U . S . Army M - 1943 Uniform The U . S . Army developed the M - 1943 Uniform Ensemble manufactured in Herringbone Twill ( HBT ) beginning in 1942 to replace a variety of other specialist uniforms and some inadequate garments , like the OD Cotton Field Jacket . Pre - 1943 . By 1941 , soldiers wore a wool flannel shirt and wool serge trousers in winter and a cotton khaki shirt and trousers in summer , both with ankle length russet leather service shoes and OD canvas leggings , and often with the OD cotton M - 1941 Field Jacket . A blue denim fatigue uniform was gradually being replaced by a M1941 green HBT uniform ; both were in two pieces . Armored units still were using wool riding breeches and wore high - lacing boots in some cases , and the Paratroopers were stuck with a general issue HBT overalls with no real suitable footwear . As a result of this lack of proper and suitable clothing , the Armored units were issued general infantry uniforms , although by 1942 the winter coveralls and winter " tanker " jacket had been produced with them in mind . These articles of clothing were made of light green cotton lined with wool kersey . The paratroopers got their own unique uniform in 1942 , also . It was constructed of light green cotton twill , with four front pockets and two pant - leg cargo pockets . They also got a new boot design of their own , a leather boot of similar construction to the infantry shoe , only being mid - shin high . Generally speaking though , this was unsatisfactory . The infantry uniform was lacking in functionality compared to the M - 1942 Paratrooper uniform , and the tanker winter uniforms were sought after by almost every branch in the Army , making supply and production often difficult . The combat wool , khaki , and paratrooper trousers all did not have adequate locking stitches in the crotch . Often trousers would tear at that stress point . Also , the paratrooper uniform would tear at the knees and elbows . The paratroopers tried to fix the problem by sewing canvas patches on the elbows and knees , but the Army sought to standardize a better uniform . Initial Design . The most recognizable part of the uniform is the standardized field jacket . It was longer than the M - 1941 jacket , coming down to the upper thighs . It was made in a light olive - drab OD7 , later a darker OD9 cotton sateen . It also had a detachable hood , drawstring waist , two large breast pockets and two skirt pockets . The trousers were made out of the same cotton sateen material and regular cotton twill . They were made similarly to the khaki trousers , with better design features . They also had buttoned tabs at the waist in order to cinch the waist in . The lightweight M1943 HBT shirt had two large chest pockets with the matching trousers having two large cargo pockets worn on the side . The latter was done as eliminating the previous side and back pockets saved costs and time in manufacture . This unit was designed to be layered either under the M1943 Winter uniform or alone as a warm - weather garment . The uniform was designed to be warm in winter by use of a separate jacket liner and pant liner ( this is why the trousers had buttoned waist tabs ) , both made of " pile " faux fur . The trouser pile liners were dropped in favor of ordinary wool trousers . The jacket liner was a separate cotton - shell jacket with two slash pockets and button and loop fastening , generally in a lighter shade of olive drab ( OD3 ) than the main jacket but in practice rarely issued during World War II . In the ETO this was intended to be replaced by the M - 1944 ' Ike ' jacket , or one of the generic ' ETO ' jackets which could come in versions that were either near - identical to the M - 1941 jacket , but in rough khaki wool outer , or versions almost identical to British Battledress , both versions being produced locally in the UK in several variations . In all , a number of new items were designed or standardized in 1943 in order to improve the Army uniforms and individual equipment as much as possible : Wartime Use . The equipment was issued quickly around to units because it was usually well - made variants of current equipment . The uniform , though , took much longer to issue . It was tested in Italy in 1943 but some GIs ( including Bill Mauldin ) claim that non - combatant officers and enlisted personnel would utilize their position in the rear to get the new uniform , delaying the ultimate field testing in Italy for some time longer . This , along with shipping delays after D - Day because of the European orders for the M - 1944 " Ike " jacket , kept this uniform from widespread use in Europe until late 1944 . After D - Day , Paratroopers were issued complete M - 1943 uniforms , and infantry units began getting the uniform parts here and there . Paratroopers were generally the only ones to modify the uniform , mainly because they would add their own trouser cargo pockets sometimes and would keep their older paratrooper boots instead of the new buckle boots . The original cotton trousers were modified in 1944 ( addition of trouser cuff tabs ) and as M - 1945 pattern with minor cut modifications and a move from stud to plastic buttons . In practice the pile liner was very rarely issued outside initial trials in North Africa during World War II and is mostly seen in photographs worn as outerwear . However it saw use in Korea , although again sometimes as outerwear . Post War impact . The 1943 pattern uniform was superseded by the 1950 pattern from 1950 which simply changed to a button - in liner . The jacket of the 1951 pattern uniform owes much to the 1943 pattern but uses bi - swing pleats , the use of zip and stud fastening . The 1951 pattern trousers are of new design . The 1965 pattern closely follows the 1951 pattern . The latest version of the jacket , the M - 65 , is still in service , and differs from the M - 1943 in that now it is made of a tougher cotton / nylon mix and comes in the new Army digital camouflage . It is no longer used for combat operations having been superseded by the Gen II and Gen III Gore - Tex parkas . The liner is also filled with newer polyester fills . The " Jeep cap " ( Cap , Wool Knit , M - 1941 ) remained in service until the 1950s . This cap was worn in the film and TV series M * A * S * H by fictional character Cpl . Walter " Radar " O ' Reilly . The combination poncho / tent section would serve in Korea later . A new uniform , known as OG - 107 , was first introduced in 1952 . By the beginning of the Vietnam War , it had completely replaced the M - 1943 Uniform as the standard in the Army .