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Fashion Model
20 June 2019

So, I said that I wasn’t going to start collecting uniforms, and I’m not. Really. But my rationale for this purchase was based on a few factors, perhaps chief among them that I hadn’t bought a new helmet for a year. However, that is not to say that there haven’t been any interesting finds during that time… There was recently a nice stahlhelm of the maker I’ve been looking for out of England, but the shipping was nuts –much higher than it should have been (I have received helmets from England in the past) and you really have to factor the shipping into the final price, which puts you at a definite disadvantage. I didn’t even bother to bid. Then there was a steel pickelhaube that looked good, but I couldn’t say for certain if it had been repainted or not and when you’re talking about that kind of money, you had better be sure. Then there’s the Farina I saw just the other day. Well, it’s great. They also want $5,000 for it –which is entirely too much for that helmet, in my opinion.

If you’ve read my previous post concerning the 1917 pattern service coat, you’ll be well aware of my affection for it. But I also mentioned that its successor, the 1918 pattern service coat, had perhaps an even more avant garde design. Of course, that’s the kind of thing that really resonates with me and so I kind-of had it in my mind to find one. As it turned out, that was easier said than done; the 1918 pattern is a much more difficult coat to find than the 1917 pattern, as rare or rarer than the 1917 rough-cut variant.

 The 1918 Pattern Service Coat
United States Army Model

The 1918 pattern service coat was designed to address some of the shortcomings of the 1917 pattern that had become apparent under the conditions of battle experienced during the previous year. It was also designed with a mind towards economy – primarily a reduction in the amount of wool cloth required, as the U.S. was at the time experiencing an acute wool shortage. General Pershing himself is said to have played a significant role in its development and, as such, the 1918 pattern service coat is often referred to as the Pershing Coat.

Altered Beast

Overall, the cut of the 1918 pattern is slimmer and more form-fitting than its predecessor. The winter of 1917-18 having been particularly harsh, the weight of the wool cloth was also increased to at least 20 oz., versus the 16 oz. cloth used for most 1917 pattern coats. Many examples will have buttons of so-called “vegetable ivory”, both to save metal and as a purported safety measure, as it was found that metal buttons could sometimes fracture when stuck with bullets or shrapnel and cause infection in wounds. (Though I imagine that if one was being shot and/or shelled to the point of shattering the metal buttons on one’s coat, a few wayward button splinters would be the least of your concerns.)

However, the most obvious difference between the 1917 and 1918 patterns lies in the change from four front patch-pockets to four cut-in pockets, giving the coat a much simpler and more streamlined appearance. General Pershing had felt that the 1917 pattern patch-pockets had looked rather sloppy and unsoldierly when filled, and thus their alteration was of particular importance. It is worth noting that both the aforementioned French Modèle 15 coat, as well as the German Feldbluse Model 1915 were similarly unadorned, which might also have had some influence on the General’s design.

Other changes included a full lining in cotton rather than wool, epaulettes that were now faced with cotton cloth on the reverse, and a central back seam was added where there had been none previously. A substantially different (and, in my view, far inferior) version of the 1918 pattern service coat was also produced under contract in England. This British contract coat was unlined and cut to a very different pattern, whose obtrusive stitching unfortunately sacrifices much of the elegance of the American design.

Fashionably Late

The 1918 pattern service coat was officially designated the United States Army Model and adopted on August 28th, 1918, as Specification No. 1356. In addition to improvements in comfort, economy (with an estimated savings of 2/3 of a yard of woolen material per coat over the 1917 pattern) and perhaps safety, was a more modern and stylish combat uniform that I think easily competes with the best of what any of the Continental armies were wearing at the time. However, given that the armistice was signed only two months after its creation, I suspect that very few, if any, 1918 pattern service coats would have seen action in combat on the Western Front. They can occasionally be seen in photos amongst the Army of Occupation throughout 1919, although their use seems not to have been widespread and, to my knowledge, production was discontinued later that year. Today, 1918 pattern service coats are far rarer and more difficult to find than the standard 1917 pattern.

 
Lucky 7
This 1918 pattern service coat is in near-perfect condition and seems to have been worn very little or perhaps not at all. The wool is of the uneven, wartime variety; relatively thick, but somewhat rough and “hairy”. All buttons are of vegetable ivory which, despite the revised specification, seems to be relatively rare. The left arm bears the hourglass shoulder sleeve insignia of the 7th Division in pieced wool felt, as well as two overseas service chevrons (one year) in gold bullion and a red, embroidered honorable discharge chevron. The collar discs indicate that the original owner was assigned to the 7th Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters which, despite being readily interchangeable, I am inclined to believe. This is in part due to the very good reputation of the site/proprietor from whom I acquired the coat, but just as equally because of the relatively unglamorous record (through no fault of theirs) of the 7th Division Artillery Brigade during the Great War:

Embarking to France from Camp Merritt, New Jersey on August 18th, they arrived at Brest, France on August 27th, 1918, at 3:45 in the afternoon. But while the 7th Division eventually saw action on the front lines, their own artillery brigade was held over for training. They were in transit to join the division in battle when the war ended on November 11th, themselves never having been tested in combat. One wonders if this accounts, at least in part, for the pristine condition of this coat. It was thus that the members of the 7th Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters returned to the United States with the rest of the 7th Division on the 20th of June, 1919. “There’s many a dead man who’d like to share of it, bad luck or not.” You’re right there, sir.





References

A.E.F. Service Coats. world war I nerd. Retrieved from: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/262023-aef-service-coats/. 3 March 2016.