Note: The blue skirt was always worn with M43 jackets. • Khaki

Padded winter
jacket in the
regulations – and
in action.
(Author’s
collection)
These photographs
not only show the
female officer’s
khaki dress, but two
officers who have
something special
going on between
them.
(Contributor:
Dimitriy A
Likholyot)
• Khaki padded winter jacket
• Khaki padded winter trousers
• Winter woollen and summer twill cotton
khaki dress
• Blue or khaki winter woollen or summer
cotton skirt
• Black leather high (cavalry) boots
Note: The blue skirt was always worn
with M43 jackets.
In this case the
girls’ fighting
kit included
camouflaged
overalls and rifles.
(Author’s
collection)
25
Selection of March 29th 1958
to July 26th 1969 female
uniforms.
(Contributor: USSR Ministry
of Defence military uniform
regulations)
Buyer’s tip: M47 female officer pull-over tunics were
manufactured from wool with a diagonal weave, have
two lined breast pockets with buttons, three buttons
down the front, two buttons on each cuff, and
two buttons for the collar, which are either
khaki or brass in colour. The tunic buttons
from right to left (female version).
The final years
July 26th 1969 to December 1991 ceremonial
and dress jacket:
Wave green
Single-breast style
No edging to the collar
Corps colour piping on the cuffs
Gold edged embroidered (later gilded gold
metal edged) Corp coloured collar tabs
Hammer and sickle buttons with date of
manufacture
Female officer’s
wave green
ceremonial and
dress uniform.
(Author’s
collection)
•
•
•
•
•
•
This jacket was worn with a white shirt,
black tie, wave green skirt (no pleat) and beret
with light brown stockings and black shoes.
51
New gold and
silver metalalloy embroidery
introduced on
February 25th
1955. The silver
embroidery (noncombat officer)
was phased out
between 1975
and 1980.
(Author’s
collection)
The last design of white summer service jacket, first
introduced into naval service via the March 29th 1958
Soviet Navy uniform regulations. (Author’s collection)
embroidery and anchor introduced, but
available in metal-alloy only and pinned to
the collar
White summer service jacket with fold
down collar worn closed at the neck was
introduced. This jacket was fitted with five
gold or silver anchor design buttons and
worn with a white beret, black skirt and
shoes and light brown stockings
Blue dress made from cotton for summer
only
•
•
Note: According to the illustrations, the
blue summer dress was fitted with gold
buttons and worn with a gold cap badge
regardless of shoulder board base colour.
In the March 29th 1958 (May 9th 1959
for naval Border Guards), the only noticeable
uniform changes introduced were:
All jackets were redesigned, especially
around the lapels
The white summer service jacket gold
buttons were replaced with white cloth
covered versions
•
•
When the July 26th 1969 (October 20th
1970 for the naval Border Guards) uniform
regulations were introduced, the major
changes were:
White summer service jacket worn closed
at the neck was discontinued
White double-breast style open collar
ceremonial and dress jacket worn with a
black skirt, white shirt, black tie, white beret,
light brown (flesh or nude) stockings and
black shoes was introduced
Pleats were removed from black skirts
•
•
•
In the November 1st 1973 uniform
regulations, there are no uniform
component changes, but all jackets
along with the blue dress were now
fitted with gold anchor design buttons
regardless of profession.
White summer
service jacket.
(Author’s
collection)
62
Note: By circa 1975, the silver cap
badge was discontinued, and by circa
1980, all silver base coloured shoulder
boards were also discontinued.
15
Ladies uniform coats
At the start of of women’s service in the
Soviet forces, they were issued or permitted
to wear a number of different coats:
Summer overcoat
Winter overcoat
Raincoat
Leather top coat
•
•
•
•
Initially, all coats issued to the ladies were
male versions that buttoned from left to
right: however, during WW2, female versions
that buttoned from right to left were issued,
and there is photographic evidence to
support this.
Fitting of coats (and all other uniform
components) to the female body was not
a priority, as Larissa Rozanova explains,
“Like all young girls we were pretty
fashion conscious, even though there was
a war on. Most of us had slim waists and,
though we didn’t expect uniforms to be
tailored for us by a Paris couturier,
we hoped that they had made
some little concessions to the
fact that we were a different
shape from most soldiers.”
Sadly, this was not the case.
When the girls reported to the
Zhukovsky Academy, they were
shown into a large room piled
with enormous boots, rough
woollen vests, long johns,
tunics, breeches and
coats. When Larissa
complained to the
Sergeant storekeeper,
he just laughed.
Note: Larissa
Rozanova
was a pilot
with the 588th
Night Bomber
Regiment (later
46th Taman Guards
Regiment) flying the
old U-2 (PO-2) biplane,
a true Night Witch. She
survived the war and is
a published author.
This photograph was
taken in 1944
and shows
the girls
wearing male
and female
versions
of the same
winter coat.
(Author’s
collection)
Isn’t this rather
large for me
Sergeant?
(Author’s
collection)
75
Ties covering thirty
years.
(Author’s
collection)
Uniform regulations of March 29th
1958 (May 19th 1959 for Border Guards)
introduced the beige shirt worn with black tie
into service. However, the first illustrations of
female naval officers wearing this shirt do not
occur until the March 4th 1988.
Shirts worn by all women from the rank
of Private to Captain were factory made.
Senior female officers wore a mixture of
tailor- and factory-made shirts.
All white and beige junior and senior
officer female shirts were fitted with open,
sewn-on plastic buttons with two per side
in the hem. Some senior female officers
may have worn tailor-made shirts with
non-adjustable elastic in the hem instead of
buttons.
Note: White ceremonial and dress shirts
worn under a jacket did not need pockets
or shoulder board loops.
A short sleeved open neck khaki shirt
with shoulder boards without tie was
permitted to be worn by junior and senior
officers in hot climates.
Note: Shades of khaki (sometimes referred
to as olive green) shirts and ties worn by
women varied over the years. Generally,
darker shades were used by the Soviet
Army and MVD with lighter shades used
by the Air Force and Border Guards.
Ties and clips
Initially, women were issued with male ties
but after 1951, thinner, shorter ladies-only
ties started to appear.
Four different colour ties were worn by
the ladies:
Khaki (all land and air services)
Steel grey (Army only during the Zhukov
uniform period)
Black (Army, Navy and paramilitary)
Dark blue (Air Force)
•
•
•
•
Tie clips were shorter and worn the
opposite way to men.