Questions About the United States Navy Peacoat

[Peacoat]

Peacoat,

Today I had to go out and ran some errands, and it was about 42F, with constant rain, low wind. I had a thin long sleeve t-shirt, a thin North Face vest, and my "new-to-me" Peacoat - if felt awesome - as if I was indoors, nice and warm. The 40R was also comfortable while driving (just undo the last button). I can tell this coat is going to serve me well for a long time.

Thanks once more. I am now a true believer on these vintage coats

I now need to find a second/backup coat!

Will

Careful about buying more pea coats. One back up is OK, but don't do more than that, or you will end up with closet full of them like me. I am down to about 15 after giving several to friends.

Back in the old days, when I was much younger, I spent time in the Detroit area and NYC. Typically, when we would be out and about, the temp was around 18 degrees. I found that my size 40 peacoat, fitted fairly close to my body, and a shirt were all I needed to stay warm.

Times have changed. A couple of weeks ago the temp was 19 degrees. I wore the same size 40 peacoat, which is now fitted a little more closely to my body, a T shirt and a long sleeve shirt. Got a bit chilled as I walked from my car to the office. Not bad, but I could feel the cold. The next day the temp was 20 degrees. I wore a size 42 peacoat over a thin wool sweater and a long sleeve shirt, and was perfectly warm. The only real difference was the addition of the sweater.

So, that tells me two things: I have become more susceptible to the cold as I have gotten older, and a sweater (or a vest) under the peacoat greatly adds to the insulation factor. That's why I recommend that prospective buyers get a peacoat that isn't closely fitted to the body, especially if they live in an area that has cold winters. Or, perhaps the best of both worlds would be to have two pea coats: one that is closely fitted and one that would allow a sweater to be worn underneath when the temperature gets below freezing--which is my cutoff point.

So, with that story in mind, you might want to get a second peacoat, one size smaller than the one you have now. Good luck and good hunting. PC

 

[Sloan1874]

15? Now that's hardcore! I always thought Atticus Finch was the last word in full-on collecting with his A-2/tanker jacket closet, but you be da man!

 

[Peacoat]

15? Now that's hardcore! I always thought Atticus Finch was the last word in full-on collecting with his A-2/tanker jacket closet, but you be da man!

Yes, that is a lot of pea coats, but not as many as the 20 or so I had before my wife said no more. Unfortunately, I also have 14 leather jackets with one more on the way. She has also said no mas to the leather jackets as well.

 

[Sloan1874]

lol

 

[wquiles]

Here is another one, although I am not sure about the year:

 

[Peacoat]

It's a 1966 model.

 

[Doctor Damage]

USN uniform info, 1897. No mention of pea coats so they came later, which I guess we already knew.

 

[wquiles]

It's a 1966 model.

Thank you. What about bridgecoats - do they have their own label system? This looks like a fairly recent/new bridgecoat:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251405076230?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

and here is another one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171198249541?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[Doctor Damage]

Thank you. What about bridgecoats - do they have their own label system? This looks like a fairly recent/new bridgecoat:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251405076230?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

That's the 'fake' label used by Fidelity in their bridge coats and pea coats (and that bridge coat in that listing is definitely made by Fidelity, with the gold buttons swapped for black pea coat buttons).

For what it's worth, you can get new genuine bridge coats from this company, although their range of sizes is shrinking so don't take forever to make up your mind. I understand bridge coats are purchased, not issued, so a number of different companies make them, now and in the past, although some will have been sold directly to USN personnel via their PX stores or whatever. Based on e-Bay listings and photos from the Army-Navy game, the Fidelity coats don't seem to be worn by USN personnel. What listings and photos do show is a wide variety of bridge coats: usually wool, sometimes unlined, sometimes lined, sometimes with a removable liner... and sometimes in a cotton or nylon shell instead of the wool. But this is perhaps better left for a separate thread dedicated to bridge coats only. Anyone want to start one? I've got tons of photos I can post.

 

[Peacoat]

Doc is correct. Bridgecoats are worn by officers and chief petty officers and are purchased by them through authorized private companies. And he is also right about that being a phony tag.

Officers and chiefs are authorized to wear the peacoat, which is then called a reefer. Don't ask me why the name changes. Although they are authorized to wear the reefer, almost all of them (probably 100%) wear the bridge coat.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Doc is correct. Bridgecoats are worn by officers and chief petty officers and are purchased by them through authorized private companies. And he is also right about that being a phony tag.

Fidelity, of course, makes very solid products and to buy one of their coats you don't have to join the USN or know someone who's on the 'inside' or trawl e-Bay for months and months.

I will start organizing the photos I've accumulated on bridge coats and start a thread. Then you guys can deposit all the knowledge you've acquired on bridge coats, plus direct experiences and quotes, plus some links to sources for buying.

 

[wquiles]

Thank you guys for the feedback/advice.

Fidelity, of course, makes very solid products and to buy one of their coats you don't have to join the USN or know someone who's on the 'inside' or trawl e-Bay for months and months.

I will start organizing the photos I've accumulated on bridge coats and start a thread. Then you guys can deposit all the knowledge you've acquired on bridge coats, plus direct experiences and quotes, plus some links to sources for buying.

That you be awesome - thanks!

 

[Doctor Damage]

Officers and chiefs are authorized to wear the peacoat, which is then called a reefer. Don't ask me why the name changes.

It's just a movie, of course, but for what it's worth here's a scene from "Crimson Tide" with Gene Hackman wearing a reefer.



Here's a reefer which was on e-Bay a while back. It has shoulder loops for epaulets.

 

[wquiles]

Man, you were not kidding when you said you had lots of photos on these

 

[GGinSF]

Today I received a peacoat that I just got through an online auction. Per the tag, it's a 1967, but the pockets are a gray cotton (almost felt-like). Per the dating thread I thought that pockets remained corduroy until '68. I also found that there's only one exterior top button near the collar, so there's just 7 buttons on the front instead of 8. Fortunately, the button that's there is on the wearer's right side, which is what I'd use if I ever need to button it all the way to the top. What's strange is that I can't even find a hole or any evidence that there was a matching button on the left side. Were there always a pair under the lapels (top of lapel/bottom of collar)?

Except for those items, the coat is in very good shape wool-wise, with no stains or moth damage. The lining under the armpits is just starting to pull apart (1/4" separation at the seams), which should be easy to repair. It's in need of dry cleaning because of pet hair, though. Attached are a few pictures of the details discussed. Once I get it cleaned up I'll take better pictures of the full coat. Thanks for all the help with my earlier questions regarding sizing. I think this coat fits me very well. It may be just a tad bigger than "perfect" but I prefer that than too small, or sleeves to short.

 

[wquiles]

Congrats!

Mine is also at the tailor to fix the lining on the armpits which like yours was coming loose a little - easy to fix

 

[Doctor Damage]

Reefer which sold recently on e-Bay. It was made by Sterlingwear and had a fur (or "fur") lining. Peacoat should have fun with the tags, although the seller or previous owner seems to have blacked out the contract codes or whatever.

 

[Peacoat]

Today I received a peacoat that I just got through an online auction. Per the tag, it's a 1967, but the pockets are a gray cotton (almost felt-like). Per the dating thread I thought that pockets remained corduroy until '68. I also found that there's only one exterior top button near the collar, so there's just 7 buttons on the front instead of 8. Fortunately, the button that's there is on the wearer's right side, which is what I'd use if I ever need to button it all the way to the top. What's strange is that I can't even find a hole or any evidence that there was a matching button on the left side. Were there always a pair under the lapels (top of lapel/bottom of collar)?

Except for those items, the coat is in very good shape wool-wise, with no stains or moth damage. The lining under the armpits is just starting to pull apart (1/4" separation at the seams), which should be easy to repair. It's in need of dry cleaning because of pet hair, though. Attached are a few pictures of the details discussed. Once I get it cleaned up I'll take better pictures of the full coat. Thanks for all the help with my earlier questions regarding sizing. I think this coat fits me very well. It may be just a tad bigger than "perfect" but I prefer that than too small, or sleeves to short.

There were not always the pair of buttons under the collar. Many contracts specified only one button on the right side.

Often a contractor would ask for a variance from the contracting authority. That is probably the situation with the cotton lining in the pockets of your peacoat. If the contractor gave a good reason for varying from the contract, the variance would often be granted, especially if the variance was relatively minor.

In 1967 there was a buildup during the VN war. The contractor may have run out of the corduroy and was unable to quickly obtain more. Plus, the Navy was going to eliminate the corduroy in the next contract, so it was probably easy to obtain the variance.

 

[Peacoat]

Reefer which sold recently on e-Bay. It was made by Sterlingwear and had a fur (or "fur") lining. Peacoat should have fun with the tags, although the seller or previous owner seems to have blacked out the contract codes or whatever.

Appears to be a 1983 reefer that was purchased by the officer from Sterlingwear. It evidently was not an issue item. These are rare as almost all officers and Chiefs (E-7 through E-9) opted to purchase and wear the bridgecoat because it set them apart from the enlisted men and the petty officers. Along with rank come certain privileges.

The bridgecoat has an advantage over the peacoat in that it is below knee length, which keeps snow and rain off of the wearer's thighs and knees. The disadvantage is that it is made of a thinner material. The zip in liner does increase the insulating factor, however.

 

[GGinSF]

Does anyone have any experience with British Navy peacoats? In what ways are they similar or different to US Navy ones? My wife's from Lancashire, so next time we're across the pond it might be fun to look for coats over there. Besides my WWII peacoat I had when I was younger, I also had a British Army parka I wore when riding my Vespa in my mod days. Not nearly as stylish as a peacoat.

(Photos are not of me...just an incredible simulation!)