M-1969 Summer Officer
No. 3 Each Day Uniform
(out of formation)

 

 
Captain 1st Rank (1982)
 

    
The officer is Wearing:

A white peaked cap with gold braiding, a naval officer’s cockade, and golden metal ‘leaves’ on the visor.

He also wears a black jacket with black naval shoulder boards.  A ship captain badge can be seen on his right breast while his ribbon bar is on the left.  The patches and embroidery on his sleeves also signify his rank.

A yellow naval shirt and black tie can be seen under the jacket.  Black trousers and black shoes complete the uniform.

This impression is accurate for any line officer from 1960 to 1991.

Sources Cited
 

Return to Navy Uniforms
of the Era of Rebuilding

 

More about the uniform…

The summer officer’s No. 3 uniform was a major break from its high collared predecessor.  It extended the jacket and tie uniform that had been for parade and ‘in formation’ occasions to the everyday uniform.

Its headgear is the white visor cap with aluminum ‘leaves’ pinned to the plastic visor.  A gold band is secured to the cap by means of two gold colored buttons that have an anchor design.  The gold officer naval cockade completes the cap.  Silver insignia would be authorized for non-line officers until the 1980’s when all naval insignia were made gold colored.

The six-button jacket has one internal pocket and two external.  Shoulder boards, badges, ribbons are authorized for wear on the uniform.  The sleeve insignia also indicate the rank of the officer.

Under the jacket a yellow long sleeve shirt with two breast pockets is worn.  A black tie is fastened with an elastic clip.  The black trousers feature two pockets and a button fly design.  A pair of black officer’s shoes complete the uniform.

 


The uniform was authorized to be worn by officers, warrant officers (with special shoulder boards) and extended service enlisted men.  In the case of warrant officers and enlisted men the cap band is black plastic instead of gold colored metal.

   

Service Chronology

The navy officer No. 3 summer uniform of 1969 was a dramatic shift from its predecessor.  It did away with the older dark blue high collar tunic in favor of a more office-like jacket and shirt uniform which dominated the early Cold War.  This 1958 summer No. 3 ‘out of formation’ uniform was also identical to the ‘in formation’ uniform of that year.  The only difference being that only ribbons and badges were authorized for wear on the ‘out of formation’ version, while orders and medals were allowed on the ‘in formation’ uniform. (2)

The uniform specification remained consistent for the remainder of the Soviet era.  Even the 1973 regulations made no changes to it.  Its long service history helped define the look of the Soviet navy well into the 1990’s.  When the uniform was finally replaced in 1994, it was to make way for the Russian Federation designs.  The new uniform was virtually identical to the 1969 model it replaced, except that it had a shoulder patch to denote the fleet the officer was assigned to and the white visor cap used a Russian badge in place of the M-1969 Soviet naval one.
 

This Uniform Replaced... (2) M-1969 Summer Officer
No. 3 Each Day Uniform
(out of formation)
(3)(4)
This Uniform was Replaced by... (1)
1958 No. 3 Summer Officer Uniform (out of formation) M-1994 No. 3 Summer Parade Uniform
(out of formation)
     

 

Sources Cited

(1) Prilutskaya, N. V. and N. L. Kortunova, Военная одежда вооруженных сил ссср и россии (1917-1990) [Military clothing of the USSR and Russia (1917-1990's)], Moscow: Military Publishing, 1999.

(2) Правила ношения военной формы в мирное время [Regulations on wearing military uniforms in peacetime], Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense, 1958.

(3) Правила ношения военной формы одежды [Regulations for the wearing of military uniforms], Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense, 1973.

(4) Правила ношения военной формы одежды [Regulations for the wearing of military uniforms], Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense, 1989.

(5) Океанский щит страны советов [Ocean Shield of the Soviet Nation], edited by P.N. Medvedev, Moscow: Planeta, 1987.
 


Last Updated 12 January 2019 by Ryan Stavka