This U.S. Air Force film dates to the beginnings of the service branch, and shows the various styles of uniforms designed for women airmen, including overcoats, hats, duty shirt, etc. It also shows uniforms for nurses, women’s medical specialists, WACs, flight nurses, and enlisted.
When the U.S. Air Force first became a fully separate branch in 1947 personnel continued to wear uniforms nearly identical to the U.S. Army. The first Air Force-specific blue dress uniform, introduced in 1949, was in Shade 1683, also dubbed “Uxbridge Blue” after the former Bachman-Uxbridge Worsted Company. An Ike jacket, inherited from the Army Air Forces but in Shade 1683, was an optional uniform item.
In the early 1960s the blue uniform, including headgear, transitioned to a new and slightly updated version known as Shade 1549. The Ike jacket gave way to a long sleeve winter blue shirt with epaulettes and ties in Shade 1549. In the case of this shirt, which would continue in use until the early 1980s, epaulettes were unadorned, with officers wearing small rank insignia on the collar and enlisted personnel sewn-on cloth insignia on the sleeves. Service cap devices, “U.S.” collar insignia and occupational insignia worn on the left breast had a satin nickel finish, while officer rank insignia had a mirror finish.
The first proposals for a service uniform featured minimal ornamentation, at the request of top commanders. However, many lower-ranked officers requested more specific badges and insignia. This debate continued into the 1980s, at which point the viewpoints in favor of greater badges and insignia had generally prevailed, and badges were issued for almost all occupational areas.
Prior to 1993, all Air Force personnel wore blue service uniforms (Shade 1549 coats and trousers and Shade 1550 shirts) very similar in appearance to the green Service Dress “A” and “B” uniforms of the U.S. Army. A short-lived “ceremonial blue” uniform and “ceremonial white” uniform was also implemented in the mid-1980s and discontinued by 1 August 1994 and 1 March 1993 respectively. Mandatory for field grade officers and above, the blue version was identical to the blue service uniform with the exception of silver metallic sleeve braid replacing the dark blue mohair sleeve braid and hard “should board” insignia from the officer’s mess dress uniform worn in lieu of large metal rank insgnia. The white uniform was identical in cut and style to the blue version and also incorporated the metallic sleeve braid and shoulder board rank insignia.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
