Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition Pattern 1942 United States Marine Corps Camouflage Utility Top. This cotton HBT (Herring Bone Twill) Camouflage pattern jacket was first issued to Marine Raiders in 1942 and during the Korean war. This pattern was seen as an improvement over the one-piece "jungle" coveralls, which lacking a drop seat, made "relieving yourself" difficult in combat situations. However, the Marines who wore the Camouflage on Tarawa and elsewhere were easy to spot when moving (as opposed to being stationary) and the pattern was discontinued.

The Utilities were designed to be reversible. The outer side is the base green "jungle" camouflage pattern, with the tan or "sand" side inside the jacket. The jacket is in excellent overall condition. All snaps are black press button snaps and are present and in excellent original condition.

This is an incredible opportunity to add probably the most iconic camouflage used by the United States Marine Corps, in great condition! Comes ready to display!

Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 12”
Shoulder to sleeve: 24”
Shoulder to shoulder: 22”
Chest width: 25”
Waist width: 24”
Hip width: 26”
Front length: 32"

Frog Skin
Frog Skin, also known as Duck Hunter is a battledress camouflage pattern with mottle and disruptive coloration to blend into the environment similar to a frog's crypsis skin.

M1942 Frog Skin
The M1942 Frog Skin pattern was the United States military's first attempt at disruptive coloration camouflage. In 1942, the Marine Raiders were the first issued the Frog Skin uniform, which was reversible with a five-color jungle pattern on a green background on one side and a three-color beach pattern with a tan background on the other side. The Paramarines had their own pattern uniform in the same camouflage pattern in the Bougainville campaign.

The uniform was worn by the Marines in other campaigns, notably the Battle of Tarawa. In the ETO certain US Infantry divisions wore the uniform in France, but the uniform was withdrawn for resembling German camouflage uniforms.

Variations
The United States supplied the Frog Skin pattern to France who issued it to their 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment and 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment during the First Indochina War. In 1961, the Cuban exiles Brigade 2506 were issued the Frog Skin pattern by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the Bay of Pigs Invasion. During the Vietnam War, the United States Special Forces issued Frog Skin to the Montagnard for their guerrilla warfare activities.

Combat and Utility Uniform
The U.S. Army during the interwar period followed the previous model of having a standard uniform that combined elements of both the service uniform and field uniform. By combining the uniforms, it was thought that time and money could be saved. The temperate climate field configuration consisted of the olive drab wool trousers, shirt, and russet brown shoes from the service uniform worn with canvas leggings, helmet and web gear. An outer jacket or coat, either the Model 1938 "Overcoat, Mackinaw, Roll Collar" or the M1941 Field Jacket, nicknamed the "Parson jacket" after its designer, in OD 3 was issued. At the outset of the war, the khaki cotton summer uniform was intended to serve as a tropical climate field uniform.

In the European Theater of Operations, the basic wool uniform saw the most use and had the greatest functionality, being able to keep the soldier warm in the winter with its insulation and relatively cool and breathable in Northern European summer weather. However, the M-1941 field jacket received considerable criticism; it was poorly insulated and the light cotton shell provided little protection from wind or rain. In addition, the light OD 3 coloring was deemed inappropriate for use in northern Europe, as it stood out against most backdrops, making soldiers more visible targets.

Herringbone Twill Uniform
Additionally, a fatigue-duty uniform made of 8.2-ounce heavy cotton herringbone twill (HBT) cloth was issued. The uniform consisted of a shirt, trousers, and a hat. Initially, this was a circular-brimmed "clamdigger"-style hat which was later replaced by a billed cap that was based on a design used by railroad workers. It was intended to be worn over the basic wool or cotton uniforms to provide protection during fatigue duties, but it proved to be much better material than the primary wool uniform for hot weather, as so it saw use as a combat uniform in nearly all of the major theaters of combat in which the US was involved.

The original 1941 version came in a light sage green color that faded with repeated washing. As a local measure for operations in New Guinea during 1942, uniforms were dyed a darker green. The later 1943 version had small changes in tailoring and came in a darker olive drab shade No. 7, matching the new M-1943 version of the field jacket.