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Sep 18 - Behind the N-1 Deck Coat

Sep 18 - Behind the N-1 Deck Coat

David Shuck
September 18, 2024

Behind the N-1 Deck Coat – The Peacoat’s Rugged Successor

Learn all about the N-1 Deck Coat, the U.S. Navy's leap forward from the peacoat to a cold weather option for military and civilians alike.

John Bobey & James Smith

Long before there was The North Face, L.L. Bean, or Patagonia, another outdoor outfitter was innovating with materials, fit, and construction to provide peak performance under the most adverse of conditions. The United States military. No matter what you think of what they do or where they do it, it’s impossible to ignore the US Military’s clothing design achievements.

And not just in the technical sense. Considering how Uncle Sam’s influence has trickled down into the most civilian of fashions, he should rightly get the credit he deserves as one of modern civilization’s most influential haberdashers.

With needs at the outside edge of the “workwear” spectrum, military clothing has a long history of letting form follow function (the large slit up the back of a duster made it a whole lot easier for the Calvary to ride horses in jackets).

And while this entire site could be devoted to military clothing and its influence on contemporary fashion, today let’s focus on one specific garment, one that will make as much sense in the fall and winter of 2017 as it did onboard a Navy destroyer in 1944: the N-1 Deck Coat (N1DC).

The Development of the N-1 Deck Coat

N-1s in action via The Real McCoy’s

The N-1 was designed as the successor to the Peacoat. While that classic design served the Navy well, its practicality as a garment for braving the high seas was more 1840s than 1940s. After all, there was WWII to win.

Early 1940s Zip and Hook USN Deck Jackets via The Major’s Tailor.

In 1942, the Navy produced a design similar to the Army’s Winter Combat/Tanker Jacket. Coming in deep navy with tonal ribbed collar and cuffs, it featured a zipped closure and two large D-shaped pockets.

This jacket was later issued with a ratchet clip closure in 1943, but only for a very short while. Both of these early 1940s Deck Jackets act as precursors to the N-1, and original examples are extremely rare due to their short issuing periods.

An original N-1 Deck Coat via The Major’s Tailor.

By late 1943 a brand new 100% Navy-designed model was proudly on the backs of American sailors — the N1DC. It was part of the new, threefold U.S. Navy ‘N’ system, which, also featured the N-2 jacket was designed for rainy conditions and the N-3 jacket for tropical conditions.

The USN N2(left) and N3 (right) Jackets, with the N2 intended for downpours and the N3 for tropical conditions.

Features of the N-1 Deck Coat

An original 1943 N1 Deck Jacket, via The Major’s Tailor.

Exterior shell: Heavyweight cotton Bedford corduroy (often referred to as jungle cloth) and later cotton sateen, although this was only used in a couple of extremely rare contracts.
Fit: Slim with a slightly longer fit than a bomber jacket, sitting just below the waist.
Colors: Navy/ dark blue, khaki (the most common), and olive drab
Lining: Alpaca wool pile lines the body and rounded collar
Double fastening: Zipper closure with additional button placket, protecting the zip and contributing to warmth and security.
Pockets: Dual slash pockets
Other Features:
- knitted wool ribbed cuffs hidden up in the sleeve to keep warmth in and prevent snags.
- Adjustable cord at the waistline to cinch in the bottom, reducing wind ingress.
- Throat latch for extra warmth and security.
- Gusseted underarms for extended range of motion with eyelets added to aid in ventilation

Details on the N1 via The Major’s Tailor.

Post-War

Paul Newman looking killer in an N-1 (left), and a reproduction N-1 by The Real McCoy’s being modeled, via The Real McCoy’s.

Like so many of the vintage-inspired items that have become “mainstream” fashion, it’s hard to imagine a sailor returning home from WWII and lovingly packing away his N1DC for posterity. Just like old Levi’s and Red Wings, N-1s were workwear, and they didn’t simply become a fashion statement upon landing on home soil.

Thankfully some veterans did hold onto to their issued garb, and they were adopted by civilians as fashionable cold-weather outerwear. Looking at the perfect composition of an N-1, it’s not hard to see why. Practically everyone looks wildly cool in them.

A Hell’s Angel in a N-1, Courtesy of Life Magazine. (You think he was speeding, or the cop just didn’t like the jacket paired with a pom-pom’d beanie?)

You can pick up a decent example of an original N-1 for under $1000 today. If vintage is your thing, keep an eye on The Major’s Tailor — he gets some top-tier vintage militaria.

Modern interpretations don’t come cheap, and depending how deep you want to go down the rabbit hole (greater adherence to original Navy “specs” = a great adherence to your credit card’s spending limit), you can choose your own adventure.

Poking around the internet, you can certainly find super-cheapo knockoffs that kinda’ sorta’ look like the originals, but those are all made overseas (think China and India, not Japan), and at $90-$150, are surely made under dubious circumstances. Below are the leading contenders for space in our closet, most of them Japanese brands, and you have to love the poetic irony of a once-Axis power selling our own history back to us at a huge premium.