USN WW2 Officer Rank and Corps Insignia

The U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations of 1941,¹ which governed navy uniforms during the war, provided several ways of indicating an officer's rank and corps. On the blue service uniform, gold stripes on the lower sleeves indicated rank, with a line or corps device above the stripes. The same system of stripes was used on the shoulder marks or shoulder boards worn on the white service and khaki working uniforms and the blue overcoat, except for flag officers who wore gold lace-covered shoulder boards with silver stars to indicate rank.

On the khaki, gray or tropical white shirts, metal pin-on insignia were worn on the collar. Line officers wore rank insignia on both sides of the collar. Staff officers wore a rank device on the right shirt collar, and a metal staff corps device on the left. The rank devices were the same as those used by officers of the army and marine corps, though the navy collar devices were considerably smaller. The pin-on rank insignia were also worn on the garrison cap.

The color of headgear varied according to uniform; the following tables illustrate cap insignia with blue caps. For visibility, pin-on insignia are illustrated on a larger scale.

Corps Devices

Line

Medical Corps

Supply Corps

Chaplain Corps, Christian

Chaplain Corps, Jewish

Civil Engineer Corps

Dental Corps

Hospital Corps

Nurse Corps

Construction Corps [2]

Leader, U.S. Navy Band

Line Officers




Fleet Admiral [3]




Admiral




Vice Admiral




Rear Admiral




Commodore [4]

Metal pin-on insignia
Shoulder mark
Sleeve insignia
Captain

Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant

Metal pin-on insignia
Shoulder mark
Sleeve insignia
Lieutenant
(junior grade)

Ensign

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Staff Corps Officers

Medical Corps




Vice Admiral, Medical Corps [5]




Rear Admiral, Medical Corps




Commodore, Medical Corps [6]

Metal pin-on insignia
Shoulder mark
Sleeve insignia
Captain,
Medical Corps

Commander,
Medical Corps

Lieutenant Commander,
Medical Corps

Lieutenant,
Medical Corps

Metal pin-on insignia
Shoulder mark
Sleeve insignia
Lieutenant
(junior grade),
Medical Corps

Ensign,
Medical Corps [7]

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Supply Corps




Rear Admiral, Supply Corps




Commodore, Supply Corps [8]

Metal pin-on insignia
Shoulder mark
Sleeve insignia
Captain,
Supply Corps

Commander,
Supply Corps

Lieutenant Commander,
Supply Corps

Metal pin-on insignia
Shoulder mark
Sleeve insignia
Lieutenant,
Supply Corps

Lieutenant
(junior grade),
Supply Corps

Ensign,
Supply Corps

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Chaplain Corps




Rear Admiral, Chaplain Corps (Christian)

Captain,
Chaplain Corps
(Christian)

Commander,
Chaplain Corps
(Jewish)

Lieutenant Commander,
Chaplain Corps
(Christian)

Lieutenant,
Chaplain Corps
(Jewish)

Lieutenant (junior grade),
Chaplain Corps
(Christian)

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Civil Engineer Corps




Vice Admiral, Civil Engineer Corps [9]




Rear Admiral, Civil Engineer Corps




Commodore, Civil Engineer Corps [10]




Captain, Civil Engineer Corps




Commander, Civil Engineer Corps




Lieutenant Commander, Civil Engineer Corps




Lieutenant, Civil Engineer Corps




Lieutenant (junior grade), Civil Engineer Corps




Ensign, Civil Engineer Corps

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Dental Corps




Rear Admiral, Dental Corps




Captain, Dental Corps




Commander, Dental Corps




Lieutenant Commander, Dental Corps




Lieutenant, Dental Corps




Lieutenant (junior grade), Dental Corps




Ensign, Dental Corps [11]

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Leader, U.S. Navy Band

These insignia were worn by two men during World War II. Band leader Lt. Charles Benter retired in January 1942, and was succeeded by Charles Brendler, an enlisted bandmaster who was commissioned a lieutenant in April 1942. Brendler was promoted to lieutenant commander effective Feb. 1, 1945.¹²




Lieutenant Commander, Leader, U.S. Navy Band




Lieutenant, Leader, U.S. Navy Band

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Hospital Corps

In peacetime the Hospital Corps had consisted entirely of enlisted and warrant officer personnel. In July 1941 temporary appointment to commissiond rank for Hospital Corps was approved, and the corps device of warrant pharmacists was authorized for commissioned Hospital Corps officers by Bureau of Navigation Circular Letter No. 12-42 of 27 January, 1942.¹³




Commander, Hospital Corps




Lieutenant Commander, Hospital Corps




Lieutenant, Hospital Corps




Lieutenant (junior grade), Hospital Corps




Ensign, Hospital Corps

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Nurse Corps

Under the 1941 Uniform Regulations, nurses were authorized only indoor white uniforms, similar to civilian nurses, with rank indicated by gold stripes on the white nurse's cap. In March 1942¹⁴ service dress blue and white uniforms were authorized and codified as a change in Uniform Regulations in December 1942. Corps devices were not worn above the stripes in the usual manner, but as metal pins on both sides of the jacket collar of the blue service uniform or on the left collar of the white shirt worn with the white service uniform.

Superintendent

Assistant Superintendent

Chief Nurse

Nurse

In February 1944 commissioned rank was granted to navy nurses in place of their relative rank,¹⁵ and in May 1944 the uniform regulations were changed to authorize the regular commissioned officer cap badge, though the officer's gold chinstrap was deleted.¹⁶ In June 1944 the letters "NNC" were removed from the corps device, which was ordered to be worn above the stripes in the conventional manner.¹⁷

Captain,
Nurse Corps

Commander,
Nurse Corps

Lieutenant Commander,
Nurse Corps

Lieutenant,
Nurse Corps

Lieutenant (junior grade),
Nurse Corps

Ensign,
Nurse Corps

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Women's Reserve (WAVES)

The Women's Reserve, United States Naval Reserve, was organized in July 1942.¹⁸ WAVE uniforms were apparently worn as early as August 1942, but the first Navy Department regulations of authorization appeared in March 1943. Officer insignia was similar to that of male officers, but in light blue (known as reserve blue) on blue uniforms and dark blue on white. In October a gray striped seersucker working uniform was authorized, equivalent to men's khaki or gray working uniforms.¹⁹ In November 1943, the rank of captain was authorized for the Director of the Women's Reserve, Mildred McAfee.²⁰ WAVE officers who were classified as members of staff corps wore corps devices, in the WAVE colors schemes, above the stripes in the same manner as male officers. WAVE officers who were not part of a staff corps, classification W-V(S), wore no devices above their stripes. In September 1944 the regulation was changed, and those officers began to wear a "line" star above the stripes.²¹

October 1943





Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant, Medical Corps	Lieutenant (junior grade), Supply Corps	Ensign

September 1944





Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander, Supply Corps	Lieutenant	Lieutenant (junior grade), Civil Engineer Corps	Ensign, Hospital Corps

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Commissioned Warrant and Warrant Officers

Warrant officers were promoted almost exclusively from experienced enlisted men, and could normally be promoted to commissioned or chief warrant officer after six years of creditable service, though this time limit was waived during the war. Their uniforms were the same as commissioned officers and their insignia were similar, but with blue breaks in the gold rank stripes. As commissioned officers, CWOs wore the same cap as officers below the rank of commander. Warrant officers wore a cap device of plain crossed anchors and a narrow gold chinstrap.

Warrant officers did not have a metal pin rank device as such, but used their corps or specialty device, in silver for CWO and gold for WO. CWOs wore a silver corps device on the right side of the garrison cap, and WOs wore their corps device on both sides.

Corps Devices

Chief Boatswain, Boatswain

Chief Gunner, Gunner

Chief Carpenter, Carpenter

Chief Machinist, Machinist

Chief Pharmacist, Pharmacist

Chief Pay Clerk, Pay Clerk

Chief Electrician, Electrician

Chief Radio Electrician, Radio Electrician

Chief Aerographer, Aerographer

Chief Photographer, Photographer

Chief Ship's Clerk, Ship's Clerk

Chief Torpedoman, Torpedoman

Chief Carpenter, Carpenter, Civil Engineer Corps

Commissioned Warrant Officers




Chief Boatswain




Chief Gunner




Chief Machinist




Chief Carpenter




Chief Pay Clerk




Chief Pharmacist




Chief Electrician




Chief Radio Electrician




Chief Aerographer [22]




Chief Photographer [22]




Chief Ship's Clerk [22]




Chief Torpedoman [22]




Chief Carpenter, Civil Engineer Corps [23]

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Warrant Officers




Boatswain




Gunner




Machinist




Carpenter




Pay Clerk




Pharmacist




Electrician




Radio Electrician




Aerographer [22]




Photographer [22]




Ship's Clerk [22]




Torpedoman [22]




Carpenter, Civil Engineer Corps [23]

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In addition to the insignia illustrated in the tables above, there were also variations worn on the sleeves of the overcoat and aviation winter working coat. In both cases, the insignia followed the pattern of the standard gold insignia, but no corps devices were worn on the overcoat.

Overcoat			Aviation Winter Working

Rear Admiral	Lieutenant Commander	Warrant Officer	Rear Admiral	Commander	Machinist (Warrant Officer) before May 1944	Machinist (Warrant Officer) after May 1944 [24]

Notes:

1. US Navy Department, US Navy Uniform Regulations, 1941, revised through 1946, Washington DC, Government Printing Office, 1941-1946.
2. For retired officers only; the Construction Corps had been merged into the line when the Bureau of Ships was created in 1940. Julius A. Furer, Administration of the Navy Department in World War II, Washington DC, Government Printing Office, 1959.
3. The rank of fleet admiral was conferred on Admirals Leahy, King and Nimitz in December 1944, and the insignia were worn in that month. The insignia were officially added to the uniform regulations by Bureau of Personnel Circular Letter 16-45, January 19, 1945.
4. The rank of commodore was reinstated for wartime use in April 1943. The insignia were already provided for in the 1941 Uniform Regulations.
5. The Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Ross T. McIntyre, was promoted to vice admiral effective Feb. 1, 1944. US Navy Department, Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps (Navy Register), Washington DC, Government Printing Office, 1945.
6. The first Medical Corps officers to hold the rank of commodore were promoted effective April 3, 1945. Navy Register, 1945.
7. Medical Corps officers on active duty started out at the rank of lieutenant (junior grade), but the insignia of Medical Corps ensign could be worn by medical students enrolled in the Naval Reserve, Class H-V(P). Arthur Ageton, The Naval Officer's Guide, New York, McGraw Hill, 1944.
8. The first Supply Corps officers to hold the rank of commodore were promoted effective April 3, 1945. Navy Register, 1945.
9. The Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, Ben Moreell, was promoted to vice admiral effective Feb. 1, 1944. Navy Register, 1945.
10. The first Civil Engineer Corps officers to hold the rank of commodore were promoted effective October 20, 1944. Navy Register, 1945.
11. Dental Corps officers on active duty started out at the rank of lieutenant (junior grade), but the insignia of Dental Corps ensign could be worn by dental students enrolled in the Naval Reserve, Class H-V(P). Arthur Ageton, The Naval Officer's Guide, New York, McGraw Hill, 1944.
12. Navy Register, 1945, 1947.
13. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Insignias U.S. Navy Uniform", "Insignia of Hospital Corps".
14. U.S. Navy Department, Bureau of Navigation Circular Letter JJ55/OG # 1299, March 20, 1942.
15. Julius A. Furer, Administration of the Navy Department in World War II, Washington DC, Government Printing Office, 1959.
16. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Uniform Regulations, U.S. Navy", "44-557-Navy Nurse Corps Uniforms".
17. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Insignias U.S. Navy Uniform", "Insignia of the Navy Nurse Corps".
18. Arthur Ageton, The Naval Officer's Guide, New York, McGraw Hill, 1944.
19. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Uniform Regulations, Women's Reserve, United States Naval Reserve, 1943".
20. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Captain Mildred H. McAfee (Horton), USNR (1900-1994)"
21. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Women's Uniforms", "W-V(S) Officers to Wear Stars on Their Uniforms".
22. Ranks established July 28, 1942. Insignia authorized by Bureau of Navigation Circular Letter No. 168-42, August 10, 1942. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Insignias U.S. Navy Uniform", "Insignia of Warrant Officers".
23. Worn by Naval Reserve Class CEC-V(S), date of authorization unknown. Arthur Ageton, The Naval Officer's Guide, New York, McGraw Hill, 1944.
24. U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Uniform Changes", "Green Uniforms Mandatory Only for Aviators, Pilots".

U.S. Navy Officers Rank and Corps Insignia, World War II

Commissioned Officers

Corps Devices

Line Officers

Staff Corps Officers

Medical Corps

Supply Corps

Chaplain Corps

Civil Engineer Corps

Dental Corps

Leader, U.S. Navy Band

Hospital Corps

Nurse Corps

Women's Reserve (WAVES)

October 1943

September 1944

Commissioned Warrant and Warrant Officers

Corps Devices

Commissioned Warrant Officers

Warrant Officers