Eisenhower jacket - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Eisenhower jacket, or "Ike" jacket, is a type of military uniform

Military uniform

Military uniforms comprises standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian...

blouson

Blouson

A blouson or blouse jacket is a coat that is drawn tight at the waist, causing it to blouse out and hang over the waistband. Some of them have a hood. It takes most of its modern traits from the American flight jacket and police blouson. It is related to the Eisenhower jacket...

, or shortened coat, terminating in a waistband.

Overview

Until the late-1930s, the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

’s field uniform consisted of a wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

shirt

Shirt

A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for almost any garment other than outerwear such as sweaters, coats, jackets, or undergarments such as bras, vests or base layers...

, mid-hip-length "all-purpose service coat" and wool overcoat. Save for its belted waist, the single-breasted service coat resembled a suit

Suit (clothing)

In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...

or sport coat more than a uniform. Little changed since World War I, it featured notched lapels and five metal buttons from its open collar to its belted waist. Made of heavy wool serge

Serge

Serge is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both sides, made with a two-up, two-down weave. The worsted variety is used in making military uniforms, suits, great coats and trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety...

, it touted two flapped and button-through patch pockets at the breast and two identically styled patch pockets below its belted waist – its four pockets either box-pleated or bellows-styled-pleats.

Using civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

"windbreakers" as its ideal design objective, the army began a four-year study in 1935 to develop a more practical and effective combat jacket to replace the service coat.
In 1940, it first adopted the M-38, then later, the M-41 field jacket, or "Parsons' jacket," named for Major General J. K. Parsons who helmed its development. Simply designed and modeled after a civilian windbreaker

Windbreaker

A windbreaker is a thin outer coat designed to resist wind chill and light rain . It is usually of light construction, characteristically made of some type of synthetic material and often incorporating an elastic waistband and zipper...

made by John Rissman & Sons of Chicago, it was a short, button-front weatherproof

Weatherproof

Weatherproof is a 2003 EP by American hip hop artist Cage. It was released on Eastern Conference Records on July 29, 2003. It was released between his two collaboration albums with Camu Tao and Tame One and features guest appearances from both.-Track listing:#"Intro"#*Produced by Cage & DJ...

jacket

Jacket

A jacket is a hip- or waist-length garment for the upper body. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which is outerwear...

with a tight fitting waist and two flapped and button-through front pockets.

In early 1943, front-line skirmishes in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

and North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

proved the long, mid hip-length Service Coat, as well as the shorter M-41 Parson’s field jacket, inappropriate for what was then modern-era combat. The Service Coat was re-deployed to garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

and parade duty, exclusively, and the M-41 was replaced by a new and completely redesigned Field Jacket, the M-43.

M-41 Parson's Jacket

Although the M-41 Parson’s Jacket was widely used in many theatres during World War II, it was found to be an unsatisfactory solution for the soldiers using it. The War Department created a new coat based on the layering principle to give greater flexibility for the numerous environmental conditions encountered in the world-wide war. .

M-43 Field Jacket, Multi-environment combat uniform's basic building block

Built around the layering principle, the M-43 became the basic building block of a multi-environment, all-season combat

Combat

Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

uniform being developed by the Office of the Quartermaster General (OQMG) for worldwide combat.

On May 15, 1943, the Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

(ATC) recommended development of a short, waist cropped woolen

Woolen

Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...

field jacket that could be worn under the M-43 as an added insulator

Thermal insulation

Thermal insulation is the reduction of the effects of the various processes of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Heat transfer is the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature...

M-44 "Ike Jacket" prototype's development

By mid-1944, the OQMG finalized the several layering components of its multi-environment combat uniform, anointing the M-43 Field Jacket its basic, universal building block. A dramatically revised version of the M-41, the M-43 touted a wind-proof, olive drab colored cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

poplin

Poplin

Poplin, also called tabinet , is a strong fabric in a plain weave of any fiber or blend, with crosswise ribs that typically gives a corded surface.Poplin traditionally consisted of a silk warp with a weft of worsted yarn...

outer shell with internal layers that could be added or eliminated depending on local battle conditions. In cold environs, its notched lapels converted to a stand-up, storm-flap for added neck protections. A pile jacket liner

Liner

Liner or LINER may refer to:In line drawing:* Eye liner, a type of makeup* Liner, a sable brush used by coach paintersIn linings:...

and fur-edged hood could also be added.

During the Autumn of 1943, the Army Air Corps

United States Army Air Corps

The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...

prototype jacket was sent to Chief Quartermaster of the European Theater of Operations

European Theater of Operations

The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

for review and possible adoption by ETO commanding general, Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

.

Eisenhower had already requested a waist-cropped style; his based on the British battle jacket

Battle Dress

Battle Dress was the specific title of a military uniform adopted by the British Army in the late 1930s and worn until the 1960s. Several other nations also introduced variants of Battle Dress during the Second World War, including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the...

, "but with more distinctive style." Eisenhower was a partisan advocate of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

jacket’s functional sensibilities.

The Eisenhower jacket may have been designed by William Marler, a tailor from New York.

Designed to be the second, insulated layer, the Ike jacket, a.k.a. M-44, was created to be worn underneath the M-43. In extreme cold, a sweater

Sweater

A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...

, flannel

Flannel

Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...

shirt, and wool-cotton T-shirt

T-shirt

A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....

could be worn under the Ike jacket.

In November, 1944, the M-44, or Ike jacket, was classified standard issued. The Ike jacket featured a roomy, bloused back with action pleats and oversized sleeves, its fit large and loose to accommodate the several added insulating underlays without compromising either comfort or freedom of movement.

Immediately after its issue the Eisenhower jacket was assigned double-duty. Besides being a combat field jacket it was also appointed the Army’s dress and parade uniform.

Whether the standard issue, M-44 Field Jacket or its sveltely re-tailored, Ike jacket sibling, their shared common denominators are an olive drab, 18-ounce wool serge. Once turned up and buttoned over, its notched lapels became a convertible, "storm collar" that protected the neck and throat in chilly environs. Staggered cuffs buttons created adjustable cuffs that could be relaxed or cinched tight at the wrist.

To prevent equipment from catching on its buttons, a "fly front" flap concealed its button front, a shrewd design ploy that also prevented snagging in dense underbrush, whether walking or crawling. For the same reason, its flapped, bellows breast pockets touted hidden buttons.

The Epaulets corralled shoulder hung equipment. Adjustable buckles at left and right sides cinched the waist-band tight at the hips, delivering added warmth and accentuating its masculine, broad-shouldered lines. "Action-back" pleats, one at each shoulder, extended to the waistband, assuring a slim and trim shape but generously providing ample room for unrestricted freedom of movement, even when firing a raised a rifle or pistol.

According to Paul Fussell

Paul Fussell

Paul Fussell is an American cultural and literary historian, author and university professor. His writings cover a variety of genres, from scholarly works on eighteenth-century English literature to commentary on America’s class system...

’s Uniforms, "Eisenhower had a reputation among his troops as an eminently decent man, friendly and sympathetic," an admiration that Ike elevated even further, tells Fussell, by having the bravado to casually rest his hands inside his pocket and "violate the sacred Army injunction." That anecdote, tells Fussell, explains why Eisenhower refused to adorn his personal jacket with gilded buttons: He considered his jacket an every-warrior’s combat uniform.

Fashion and pop culture influences

Thanks to its favor among GI golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

ers, Eisenhower included, the Ike jacket-look became a golf course staple and inspired the "golf blouson", later called "Windbreaker

Windbreaker

" - actually a genericized trademark

Genericized trademark

A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...

- and later follow-up, such as the "618 Perfecto" from Schott Brothers or the 501 jacket by Levi Strauss & Co.

The post-WWII redesigns and adaptations

Post World War II development of the U.S. field jacket was momentous. In 1947, the Army introduced a shorter and better tailored version of the M-44. Designated the MQ-1 and designed solely as a dress and parade uniform, the jacket was again refined in 1950 and re-introduced as the M-1950 Field Jacket, but without button cuffs. With the later introduction of the "Army green" U.S. Army service uniform in 1957, the Ike jacket gradually began to disappear domestically but was still a uniform option for troops stationed in international theaters.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) adopted the Vandegrift jacket, a variant of the Ike jacket, in 1945 and retained it through 1960. In 1947, The United States Air Force (USAF) added still another Ike jacket design iteration, the M-47, and continued its use for the next two years, before changing its color to "Air Force blue

Air Force blue

Air Force blue is a variety of colours that are a form of blue. These colours are used by airforces for colour identification.-RAF blue:Air Force blue or RAF blue is a medium shade of the colour azure...

" in 1949, where it remained a signature of the USAF, until being retired in 1964.

The design of the M-1943 jacket was to prove so successful, that many military forces around the world still wear field jackets that closely follow its original designs. During the 50's, a modified version, called the M-1950, was issued to U.S. forces in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

. It had a button-in liner instead of the separate liner garment as in the M-1943. During the next year, the sometimes permanently hooded, M-1951 coat came in to use. It was another very similar design, but now had both a zip instead of buttons under the front fly and metal snap closures for the pockets. The M-1951 field jacket

M-1951 field jacket

The M-1951 field jacket was a US Army four pocket jacket made of 9-ounce wind resistant water repellent treated cotton sateen cloth in Olive Green Shade 107 . In November 1956 it was redesignated as the M-1951 field coat....

was actually not sent to the forces in Korea until after the 1953 armistice and so was not seen during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. It thus remained in service until replaced by the M-1965 field jacket in 1965.

Thanks to its greater comfort and the unobstructed ease it offered while operating a vehicle or brandishing a side-arm, the Ike jacket design became a popular post-WWII uniform staple among Federal and state law enforcement agencies as well as with countless numbers of municipal and civilian police departments throughout America.

To this day, uniforms of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with most allied agencies within its broader, umbrella department, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...