M1941 Field Jacket

Olive Drab Cotton Field Jacket (also known as OD Cotton Field Jacket and, unofficially, Parsons Jacket, M1938 or M1941) is a field jacket used by US Army soldiers, most famously during the beginning of World War II. In 1941 it started to be phased in as a replacement for the wool four pocket service coat of World War I, but around 1943 it was replaced in turn by the improved M1943 model. Due to wide adoption, the M1941 is usually recognized as a symbol of the World War II American G.I.. The jacket was made in a light shade of olive drab called OD number 3.

Through World War I, soldiers in the United States Army wore a comfortable loose-fitting wool four pocket field garment, which Lieutenant General Edmund B. Gregory, the Quartermaster General, later (1946) explained had then subtly changed to a tight-fitting version suitable only for garrison wear. He further pointed out that this followed the general pattern adopted by most major armies of the world during the post-WWI period, but proved to be rather impractical. At the end of the 1930s, the Army moved to adopt a new outer garment that was intended to be more utilitarian and provide better protection in combat. The army's first attempts included adding a pleated "bi-swing" back to the service coat, a change adopted with the M-1939 Service Coat.

The first field jacket was based on a civilian jacket suggested by Major General James K. Parsons, for whom it was unofficially named. Unlike the service coat, the material for the jacket was more wind and water resistant. A further reason for adopting a field jacket made of a different material was that shortages of wool were expected. The jacket could be worn with both winter (OD wool) and summer (khaki chino) uniforms as well as fatigue uniforms. The Olive Drab Cotton Field Jacket was standardized and adopted in June 1940 for use by all members of the US Army for wear with both the winter and summer service uniforms. Jackets of similar design were later also adopted by the Navy and Marine Corps.

...
Wikipedia