators at Vera Cruz in 1914. Winter and open cockpits called for something of more substance and again, the Marines provided the solution with their heavy weight woolen forest green uniform.  This picture from 1919 attests to the working and dress uniforms worn by naval aviators of the period:

 The crew of the NC-4 with SECNAV Daniels and Asst SECNAV Franklin D. Roosevelt

Being an organization where no good thought or solution was left unmolested, in 1922 the Navy banned the special aviation uniform as it sought uniformity within its thinning ranks.  Like most bureaucratic decisions, it had its comeuppance a few years later when recognizing both the growing number of naval aviation personnel and aviation’s special requirements the Navy authorized a new uniform, based on the original khaki (single breasted) uniform, but with a rolled collar vice the “choker” style of the earlier one, affording more comfort.  Bronze vice gold buttons and black vice gold braid used to avoid tarnishing.  The cavalry style “puttee” pants  and brown high top shoes were retained. For winter, the predecessor’s same woolen forest green material was retained.

The new Aviation Uniform, circa 1925

With minor modifications (e.g., change to traditional trousers and shoes), the uniform remained basically unchanged through the years.  In 1931, the khaki uniform was adopted by submariners (pin-on devices also authorized for both services) and by February 1941, an ALNAV was released permitting the wear of Khakis by all officers at the CO’s discretion (shoulder boards replaced stripes on the jacket that May).  During WWII and Korea, ribbons were permitted with the aviation greens, but by the 1960s, it was back to a working uniform.  Since their uniforms followed Navy’s, the Coast Guard also permitted wear of the aviation green uniform:

Some localities tried to discourage wearing the greens, but since it was retained in the uniform manual, it was not banned outright.  I picked up my first set in 1979 for the kingly sum of $20 at the local navy Relief after a tip from a fellow JO and having spent a freezing SDO watch in the drafty seaplane hangars east coast VAW’s were relegated to at the aptly named Breezy Point (NAS Norfolk).  At the time, khakis were not authorized year-round and come winter we had a choice of SDBs, Winter Working Blue or Aviation Working Green.  The fact that an authorized variation allowed you to wear your leather flight jacket and the soft cap with it was bonus material.

Channeling William Holden, as it were…

William Holden in "The Bridges at Toko-Ri"

I continued to wear that uniform through command and subsequent duty on IKE as ‘gator (if the hangars in Breezy Point were cold, try the island of a cold iron CVN in mid-winter…).  Unfortunately, while inflicting the new digi-blue working uniform on the service, Task force Uniform also purged the greens from the inventory and despite appeals to the contrary, it looks like this bit history is well and truly headed for the museum attic – and that’s a pity…

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4 Comments

  1. TOTALLY agree w. you about the Greens, SJS–even tho I’m Air Force. When *I’m* MAXIMUM LEADER not only would I bring those back, hell, I’d get the Army out of forest-service green and back to “pinks & greens” as well. And give the black beret back to the Rangers (As well as bring back the WWII blue diamond, yellow lettering Ranger patch to be worn on left shoulder of Class-As and flt Jackets) We all know the REAL reason the entire Army was given the beret is that the standard garrison-cap looked terrible w. women’s hair-do’s–was almost unwearable–and no one was up to forcing women to cut their hair short enough to wear it. But the beret is wearable with female hair-styles. PC feminism strikes again. I’d say to H with that!

    I’d also do away with the wearing of previous division patches on the right shoulder for the Army to clean-up the uniform, while re-instating the numbered Air Force patch on all left shoulder of AF Class-As to at least make it look like military uniform again. And bring back the brushed silver instead of the copy of the Army’s shiny stuff. I’d also require rank on the shirt-collar like Marines. And have you noticed that they’ve not only darkened the AF “Blue” (which I understand as an attempt to get away from bus-driver look–but we’re NOT the RAF–choose a different hue) but they’ve ALSO done away with the pockets on the class A Blouse/Jacket. Thing looks like a damn smock!! I’d order the pockets back on forthwith.

    ANOTHER THING (while I’m on my rant) I despise the trend of all branches to display/effect the old Soviet Army “wash-board” effect/look by stacking ribbons only 3-wide. I would go back to WWII/50s-60s tradition of 4 abreast with add. single, two/threes centered, until 3 rows of 4 abreast high, THEN 3 abreast due to lapel intrusion.

    I would also (and have always) frowned upon you guys and the Marines wearing ribbons on summer short-sleaves. Somehow to me it’s gilding the lilly–looks like a third-world comic opera dictator. Much prefer the USAF-Army ribbon-free approach–just wings, sub/seal service badge or Army CIB as appropriate–PERIOD. Looks MUCH cleaner/better on what is meant to be a more casual, workaday uniform in the first place.

    Rant over–for now.

  2. I’d say your censorship screen is dialed a tad too tightly, SJS–the term “CLASS-A” uniform is now a curse-word? 🙂

    1. Well, if you saw what I have to wade through to keep the neighborhood clean 🙂 Anyway – fine tuned the filter so that combination shouldn’t be an issue…

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