Naval Ranks - Insignia
On the whole, officer and enlisted personnel were fairly smartly turned out. In the early part of 1943, Army and Navy officers were authorized to wear, as insignia of their rank, shoulder marks strikingly similar to those worn under the Tsarist regime. Great fanfare was made by the press over the revival of epaulets and the improvement in discipline expected through this change.
In this connection, the omission of the NKVD troops in the restoration of epaulets was perhaps significant of a desire to minimize their importance in the eyes of the Soviet public and of other nations. At the time, "Red Star", official Army newspaper sounded the new note in military discipline:
"The introduction of epauletes must help to improve discipline in the army. Neatness and cleanliness in clothing, discipline and politeness must become the everyday qualities of a Red Army man. Everything in the Red Army man must show the culture of the Red Army, the strength of their traditions. After the changeover to epauletes a man in military service was not allowed to appear in public places, theaters, movies, etc., in a wrinkled and dirty uniform, in felt boots, or unshaven. Excluding railway stations, army men were not allowed to carry anything but a small neatly wrapped package in the left hand. They were not allowed to appear in uniform in markets or bazaars, forbidden to stand on the steps of a tramcar or bus. In cars of city transport, a Red Army man was not allowed to sit down in the presence of a senior. Not only in the rear areas, but also at the front, the wearing of shoulder marks must improve the looks and the behavior of men in the army. Every man at the front must understand that his duty was to achieve, as much as possible, a clean and decent appearance even under war conditions."
On February 15, 1943, gold and. silver shoulder marks were reinstituted in the Russian Navy by edict of the Praesidium of the Supreme Council of the U.S.S.R., following a similar edict made for the Army a month earlier; it made insignia of rank conform with those worn prior to the Russian Revolution.
Stripes which had previously been worn by Soviet naval personnel and which were very similar to those worn by the U. S. Navy, were abolished, except that they continued to be worn on service dress blue uniforms of officers of the line and naval engineering in addition to the new shoulder marks. These stripes were identical to those worn in the U. S. Navy with the following exceptions:
(a) The stripes and stars were placed farther up the arm than in the U. S. Navy.
(b) The narrow stripe for captain lieutenant (lieutenant commander) was placed between the second normal stripe and the star.
(c) The 5-pointed star was so placed that two of its points and not one were pointed toward the stripes.
(d) Broad stripes, worn by captains first rank (senior captains) and flag officers, were narrower than those worn by U. S. officers, being only 1.26 inches in width.
Shoulder marks as adopted by the Soviet Navy were either gold or silver in color, to denote the service to which the wearer belongs. A system of stars and stripes on them denotes rank. The color of the stripes and of the piping further denotes the branch of service.
Services of the Soviet Navy were divided into major and minor branches; the shoulder marks worn by officers belonging to a major, branch were wider than to those belonging to a minor branch. Major branches consist of the line, naval engineering, coast defense, coast defense engineering, aviation, aviation engineering, supply, and medical corps officers with special military medical education. Minor branches were the medical corps (for officers without special military medical education) veterinarians, and the legal and administrative corps.
Gold embroidered shoulder marks were used by officers of the line, naval engineering, coast defense, and naval aviation; those of all other branches of the service wear silver. Piping and stripes were black for officers of the line, naval engineering, and coast defense engineering —they were red for members of the coast defense, veterinarians, legal, and administrative officers—they were light blue for naval aviation and aviation engineering—they were crimson for officers belonging to the supply corps. Shoulder marks of medical officers had green stripes and red piping. Shoulder marks were 5.5 to 6.3 inches long and 2.56 inches wide for major branches, and 1.77 inches wide for minor branches.
The gold or silver braid for flag officers was of a special herringbone design; there were no stripes on these shoulder marks. Stars were superimposed in a straight line on the shoulder marks to denote rank (1 star for a Rear Admiral, 2 stars for a Vice Admiral, 3 stars for an Admiral, U stars for an Admiral of the Fleet). Stars for flag officers of the line and of the naval engineering corps, were gold with tufts of black rays protruding from underneath; a red pentagon, upon which was inscribed a black anchor, was superimposed on the center of the star. Stars on the shoulder boards of all'other flag officers were plain silver or gold. The metal buttons on the shoulder boards correspond in color to that of the braid. For flag officers belonging to one of the major branches, they bear a State seal (hammer and sickle) superimposed on two crossed anchors. Those for flag officers belonging to minor branches were the same as those for all other officers of the Soviet Navy—they bear only an anchor.
Shoulder marks of senior officers (captains of tlie first, second, and third ranks) had two stripes; those of junior officers (captain lieutenant to and including junior lieutenant) had one stripe. These stripes run lengthwise. The stars for senior officers were 4/5 of an inch between their points, while those for junior officers were only 1/2 of an inch. The metal buttons correspond in color to that of the braid, and bear an anchor.
Anchors, stripes, and buttons on the shoulder boards of warrant officers, midshipmen, and ratings were gold for the line and naval engineering corps, and silver for all other branches. They were of two sizes - the larger size, which was the same as those for commissioned officers, was worn on great-coats, peacoats, and single-breasted naval jackets; the smaller ones, which were 2 inches long and 2.36 inches wide, were worn on flannel shirts and jumpers. Shoulder marks of warrant officers, of midshipmen, and of ratings were black in color. Warrant officers had a broad stripe running lengthwise.
Midshipmen had a metal anchor on their shoulder boards. If a midshipman had served in the Soviet Navy prior to his being accepted by the academy, his shoulder marks bear his rating as well as the anchor. Chief petty officers had one wide gold stripe running widthwise, petty officers first class had three narrow stripes running widthwise^ petty officers second class had two stripes, seamen filrst class had one stripe, and seamen second class had no stripes. In addition to the stripe, yellow letters indicating the fleet to which the wearer's ship or unit belongs were stencilled on the larger shoulder, marks as well;- they were stencilled on the small shoulder boards of seamen second class only.
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