page_title: Uniforms of the United States Air Force
section_title: Early designs
hierarchical_section_title: Uniforms of the United States Air Force / History / Early designs
caption_attribution_description: Gen Merrill A. McPeak, U.S. Air Force.
context_page_description: The uniforms of the United States Air Force are the standardized military uniforms worn by airmen of the United States Air Force to distinguish themselves from the other services.
context_section_description: When the U.S. Air Force first became an independent service in 1947 airmen continued to wear uniforms nearly identical to the U.S. Army. The first Air Force-specific blue dress uniform, introduced in 1949, was in Shade 1683, also dubbed "Uxbridge Blue" after the former Bachman-Uxbridge Worsted Company. It was cut similarly to Army service dress uniforms, with a four button front and four coat pockets. An Eisenhower jacket, also inherited from the Army Air Forces but in Shade 1683, was an optional uniform item; it was phased out by 1965. In the early 1960s, the blue uniform transitioned to a new and slightly updated version known as Shade 1084. The shades were updated again in the 1970s, with the coat and trousers becoming Shade 1549, while the shirt is Shade 1550.
  In 1966, a long sleeve winter blue shirt with epaulets was introduced. Epaulets were unadorned, with officers wearing small rank insignia on the collar and enlisted personnel sewn-on cloth insignia on the sleeves. These would be phased out in the early 1980s.
  Tan summer service dress uniforms for officers, nicknamed "silver-tans" for the sheen of Shade 193, saw into use into the early 1960s. Tan short-sleeve cotton shirts and trousers for males, known as 1505s after their shade, continued in use until the early 1970s, while females wore light-blue combinations. In the early 1970s, a version of the blue service uniform with a short-sleeve shirt replaced these, as the blue uniforms became the single form of service dress.
  A short-lived "ceremonial blue" uniform and "ceremonial white" uniform was also implemented in the mid-1980s and discontinued by 1 August 1994 and 1 March 1993 respectively. Mandatory for field grade officers and above, the blue version was identical to the blue service uniform with the exception of silver metallic sleeve braid replacing the dark blue mohair sleeve braid and hard "shoulder board" insignia from the officer's mess dress uniform worn in lieu of large metal rank insignia. The white uniform was identical in cut and style to the blue version and also incorporated the metallic sleeve braid and shoulder board rank insignia.
  In 1993, then Air Force Chief of Staff, Merrill McPeak introduced a new three-button service coat which featured no epaulets and silver sleeve braid loops on the lower sleeves denoting officer rank (see also: United States Air Force officer rank insignia). This style of rank insignia for officers, while used by British Royal Air Force officers and other air forces inspired by their uniforms, was unpopular and many senior Air Force generals commented that the uniforms of the Air Force now looked identical to those of commercial airline pilots. Epaulettes were put back on the coat for metal officer rank insignia and blue braiding returned to the bottom of the sleeves, in the style of the previous four-button, four-pocket coat worn prior to the adoption of the three-button coat. As of 2020, this remains the coat used as part of the service dress blue uniform.
  On 18 May 2006 the Department of the Air Force unveiled two prototypes of new service dress uniforms, one resembling the stand-collar uniform worn by U.S. Army Air Corps officers prior to 1935, called the "Billy Mitchell heritage coat," and another, resembling the U.S. Army Air Forces' Uniform of World War II and named the "Hap Arnold heritage coat". In 2007, Air Force officials announced they had settled on the "Hap Arnold" look, with a belted suit coat. However, in 2009, General Norton Schwartz, the new Chief of Staff of the Air Force, directed that "no further effort be made on the [Hap Arnold] Heritage Coat" so that the focus would remain on near-term uniform needs. While the evaluation results of the heritage coat would be made available to the Air Force's leaders should they decide to implement the uniform change, the uniform overhaul is currently on hold indefinitely.
caption: Merrill McPeak wearing the short-lived uniform redesign he introduced as Air Force Chief of Staff, 1993
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