WWII Navy Pilot Reenactor

priestyboy · Apr 9, 2006

Folks,

For one reason or another I see there is little to no abundance of reenacting supplies, uniforms, anything for USN/USMC. These services had plenty of shore duty billets, so it can't be because you need a ship to go with the impression.

Stuff like the khakis with the pointed pockets, reproduction dress uniforms, russet low quarters, USN style garrison caps...you have to buy from USAAF suppliers and modify or hope nobody knows any better. Some of the e-stores (WPG, WWII Impressions, Garcia Aviation) have a little bit but not near the compliment of equipment as for an AAF pilot.

There are plenty of aircraft as well. SBDs, Corsairs, Avengers, etc. that all show up at the airshows and Reading.

I'm frustrated but probably not alone. Can anyone offer any suggestions on a mecca of reenactor supplies for the WWII USN/USMC pilot?

BellyTank · Apr 9, 2006

If you look at a lot of wartime photos- you do see USN/MC aviators wearing 'work' uniforms- dungarees and chambray shirts with cotton, M421-a flight jackets as well as leather. The khakis (USMC)are available form WW2Imp', as you have kind of mentioned- so too are the denims. Flight suits are available too.

If you're prepared to be a little creative...

I think the only item you mentioned that I haven't seen from a vendor is the dress uniforms.

Good Luck,

B
T

RAAF · Apr 10, 2006

What Price Glory

WPG offers repros of the tan flight suit, tan cotton flight jacket, navy flight helmet, etc.
http://www.whatpriceglory.com/usflight.htm

I believe Warhorse Trading offers some USN uniforms but it might just be 'whites'.

Maj.Nick Danger · Apr 10, 2006

I notice a lot of navy and marine corps items on ebay, but I don't check them very closely as I am one of those army air force types. Seems to be a fair amount of dress uniforms there.

up196 · Apr 11, 2006

Welcome aboard . . .

USN Aviation OFFICERS wore the tan flight suits OR just the khaki shirt and pants while ENLISTED AVIATORS usually wore the chambray shirt/dungaree uniforms. There is a photo of an Avenger pilot in the cockpit of his plane wearing the shirt/pants combination. He's an Ensign named George H.W. Bush.

For a USN Aviator impression at the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, I wear a Khaki shirt and Bill's Khaki pants, rolled up over a pair of USMC boondockers, Garcia Aviation summer flying helmet, gloves and shoulder holster and WPG repro goggles. I wear observer wings (to fit in with my "background story", as I'm too old to represent a fighter pilot) and no rank insignia.

Early in the war, aviators wore the web pistol belt and holstered .45 auto; later war saw the shoulder holstered 4" Victory Model. As far as the Victory Model, I've found "US Navy" marked pieces to be quite expensive. Don't despair. I did some serial number research and took a chance on a moderately priced one marked "US Property GHD". A letter from S&W verified my hunch; it was shipped to the US Navy at Oakland, California on June 22, 1943.

KENNYW · Apr 13, 2006

RAAF said:
WPG offers repros of the tan flight suit, tan cotton flight jacket, navy flight helmet, etc.
http://www.whatpriceglory.com/usflight.htm

I believe Warhorse Trading offers some USN uniforms but it might just be 'whites'.

Has anyone ever seen one of WPG's B-3's?

priestyboy · Apr 15, 2006

Thanks

Thanks everybody for your input!

Paddy posted an exhustive list of links to all sorts of re-enactor uniform sites
http://www.thefedoralounge.net/showthread.php?t=4395

This guy's awesome!

WPG and Warhorse Traders seem to have the best selections for Navy Officer.

And I must say, WPG has some quality stuff...thanks Jerry!

I've found it's just a little bit 'o this and a little bit 'o that from different sites here and there.

I'm glad I found Fedora Lounge.

priestyboy · Apr 15, 2006

WPG

Never seen the B-3 in real life but my experience with WPG's quality is A++.

Jerry can seem a little crabby in some of his "availability" statements but he's always done me right. That's a whole lot more than I can say for some of the others.

I'm sure he'd make an easy exchange or refund if you didn't like it.

That's just my opinion.

Give him a try! Also, check Paddy's post at

http://www.thefedoralounge.net/showthread.php?t=4395

Here's a million links to tons of USAAF and RAF sites.

cco23i · Jan 20, 2014

If you want a period correct Navy or Marine ground crew drop me a line.

1930artdeco · Jan 20, 2014

Don't forget you would also see Navy/MC aviators swapping with the USSAF on the islands or getting what they got from supply.

Mike

1961MJS · Jan 21, 2014

1930artdeco said:
Don't forget you would also see Navy/MC aviators swapping with the USSAF on the islands or getting what they got from supply.

Mike

Hi

My Dad went through the last year of the war wearing Marine t-shirts (white, USAAF wore brown), cut off Khaki's, and a Marine Pith Helmet with the Globe removed. Apparently Guadalcanal couldn't get the Pith Helmets and Dad liked white t-shirts better. Dad was a Master Sergeant in the 17th Weather Squadron.

Later

p51 · Jan 23, 2014

The bottom line is PTO anything isn't popular for re-enactors and I'm certain that it will never be (frankly, I think it's because nobody wants to be the Japanese and it leaves the German guys out in the cold). Accordingly, I can't see there ever being much in the way of USN stuff.
It drives me nuts because I put together a PTO war correspondent impression and badly want the USN officer's visor cap to put a repro USN correspondent insignia on it. Nobody makes an acceptable repro of it and my noggin is way too big for any originals.

Treetopflyer · Jan 24, 2014

That amazes me. I figured everyone would want to be a Naval Aviator.

rjb1 · Jan 25, 2014

Agree with P51 about lack of interest in PTO reenacting. Maybe on certain parts of the West Coast you could get enough Japanese to make up any sort of unit, but here in the mid-USA I have seen exactly ONE Japanese (real Japanese) reenactor in over ten years in the game.
I've heard people make wishful-thinking comments about doing PTO, but it never really happens.
Aside from the ethnicity issue, since our terrain here looks exactly like Belgium and western Germany, and nothing whatsoever like Guadalcanal, it's logical that we would stick with ETO.
We do have one female reenactor who has a Navy nurse display, but that's one-of-a-kind.

Stearmen · Jan 25, 2014

This is about as close as you get! Back in the 80s and 90s, we had some WWII Navy airplanes, it was odd to see all the AAF Living History guys standing around the planes.

kampkatz · Jan 28, 2014

rjb1 said:
Agree with P51 about lack of interest in PTO reenacting. Maybe on certain parts of the West Coast you could get enough Japanese to make up any sort of unit, but here in the mid-USA I have seen exactly ONE Japanese (real Japanese) reenactor in over ten years in the game.
I've heard people make wishful-thinking comments about doing PTO, but it never really happens.
Aside from the ethnicity issue, since our terrain here looks exactly like Belgium and western Germany, and nothing whatsoever like Guadalcanal, it's logical that we would stick with ETO.
We do have one female reenactor who has a Navy nurse display, but that's one-of-a-kind.

Some 30 years ago we had a renactment of the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack at the former Millville,NJ AAF (P-47)training base. I was aero-space education officer for our CAP squadron at the time. All the 'Jap" pilots were Americans(like the photo Stearmen posted). Some of the cadets and senior members wondered how it felt for Americans to re-enact that "Day of Infamy." One of the pilots said since it was purely for historical education purposes he did not mind being one of the "bad guys."

rjb1 · Jan 28, 2014

Once you get into reenacting there are no negative feelings about those who portray Germans. That would extend to Japanese (or Japanese-Americans), if there were any.
The one time that I saw a Japanese Army reenactor was at Ft. Knox for a Fourth of July event and he was the "hit" of the event.
Everyone (participants and spectators) wanted to have their picture taken with him.

kiwilrdg · Jan 29, 2014

There is a unit that I have seen at couple of events that alternates between Japanese and Phillippine armys. Reenacting should be about education, not making a political statement.

THe Conductor · Aug 7, 2017

Hate to bring up a dead thread, but was wondering since the Navy until semi-recently had been fairly traditional and slow to change in their uniforms, could more modern pieces be utilized as stand ins for vintage uniforms? I think mostly of officer uniforms such as Service Dress (albeit polyester) , peaked caps, and even dress whites. I have a large number of uniforms from my middy days that I'd like to be able to use, otherwise they'll end up getting donated or tossed in the back of the closet.

Enlisted uniforms in the form of cracker jacks and dungarees seem to be fairly well represented in the reproduction market.

1930artdeco · Aug 24, 2017

The regular dress blues/whites I don't think changed much if at all other than the fabrics. But they pop up regularly in shops and on ebay-albeit they tend to be over priced on ebay.

Mike

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