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U.S. Navy: World War II Enlisted Rates:

Special Branch

The Special Branch was a sort of catch-all for a number of dissimilar ratings, and as such had a number of unique paths to petty officer. Revisions to the enlisted structure that went into effect in 1944 made the Special Branch more similar to the other branches. The Geneva cross of pharmacists' mates and hospital apprentices was red on all backgrounds.

Through December 1943

7th Grade	6th Grade	5th Grade	4th Grade	3rd Grade	2nd Grade	1st Grade
Apprentice Seaman (AS)	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Hospital Apprentice 2nd Class (HA2c)	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Hospital Apprentice 1st Class (HA1c)	Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class (PhM3c)	Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class (PhM2c)	Pharmacist's Mate 1st Class (PhM1c)	Chief Pharmacist's Mate (CPhM)
	Seaman 2nd Class (S2c)	Seaman 1st Class (S1c)	Storekeeper 3rd Class (SK3c)	Storekeeper 2nd Class (SK2c)	Storekeeper 1st Class (SK1c)	Chief Storekeeper (CSK)
			Yeoman 3rd Class (Y3c)	Yeoman 2nd Class (Y2c)	Yeoman 1st Class (Y1c)	Chief Yeoman (CY)
		(no branch mark) (lower left sleeve) Musician 2nd Class (Mus2c)		(no branch mark) (lower left sleeve) Musician 1st Class (Mus1c)	First Musician (1stMus)	Bandmaster (Bmstr)
	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Bugler 2nd Class (Bug2c)	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Bugler 1st Class (Bug1c)		Buglemaster 2nd Class (Bgmstr2c)	Buglemaster 1st Class (Bgmstr1c)	Chief Buglemaster (CBgmstr)
7th Grade	6th Grade	5th Grade	4th Grade	3rd Grade	2nd Grade	1st Grade

 

After January 1, 1944

7th Grade	6th Grade	5th Grade	4th Grade	3rd Grade	2nd Grade	1st Grade
Apprentice Seaman (AS)	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Hospital Apprentice 2nd Class (HA2c)	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Hospital Apprentice 1st Class (HA1c)	Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class (PhM3c)	Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class (PhM2c)	Pharmacist's Mate 1st Class (PhM1c)	Chief Pharmacist's Mate (CPhM)
	Seaman 2nd Class (S2c)	Seaman 1st Class (S1c)	Storekeeper 3rd Class (SK3c)	Storekeeper 2nd Class (SK2c)	Storekeeper 1st Class (SK1c)	Chief Storekeeper (CSK)
			Storekeeper D (Disbursing) 3rd Class (SKD3c)	Storekeeper D (Disbursing) 2nd Class (SKD2c)	Storekeeper D (Disbursing) 1st Class (SKD1c)	Chief Storekeeper D (Disbursing) (CSKD)
			Storekeeper T (Technical) 3rd Class (SKT3c)	Storekeeper T (Technical) 2nd Class (SKT2c)	Storekeeper T (Technical) 1st Class (SKT1c)	Chief Storekeeper T (Technical) (CSKT)
			Yeoman 3rd Class (Y3c)	Yeoman 2nd Class (Y2c)	Yeoman 1st Class (Y1c)	Chief Yeoman (CY)
			Printer 3rd Class (Prtr3c) [1]	Printer 2nd Class (Prtr2c) [1]	Printer 1st Class (Prtr1c) [1]	Chief Printer (CPrtr) [1]
			Printer L (Lithographer) 3rd Class (PrtrL3c) [1]	Printer L (Lithographer) 2nd Class (PrtrL2c) [1]	Printer L (Lithographer) 1st Class (PrtrL1c) [1]	Chief Printer L (Lithographer) (CPrtrL) [1]
			Printer M (Offset Process) 3rd Class (PrtrM3c) [1]	Printer M (Offset Process) 2nd Class (PrtrM2c) [1]	Printer M (Offset Process) 1st Class (PrtrM1c) [1]	Chief Printer M (Offset Process) (CPrtrM) [1]
			Ship's Service Man B (Barber) 3rd Class (SSMB3c) [2]	Ship's Service Man B (Barber) 2nd Class (SSMB2c) [2]	Ship's Service Man B (Barber) 1st Class (SSMB1c) [2]	Chief Ship's Service Man B (Barber) (CSSMB) [2]
			Ship's Service Man C (Cobbler) 3rd Class (SSMC3c) [2]	Ship's Service Man C (Cobbler) 2nd Class (SSMC2c) [2]	Ship's Service Man C (Cobbler) 1st Class (SSMC1c) [2]	Chief Ship's Service Man C (Cobbler) (CSSMC) [2]
			Ship's Service Man L (Laundryman) 3rd Class (SSML3c) [2]	Ship's Service Man L (Laundryman) 2nd Class (SSML2c) [2]	Ship's Service Man L (Laundryman) 1st Class (SSML1c) [2]	Chief Ship's Service Man L (Laundryman) (CSSML) [2]
			Ship's Service Man T (Tailor) 3rd Class (SSMT3c) [2]	Ship's Service Man T (Tailor) 2nd Class (SSMT2c) [2]	Ship's Service Man T (Tailor) 1st Class (SSMT1c) [2]	Chief Ship's Service Man T (Tailor) (CSSMT) [2]
			Mailman 3rd Class (MaM3c) [3]	Mailman 2nd Class (MaM2c) [3]	Mailman 1st Class (MaM1c) [3]	Chief Mailman (CMaM) [3]
	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Bugler 2nd Class (Bug2c)	(no branch mark) (upper left sleeve) Bugler 1st Class (Bug1c)	Musician 3rd Class (Mus3c)	Musician 2nd Class (Mus2c)	Musician 1st Class (Mus1c)	Chief Musician (CMus)
			Buglemaster 3rd Class (Bgmstr3c)	Buglemaster 2nd Class (Bgmstr2c)	Buglemaster 1st Class (Bgmstr1c)	Chief Buglemaster (CBgmstr)
7th Grade	6th Grade	5th Grade	4th Grade	3rd Grade	2nd Grade	1st Grade

Main page: USN Enlisted Rating Insignia of World War II

All text and images © Justin T. Broderick, 2013 unless otherwise indicated.