WW2 USMC HBT UTILITY COVER....bonus post

This bonus post is for my buddy PAPA and will focus on one of the most sought after USMC item :the USMC utility cover aka"the lid "

Here's another photo essay for you to enjoy....

From the duffel bag of private 1st class J.F Wheeler  aka Wheel
4th marine div,this nice salty example of a classic p44 utility cover

Faded EGA stenciled on the crown 

Side/side the Army issued cap and the USMC p44.the Marines cover  had a longer bill  and higher crown.

Eyelets position comparison 

Typical example of an USMC use of an army hat 

Although both hats retained the 8 pleats on the crown ,they were rotated on the p44 model to accommodate the  EGA stencil.  variations exist on the pleats such as :open or not open pleats ,as seen on engineer's hat but ,to my knowledge, just a manufacturer's variations ....

The common mistake among young collectors is to believe that the sort bill HBT cap was part of the P41 Marine utilities ,as in fact ,it was an army issued item that was widely used by the Marine Corps in the early days of war in the PTO and often associated withe the "raiders look".This Army issued cap was sometimes worn with a screw on brass EGA on the crown or the bill . It's only in 1944 along with the newly designed set of utilities ,that the Marine Corps introduced its own cap the P44. You hardly seen them on period pictures worn before Iwo Jima campaign. The HBT utility cover was issued ,with some variations ,from 1944 to 1959, when the material changed to cotton sateen...

GI sporting his issued hbt cover

Marines on Iwo Jima playing cards

Marines from the 5th div on Iwo Jima