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tricorn hat. The reefer jacket has eight brass buttons, the top one being left unfastened. A white handkerchief is worn in the slit pocket on the left breast. The insignia of this junior commissioned rank is worn in light blue on each sleeve.

C3: Britain: WRNS Signals Rating
Her rating is indicated by the 'bunting tosser's' sleeve badge of crossed blue and white flags, and by her cap tally — HMS Mercury was the home base for communications training. She wears the 1942 regulation 'sailor's cap' with a white summer top.

D1: Britain: WRNS Third Officer nursing sister, tropical dress
The 'pudding basin' type hat was favoured for tropical uniform, worn with the black band and coloured officers' cap badge of the European uniform hat. The ranking was worn on dark blue shoulder-boards in gold. The white short-sleeved dress, worn with white shoes and stockings, had a cloth belt with a concealed crossover fastening.

D2: USA: Lieutenant, US Navy Nurse Corps, 1944
The slate-grey 'overseas cap' and dress of the 1944 uniform regulations replaced the earlier pattern in light khaki material, for summer or tropical wear. The double-breasted dress has four blue-black buttons, two more on the crossover cloth belt, and a slit pocket on the left breast. Black shoes, short grey gloves, and a black shoulder-bag were the normal accessories. The cap bears the gilt Nurse Corps insignia on the left and the silver bars of a naval lieutenant on the right; they are both repeated on the collar.

D3: USA: Chief Nurse, US Navy Nurse Corps, 1943
At this date ranks had yet to be standardized between male and female personnel; this grade was equivalent to Lieutenant (junior grade), and the single silver bar of that rank is worn on the right shirt collar.  The Nurse Corps oakleaf and anchor insignia in gilt is worn as a crown badge on the white-topped cap, with its gilt chinstrap mounted at the top edge of the black mohair band.  The Corps badge is repeated on the left shirt collar.  The stripe-and-a-half of this rank is worn in gold on the shoulder-boards.

E1: USA: 1st Class Petty Officer Yeoman, WAVES, 1943
The light grey 1943 working uniform, with matching hat.  The collarless jacket is worn over the dress, both in pale grey seersucker material; note black bow tie under collar of dress, and WAVES badges on lapels of jacket — a foul anchor in bright 'Reserve' blue on a dark blue propeller.  The rating and specialty badge is worn on the left sleeve only — the eagle and three chevrons separated in this case by crossed quills — in dark blue.

E2: USA: Captain, WAC, SHAEF, 1944
By this stage the Women's Army Corps had begun to accept the 'overseas cap' as a replacement for the képi, and officers could sometimes be seen in this more flattering headgear, with the mixed gold and black piping of commissioned rank, and their rank insignia on the left side.  The 1944 'Ike jacket', which like the cap is in a brownish 'Olive Drab', varied in many small details of pockets, buttons, etc., especially among officers.  It was unusual, but by no means unknown, to see the Olive Drab officer's cuff braid from the four-pocket service tunic worn on the 'Ike'.  Silver bars of rank appear on both shoulder-straps; brass cut-out US cyphers on each upper lapel; and the brass Athena's head on each lower lapel.  Shirt, tie and skirt are all in a light khaki shade — comparable to an officer's 'pink' slacks.  Gold bars indicate overseas service, six months per bar, on the left forearm.  The shoulder-patch is that of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, where many WACs were employed.  The shoulder-bag, beige stockings and brown, buckled shoes are all regulation.

E3: USA: Second Lieutenant, USMC Women's Reserve, 1944-45
The officer's white summer service dress, in seersucker material, had four patch pockets with pointed flaps, and dark green plastic buttons.  The jacket had an open collar with bronze USMC 'collar dogs', and short sleeves.  The jaunty cap, and the detachable shoulder-boards, were in a grass green cloth.  The former had the bronze USMC insignia on the crown above white cords, and the latter bore ranking at the outer end — here, a single gold bar.  Beige stockings, white

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