Vol. 05 No. 05
Reproducing a WWII "Jungle Shirt
More than a few months ago, I set out to reproduce the US Army’s WWII-era “jungle sweater.” This edition of Combat Threads will go into how I approached the project, the significance of the jungle sweater, and how it turned out. At some point, I will do a long post on the WWII reproduction uniform markets that exist for both historical reenactment and the “vintage fashion” scene, but for now, we will focus on the making of a single garment. If you want to pre-order one of these reproductions, you can buy one here.
First off, this was far from a solo exercise; most importantly, I had the invaluable help of Josh Kerner, a good friend who has over 15 years of experience collecting and researching the equipment and uniforms of the US Army and the US Marine Corps – with a focus on WWII. Without him, this project would not have gotten off the ground. He also brought the rationale for the reproduction, a WWII reenactment of the Marine Corps’ Battle of Cape Gloucester in early 1944. During this campaign, Marines were issued these “jungle sweaters,” and reproductions were needed for the event. With my experience in both the reenacting and garment manufacturing world, I took on the project.
Some may quite reasonably wonder why you need a sweater in the jungle. For that, we need to look at how the US Army’s Quartermaster Corps developed these garments. These super lightweight wool shirts were officially called ‘Shirt, Wool, Knit, OD.’ The shirt was initially designed for Mountain Troops to be used as a replacement for the wool undershirt. In August 1942, during the initial production of jungle items for the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), they were added to the Jungle Clothing list along with several other items. The idea was to replace the blankets a soldier was issued to help soldiers keep warm at night when sleeping. This shift from a mountain item to a jungle was exemplified in its common name in the GI vernacular: "Jungle Sweater.” The sweater, made from 100% wool jersey, is the equivalent of a modern-day Smartwool, or similar brand, baselayer used by hikers, campers, and of course, soldiers. Their success was contingent on the properties of wool, which, unlike cotton, is a great insulator, trapping dead air within its fibers even when wet. Wool also pulls moisture (sweat) off the body, keeping it warmer in cold and cooler in hotter weather. All of this made the garment uniquely suited for the soldiers and marines fighting in the monsoon-soaked jungles of the Pacific and the humid mountains of Burma. The jungle sweater would continue to be issued post-war until early Vietnam, when it was eventually replaced by the tricot sleep shirt, with the color of OD periodically changing and the last contracts being from 1967.
The first step was gathering all of the original material I could to aid in reproducing the sweater. These sweaters needed to be reproduced in the first place because there are very few still in existence, and when they appear for sale, they routinely demand a high price. Over the previous years, Josh was able to secure four original jungle sweaters, which could be used to aid the process of reproducing them. But maybe the biggest key to success was the original specification from the US Army Quartermaster Corps that Josh had scanned from the US Army Insitute of Heraldry library. For the reproduction, we used P.Q.D. Specification No. 192 "Shirt, Worsted, Knit, O.D." dated July 6, 1942. These army specifications are analogous to today’s tech packs used in garment production, laying out all manner of details from required threads, trims, and sizes with measurements along with packing instructions, etc. Using this specification, I translated the information into a modern tech pack. With a tech pack ready and an original example, the next step was looking for a company to produce them.
For production, I turned to Bronson Mfg., a brand out of China that specializes in creating vintage-inspired clothing and military reproductions. I approached them because they had a reputation for working with other individuals to create or improve upon their products and their seeming openness to criticism. After meeting with them over Zoom a few times, sending along the tech pack, and shipping an original jungle sweater to them, Bronson started production. Working with Bronson allowed for lower minimums, with them taking half of the production run. Bronson developed a 100% wool knit jersey that is a dead ringer for the original to reproduce the sweaters accurately. After receiving a sample and signing off on it with minor adjustments, these are now in production.
If you want to grab a reproduction of the WWII “Jungle Sweater,” they are available for pre-order here.
Till next time,
C.W.M.
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