U.S. Army Enlisted Men's Trousers

Special Cotton Khaki Trousers

Special Khaki Cotton Trousers Spec. 6-254 Front View.Special Khaki Cotton Trousers Spec. 6-254 Side View.Special Khaki Cotton Trousers Spec. 6-254 Back View.

Specification 6-254 dated 8 November 1937

Stock No. 55-T-12400 - 55-T-12650

Allowances & Purchases
ORGANIZATION, UNITS, SPECIALISTS, & STATUSES ZONE OF INTERIOR
THEATER OF OPERATIONS
Temperate Zone
(winter clothing)
Temperate Zone
(summer-winter clothing)
Tropical Zone Arctic Zone
Combat & Combat Support Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A. Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 2 trousers. Enlisted Men: Discretionary allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A.
Combat Service Support Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A. Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 2 trousers. Enlisted Men: Discretionary allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A.
Army Air Force Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A. Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: Discretionary allowance, 4 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A.
Overhead & Base Installations Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A. Enlisted Men: Mandatory allowance, 2 trousers. Enlisted Men: Discretionary allowance, 3 trousers. Enlisted Men: N/A.
Honorable discharge & inactive duty statuses Enlisted Men: 1 pair of trousers.        
Key Visual IDPrimary MaterialsFastenersColorLabeling
Double stitched seams and the presence of a gas flap across the front fly.8.2 oz cotton khaki.Close-up of cotton khaki material.
Cotton Khaki - A generic name given to brownish colored cotton twill weave material. The twill weave is easily identified by the distinctive diagonal ridges formed by the weft and warp yarns. Cotton Twill or Uniform Twill was used by the Army for a variety of light to medium weight items; from cotton khaki shirts and trousers to the outer shell of the winter combat jacket.
There were 6 buttons: 5 x front fly, 1 x gas flap located on the inside left waistband.Khaki shade No. 1.Sizing labels were either a small embroidered cloth tag or an ink stamp located on the inside right waistband.

The Quartermaster label was located behind the front right pocket.
TreatmentsApprox. Contract RunPreceded ByReplaced ByCompanion Garments
Cotton khaki trousers were produced with sanforized material to reduce shrinkage.April 25, 1942 to
November 11, 1942 (For special variant only).
Khaki Cotton Breeches, Spec. 6-65A dated 18 December 1936.

Khaki Cotton Trousers, Spec. 6-254 dated 8 November 1937.
Special Khaki Cotton Trousers, Spec. PQD 339 dated 12 February 1943.Khaki Cotton Shirt

Cotton Field Hat

Khaki Garrison Cap

M-1937 Enlisted Man's Web Waist Belt.
Details
(hover for expanded view)
Gas flap detail.Gas flap detail.
Shown above is the five button fly and the gas flap that extended behind it. The gas flap was held in place by a jigger button located on the left, inside waistband. Enlisted men's wool and cotton trousers had a watch pocket just below the waistband on the right front.
Size label detailSize label detail
The size tariff stated the waist and leg length. During the war the army began to use a small embroidered size tariff that provided a longer lasting and more legible reference than the traditional ink stampings and flimsy Quartermaster labels.
Quartermaster label detailQuartermaster label detail
Close-up of the Quartermaster label. Note the "special" designation in the nomenclature. This referred to the gas flap that was added across the front fly in the spring of 1942.
Quartermaster label detailSeam details
Early specifications for the cotton khaki trousers called for robust double stitched seams that could reasonably withstand field use. In 1941, trousers with single stitched seams were introduced, allowing a greater number of manufacturers to produce trousers for the expanding Army.
Notes

Approved in 1937, cotton khaki trousers were a result of an Army initiative to replace general issue breeches with a trouser design. In the pre-war years, the Khaki cotton uniform was the primary warm weather uniform for both garrison and field work. Prior to 1938, the khaki uniform consisted of breeches or the newly adopted trousers, a light-weight broad cloth shirt, service coat, and cap. In 1938 a new shirt was introduced to replace both the broad cloth shirt and service coat. This left a shirt, trouser, and cap combo that was designed for increased comfort in hot weather while offering adequate mosquito protection.

The new trousers were worn tucked inside leggings when used in the field. Because of the field work requirement placed upon them, the trousers needed to be robust; and as a result were constructed using outward facing, double stitched seams. In 1941, as the ranks were swelling in anticipation of the coming war, it was realized that manufacturing capacity would not be able to keep up with the quantity of khaki trousers required to meet the mandatory allowance for new inductees. This resulted in a new trouser design being introduced in 1941 featuring inward facing seams held together by a single stitch line. The new stitch pattern allowed for increased trouser production by utilizing industry's much more abundant single stitch sewing machines. The new design carried a completely different specification number and was produced along with the traditional double stitch trousers throughout the war. Reports of bursting seams during field use were mostly attributed to the single stitch seams and led to the widening of the trouser seat on three different occasions during the war.

By the summer of 1942 the two-piece herringbone twill fatigue uniformThe wool waist is shown here being worn with the collar open and laying flat.
Uniforms for tropical wear: After redeployment to the Philippines in 1945, members of the 86th Division pose inside their base camp. The soldier on the left wears the khaki cotton shirt and trousers. His buddy wears the olive drab shade 7 herringbone twill jacket and trousers.
replaced the khaki uniform for hot weather field, and combat use due to its green color, fabric strength, and larger pocket capacity. Early on, though, the first herringbone twill uniform utilized the same trouser pattern as the 1937 khaki cotton trousers and was identical except for the material. Though the herringbone twill uniform filled the tropical/hot weather field role throughout the war, the cotton khaki uniform was retained as a tropical/hot weather service uniform.

In the spring of 1942 the Army began working protective gas flaps into existing clothing designs. The khaki trousers were no exception and during this time a gas flap was added across the fly. This was done to prevent poisonous agents from entering through the button closure area of the garment. When this change was made, the nomenclature was altered to show "Special Khaki Cotton Trousers" on the label instead of the previously used "Khaki Cotton Trousers". Along with the new name, an entirely new set of stock numbers were assigned to distinguish the special variant in the tables of equipment.

In early 1943, after the seat had been widened for the third time and the gas flap added, the trousers were re-designated Special Khaki Cotton Trousers under the specification of PQD 339. Contracting of the pre-war specification 6-254 ended in the fall of 1942 in anticipation of the new design.

Early war photographs show the khaki cotton uniform being used in the field as intended. Imagery is strong of early defenders facing the Japanese onslaught dressed in khaki uniforms and wearing the saucer style M1917-A1 helmet. But, by the time the United States gained the upper hand in the Pacific War, herringbone twill had replaced khakis in the combat field role. After this time photos show the Khaki uniform being worn in rear areas as a summer service uniform.

Despite the huge quantities produced during the war, khaki trousers are noticeably less abundant today than their woolen counterparts. Their lower survivability is likely due to the trousers being worn out and discarded after the war. Post-war wear of khaki trousers is certainly understandable due to their less "military" appearance and comfortable, casual design when compared to the heavy, olive drab colored wool trousers. Khaki cotton trousers, having a humble beginning in the US Army, are now considered a classic design and live on strong in the civilian market today - a testament to the superior work of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps.