Army Chemical Review presents professional information about Chemical Corps functions related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, smoke, flame, and civil support operations.
Issue link: https://chemical.epubxp.com/i/533676
36 Army Chemical Review By Mr. Kip A. Lindberg B eginning in 1924, the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) operated fve U.S. procurement districts (Bos- ton, New York, Pittsburg, Chicago, and San Fran- cisco), where contracts were awarded for the production of chemical warfare materiel. Following America's entry into World War II and an increased need for chemical warfare materiel such as detection kits, gas masks, mortar shells, incendiary bombs, and decontamination equipment, two additional procurement districts (Atlanta and Dallas) were created. One of the duties of the procurement district offces was to conduct quality control inspections at factories and de- pots. Most of the civilians who were hired to conduct these inspections were female; in fact, the CWS visited college campuses specifcally to recruit women who were interested in its inspection apprenticeship program. During training, the apprentices received instruction in the areas of chemis- try, basic metallurgy, the use of measuring instruments and gauges, and other miscellaneous subjects. While no printed uniform regulation has been discovered, photographs of CWS inspectors indicate that they wore dif- ferent types of dress, ranging from civilian clothing to vari- ous forms of uniforms. Inspectors in four districts (Boston, Pittsburg, San Francisco, and Dallas) appear to have ad- opted uniforms that differed in type but usually incorporat- ed the crossed retorts and benzene ring that served as the branch insignia of the CWS. Figure 1 shows a CWS inspector from the Boston pro- curement district wearing nonregulation "C.W.S." metal collar devices and a scroll embroidered with "CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE" on the left shoulder. A separate patch, underneath the scroll, is embroidered with "BOS- TON." Although the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Museum has no sample from which to establish construction material or colors, it is supposed that the scroll and patch were made of cobalt blue material and embroidered with golden yellow thread—given that those were the branch colors. Figure 2 shows CWS inspectors from the Pittsburg pro- curement district wearing regulation "U.S." and CWS offcer branch devices on their collar points. They are also wearing a patch of red felt, with gauze backing, on the left shoulder. The patch is embroidered with yellow crossed retorts, a blue benzene ring, and the black letters of "C.W.S." However, it is unclear whether all CWS inspectors from the Pittsburg procurement district wore this particular uniform. Informa- tion accompanying the photograph in Figure 2, which was taken at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, (where gas masks were produced) indicates that this was the uniform which was adopted "for the duration," but that may have applied specifcally to the inspectors at the Goodyear factory. The uniforms worn by the CWS inspectors of the San Francisco procurement district are shown in Figures 3 and 4. There are no shoulder patches visible on the uniforms; but although the placement varies, the offcer branch insignia is present on all of them. In one case, the "U.S." device is also displayed. Several CWS inspectors from the Dallas procurement district are shown, apparently at a factory in Austin, in Figure 1: A CWS inspector from the Boston procurement district performs an inspection.