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Post by steve on Jul 9, 2007 10:13:04 GMT 12
Watching some old sixties airforce movies I noticed that the colour style for the USAF RAF and commonwealth air forces dress uniforms was often that light tan uniform commonly seen in RNZAF pictures up to ??mid 70s. These colours appear to be of the shelves now. What do we know about this style...was it military trend at the time and when did it fall out of fashion with the RNZAF and for the RNZN for that matter?
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Post by Rat Fink on Jul 9, 2007 19:11:18 GMT 12
Khaki Drill, or KD's. My dad used to wear em!
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Post by 14liney on Mar 11, 2008 12:24:52 GMT 12
Khaki Drill, or KD's. My dad used to wear em! We had wonderful uniforms back in the sixties. They were khaki drill and we called the shorts Bombay Bloomers. Big wide legs, very stylish and drafty and for all we know were left over from the war. Around 1968 we went to stone grey summer/tropical kit which fitted a little better. Winter uniforms were dark blue serge, trousers and battledress blouse with blue grey shirt, black tie and shoes or boots. #3 service dress was a better quality blue cloth but not much better. None of this stuff was very good and on a recent visit to Woodbourne I was happy to see the smart looking uniforms that everyone was wearing. |
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Post by alanw on Mar 11, 2008 19:32:25 GMT 12
Hi all check out the mottly crew assembled My Dad is back row middle  other shot this time in Khaki Dad is Back row 2nd from right (title is wrong more 1968)  A shot of RNZAF personel at Moffet Field Circa 1965-66 My father was there but not in this photo. Shows off Khaki uniform quite well  |
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Post by sniff on Mar 11, 2008 19:53:46 GMT 12
Woo Hoo! First pic must be Wigram? The third has been folded away for a while, and Wow, a P-3A! Now scrapped.  ..... and look at the Basketball Jones ociffer on the left! |
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Post by sniff on Mar 11, 2008 20:06:35 GMT 12
Getting back to the original idea, back then, at least you were recognised for being in the Air Force.
Nowadays, we get asked for directions; people think we are policemen! Or worse, fisheries officers!
At least bring back the Eagle! "Harpagornis Moorei" Now there's a story!
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Post by phil82 on Mar 12, 2008 1:21:30 GMT 12
Aha, Alan, sweet nostalgia!
That EW11 photo has a guy on the left at the back, name of Jack Rangiuaia or Jack Rangy as he was known, who was a legend. He was built like the proverbial brick outhouse, and was well known at Tengah at the time he was on 14 [Canberrra], and at Ohakea. He was not only known throughout the RNZAF, but I've met RAF guys who remember him from 1965-66 in Singapore. particularly those from 45 Sqn who were parked nearby.
It was Jack who, famously, was ambling back from 14 through the 45 lines after a few cans and was stopped by a RAF Snowdrop with a dog, and Jack leans forward to the dog and says "Evening Cpl". He's still around, lives in Blenheim these days.
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Post by 14liney on Mar 12, 2008 3:27:10 GMT 12
Jack was famous alright. He would grab a new guy in the Airmans Club at Ohakea and latch onto one of his eyes and suck on it. Electricians were exempt from this Jack attack thank goodness. In the club there were shields on the wall with big thatches of hair glued to them, one was titled Mervs Mop, can't remember the others. If you drank too much and passed out in the bar your hair was cut off and stuck to one of these shields, I was always careful to do my passing out somewhere else. Kind of off the subject of uniforms.
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Post by alanw on Mar 12, 2008 16:24:37 GMT 12
I know this is a little off topic, speaking of things/goings on at bases (Wigram, I believe). When my Dad & Mom were not long married, they went to the base evening ball (dress uniform/ball gowns etc) during the course of the evening my dad went to get some refreshments, and while away an airman (base fire fighter I believe) started to hit on my mom and asked her home....... Needles to say it soon got around the base next morning that Bob Willoughby was looking for the guy who tried to take his wife home....  As the story goes the airman asked for a transfer to another station rather than risk the wraith of a very angry Bob Willoughby...  I relate this as it was related to me...... no airmen were hurt or other wise in the telling of this story ;D |
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Post by 14liney on Mar 15, 2008 8:38:43 GMT 12
Blue uniforms were worn during the winter and khaki during the summer months. Each uniform was numbered and it went something like this if I remember correctly:
# 3 dress blues with light blue shirt, black tie, black shoes, black socks and peaked dress cap
# 4 battledress blues with blue/grey shirt, black tie, black socks, black shoes or boots and gaiters and field service cap
# 5 long khaki pants, khaki shirt with sleeves rolled up, black shoes or boots and gaiters and field service cap
# 5A long khaki pants, long sleeved khaki shirt with sleeves rolled down, black tie, black shoes and field service cap.
There was another uniform similar to #5 but with khaki shorts and knee length khaki socks with shoes or boots and gaiters but I don’t recall its number, could be that #5s were either shorts or long pants and was the uniform worn until 6PM during the summer changing to # 5A at that time.
Rank badges were worn on each sleeve except for warrant officers who wore their rank badge on the right wrist. There was also an eagle shoulder flash. Long service and good conduct stripes, one for each 5 years of undetected crime, were worn on the left sleeve of the the blues.
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Post by phil82 on Mar 15, 2008 8:59:14 GMT 12
There was a designated day every year when the change from winter uniform to summer was promulgated [it's years since I used that word!] in Station Routine Orders [SROs, which became BROs when we Americanised!]. With the usual immaculate sense of timing you would expect from a military organisation, that change from winter to summer always took place on the coldest day of the year!
As an airman, that is before being taught not to eat peas off my knife at the Charm School, I had two of those Good Conduct stripes; worth sixpence a day and worn as a set of upside down CPLs stripe on your left cuff. Only on your blues however, so in summer uniform your good conduct, if not obvious, had to presumed. You still got paid !
I was on a Herc into Hawaii once, and the only one on board under the rank of either officer or SNCO, but was in uniform with those two stripes prominent. We went to find our accommodation, and the two loadies, both Sgts, said "say nothing". We were met by a USAF Accommodation NCO with row upon row of stripes up both arms who asked "You guys all NCOs?". "Certainly said our Loadies. and that was that.
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Post by beagle on Mar 15, 2008 9:04:51 GMT 12
yep, been there done that, borowed someones shoulder rank slides to get into mess on an exercise as I was the only Cpl.
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Post by phil82 on Mar 15, 2008 9:11:22 GMT 12
Sometime in the 1960s, the 'KD" uniform colour became officially "stone grey" and a better material. When posted to Singapore to either 41 0r 14, no uniform was issued but you were given a cash allowance to have new "Stone Greys" tailored at "Jimmy No1 Tailor".
There were, of course, a number of materials of the Dacron Stone Grey type, and the price varied, so airmen being airmen, they tended to buy the cheapest and pocket the difference saved. The result was that in any group of RNZAF airmen, the uniform shorts and short-sleeved shirts ranged in colour, after numerous washings, from almost white to various shades of grey. There was a rumour when I was at Tengah during Confrontation that they RAF had politely excused the RNZAF, namely 14 Sqn, from any parades because they were so different! Smart, but different! Don't you love it! We could still get all of our aircraft up if required, something 45 Sqn never achieved!
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Post by tbf25o4 on Mar 19, 2008 13:26:21 GMT 12
There were two types of "overseas" KD uniforms in the sixties, those from Fiji and those from Singapore. Also if on tropical service the F/S hat was made of blue shirt material!
There were so many variations of these uniforms (and many faded over time) that at Wigram in the late 1960s the wing parade orders would state that "NZ only issue KDs are to be worn" Otherwise the parades looked like a meeting of Fred Carno's army
The other thing with the tropical issue uniforms was that they were individually tailored and at Changi the local tailor knew that Kiwi boys preferred their shorts - short and tight!
The Stone Greys were brought into service around 1971-72 as when I arrived back in NZ in 1973 had to get a complete new issue so that I would conform to the standard dress.
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Post by camtech on Apr 1, 2008 20:50:09 GMT 12
Yes, I can remember the old KD Bombay Bloomers we were issued with in 1965. I didn't get round to acquiring Singapore KD's until 1974 when on a month's detachment with 5 Squadron. The issue of stone grey's was greeted with wild enthusiasm -NOT!! The best move was to the blue of the mid 1970's. We were actually measured for all our uniforms.
The old KD's used to get starched and they were a pain to iron.
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Post by shorty on Jun 9, 2008 23:47:10 GMT 12
There were some batches of Sinapore KDs that faded to a pinkish hue. We also got tailor made battledress uniforms made, each year there was an "in" colour for the lining. When I got mine done it was crimson. Suprisingly enough we were allowed to wear them at 4 TTS on our fitters course and none of the GSI' s had a heart attack!
The trick in Singapore was to go to Willie the tailor to get them done and he would write a receipt for accounts all in Chinese with just the amount in English and always the maximum they would pay. He then negotiated a better price for you to actually pay.
In my TTS course photo there three of us wearing tailor mades.
The mob started going down hill after they changed to all season uniforms.!
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Post by harvard1041 on Jun 29, 2008 7:14:12 GMT 12
Just found this thread ... kinda interesting...especially the shot of the RNZAF people at Moffat Field 1965-66 and the comment about the 'Basketball Jones' Officer...as that is my old man - Mac Saunders. I've seen a few other photos but not that one. Went to Moffat myself a few years ago ....the Airship hangar (in the background) is simply huge...Ames Research Centre is adjacent ..but of course Moffat is now closed...I think in its day they had something like 150 P-3s there.
Believe the Kiwis were there for a year - prior to the P-3s arriving back in NZ.
PS- the old man has been dead for 10 years now...and I look very similar apparently !
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Post by camtech on Aug 31, 2017 19:54:37 GMT 12
Hi all A shot of RNZAF personel at Moffet Field Circa 1965-66 My father was there but not in this photo. Shows off Khaki uniform quite well Been trying to identify those in this photo. Have got: Back row: Mac Saunders, Jock Abercrombie,?, Rick Gilliver, ?, ?, Ted Smith, Ricki Wairiki, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Gus Smart. Front: Colin Graham, Ivan Toothill, Paul Schwabe, ?, ?, Les Grimes, Frank Cave, ?, Graeme Gilmour, ?, ?, Trevor de Stigter. I worked with these guys 1966 onwards, but memory is a bit hazy. |
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Post by falcon124 on Sept 3, 2017 12:14:15 GMT 12
Hi all A shot of RNZAF personel at Moffet Field Circa 1965-66 My father was there but not in this photo. Shows off Khaki uniform quite well Been trying to identify those in this photo. Have got: Back row: ?, Jock Abercrombie,?, Rick Gilliver, ?, ?, Ted Smith, Ricki Wairiki, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Gus Smart. Front: Colin Graham, Ivan Toothill, Paul Schwabe, ?, ?, Les Grimes, Frank Cave, ?, Graeme Gilmour, ?, ?, Trevor de Stigter. I worked with these guys 1966 onwards, but memory is a bit hazy. I checked with my father (Jim McHerron) who was at Moffett with the first conversion crews. He says the photo is from 1966, not 1965 as the support members arrived after the first three trainees (Red Moran, Gerry "Pom" Ayre and himself) who arrived via RNZAF C-130 during Xmas/NYE of 1965. He confirms identification of Gus Smart & Graeme Gilmour and also Trevor (can't confirm surname spelling though  ). Officer at the far left back row is Mac "Carstairs" Saunders. No other faces identified, sorry (although he did confirm he is not in the photo ). |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 3, 2017 12:29:12 GMT 12
Thanks Grant.
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