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ROTHWELL H. BROWN
- Thread starter Grant
- Start date
ausreenactor
Well-Known Member
ausreenactor
Well-Known Member
HBT coveralls and an A-2. Sorted. Needed a Pacific centred impression for the Cairns based Armour and Artillery Museum. The North Queensland Military Reenactor Club which we kicked off in 2013 has an affiliation. We rock up, strut around in gear as if we own the place and stop when visitors want a pic. That's the only requirement from the owner. Oh. And no cleats on the vehicles. Roughouts are GTG. 
http://ausarmour.com/
Patch is hard to get a pic of....???
http://ausarmour.com/
Patch is hard to get a pic of....???
unclegrumpy
Well-Known Member
The patch is the regimental crest for the 66th Armored Regiment. They served in the ETO during the war, starting in North Africa in 1942.
It would be interesting to try and track where Colonel Rothwell Brown was, and the earlier units he served in. There is always the chance he acquired the jacket from some else, but quickly looking at the 66th Armored Regiment's history....on 15 July 1940, it became part of the newly formed 2nd Armored Division stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.
I think there is a strong likelihood that this jacket and patch date to the time the 66th was at Fort Benning. We know other units in training, the Airborne ones in particular, issued officers A2s, so this jacket and patch combination is not surprising. However, I don't think it was as common or done in an organized fashion by armored units...meaning directly issued.
It would be interesting to try and track where Colonel Rothwell Brown was, and the earlier units he served in. There is always the chance he acquired the jacket from some else, but quickly looking at the 66th Armored Regiment's history....on 15 July 1940, it became part of the newly formed 2nd Armored Division stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.
I think there is a strong likelihood that this jacket and patch date to the time the 66th was at Fort Benning. We know other units in training, the Airborne ones in particular, issued officers A2s, so this jacket and patch combination is not surprising. However, I don't think it was as common or done in an organized fashion by armored units...meaning directly issued.
Yes it could be an earlier Werber contract as the throat latch looks sewn in at the end the collar stand. It is frustrating you can't see the top stitch above the waistband. The zip also looks like a Talon no.7, which would fit their 1939 and earlier contracts.
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B-Man2
Well-Known Member
We have a program here in the US on one of the cable channels “Battle Field Detectives” where historians and hobbiests travel to battle fields from different periods of time and analyze strategy, and equipment I think Andrew and Grant would do well on that show based on their analysis in not only this thread but previous threads as well.
Nice work!
Nice work!
Persimmon
Well-Known Member
Flight Jacket Detectives !!
unclegrumpy
Well-Known Member
Did not dig too deep, but Brown was in the 66th as far back as 1935. It was technically an Infantry Regiment then, but it was one of the US Army's few armored units. The regimental insignia was the same before the war, only the designation changed, adding "armored" in 1940 as the Army's organization expanded.
The patch is interesting because it is not a typical mass produced WW II era American made patch. The exact details are hard to make out, but it looks like the type of prewar patch that was used on sports uniforms and souvenir pennants. Still commercially made, just on a much smaller scale...and exactly what you would expect a prewar officer to have.
That said, I think this confirms Brown's longterm ownership. It also fits with an earlier jacket...you see more of these oddities being worn around and slightly before 1940...when the Army was expanding, but the new insignia had not caught up.
Neat picture...would be interesting to find one of these jackets being worn before the war.
The patch is interesting because it is not a typical mass produced WW II era American made patch. The exact details are hard to make out, but it looks like the type of prewar patch that was used on sports uniforms and souvenir pennants. Still commercially made, just on a much smaller scale...and exactly what you would expect a prewar officer to have.
That said, I think this confirms Brown's longterm ownership. It also fits with an earlier jacket...you see more of these oddities being worn around and slightly before 1940...when the Army was expanding, but the new insignia had not caught up.
Neat picture...would be interesting to find one of these jackets being worn before the war.
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ausreenactor
Well-Known Member
Quality not good enough for an A-2 jacket...but it's a start. Great work on the hasty ID.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/66th-Inf-A...130644?hash=item1c4941c254:g:-u4AAOSwB3BZ7rB2
Regards,
Couchy
unclegrumpy
Well-Known Member
Couchy...I think this is likely a very worn...as worn as the jacket...pre WW II chenille patch...with most of the wool loops worn off. Chenille patches in the form of regimental crests were common before the war. They come in different sizes, and were most often used on sports uniforms...and sometimes souvenir items. Chenille is also a style used for squadron patches, but those were typically purchased sized for a flight jacket.
The following pictures are not sized to any particular scale:
I could not find a prewar 66th IR (Tank)...but this is the 18th Coast Artillery...also prewar:
17th Infantry...prewar:
And a 76th FA on an athletic sweater:
Lastly, a prewar 1st Fighter Group...but sized for wear on a flight jacket...nicely showing the wool loops and the swirling rows they were stitched in...rows you can clearly see on Brown's patch:
The following pictures are not sized to any particular scale:
I could not find a prewar 66th IR (Tank)...but this is the 18th Coast Artillery...also prewar:
17th Infantry...prewar:
And a 76th FA on an athletic sweater:
Lastly, a prewar 1st Fighter Group...but sized for wear on a flight jacket...nicely showing the wool loops and the swirling rows they were stitched in...rows you can clearly see on Brown's patch:
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Kennyz
Well-Known Member
I recall that Col Rothwell Brown came up as a subject here before...years ago. Here's a link to the thread....
http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/well-worn-a-2-april-1944.9283/#post-84924
Ken
http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/well-worn-a-2-april-1944.9283/#post-84924
Ken
