WWII: Enlisted Rate Insignia

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USN Uniforms: WWII

U.S. Navy Uniforms and Insignia of
World War II

Enlisted Rate Insignia

Petty Officers

Petty officers were distinguished by a rating badge worn on the upper arm. It consisted of an eagle, a specialty mark, and chevrons indicating the grade of rank. Petty officers of the seaman branch wore the badge on the right sleeve, all other branches wore it on the left. In the Uniform Regulations of 1941 it was directed that the eagle's head always face forward, so on left-arm rating badges the eagle faces the viewer's left, and vice versa for right-arm rating badges.

Right-arm rating badge

Left-arm rating badge

The number of chevrons indicated the grade of rank, with an arc on top for chief petty officer:

Pay Grade: 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade
Blue rating badge, CPO Blue rating badge, PO1c Blue rating badge, PO2c Blue rating badge, PO3c
Chief Petty Officer Petty Officer 1st Class Petty Officer 2nd Class Petty Officer 3rd Class

The color schemes for rating badges:

Gold Rating Badge
Worn on blue uniforms by all grades with three consecutive enlistments with good conduct. Required until May 1942.

Silver Rating Badge
Worn on blue uniforms by Chief Petty Officers not entitled to gold rating badge. Required until May 1942.

Blue Rating Badge
Worn on blue uniforms by petty officers not entitled to the gold rating badge. After May 1942 could also be worn in place of the gold and silver rating badges to conserve materials.

White Rating Badge
Worn on white uniforms by all grades.

Khaki rating badge, CTM
Khaki Rating Badge
Worn on Chief Petty Officers' khaki working uniform. Green rating badge, CAR
Green Rating Badge
Worn on Chief Petty Officers' aviation winter working uniform. Khaki rating badge, CPhoM
Gray Rating Badge
Worn on Chief Petty Officers' gray working uniform.

There were also unofficial variations worn on the aviation winter working and khaki uniforms, as well as the forestry green Marine Corps uniform worn by some naval personnel attached to Marine units. These variations include red chevrons with silver eagle and specialty mark on forestry green, red chevrons with red eagle and specialty mark on forestry green, red chevrons with green eagle and red specialty mark on forestry green, blue chevrons with silver eagle and specialty mark on khaki, blue rating badges worn on khaki and aviation green coats, and khaki rating badges worn on aviation green coats.

Petty Officer Ratings and Badges:

Ratings by branch

Alphabetical list of ratings

Non-Rated Grades

Personnel below petty officer third class were termed "non-rated." On the dress blue jumper, lines of white tape on the cuffs indicated the exact grade, but on white and undress blue uniforms there were no cuffs and thus no indication of rate.

The different classes of non-rated personnel were indicated by distinguishing marks (badges worn on the sleeve) and branch marks, which were strips of colored cloth around the shoulder seam. Men of the seaman branch wore white branch marks on blue uniforms and vice versa, on the right side. Firemen of the engine room force wore red branch marks on the left sleeve of white and blue uniforms.

The following table shows the non-rated grades as they stood at the beginning of the war. It will be noted that the different rates covered five pay grades and didn't all line up with each other. This was mostly the result of giving increased pay for certain skills. Most notably, firemen and coal passers had traditionally been paid better than seamen, because of the more arduous nature of their work. Becuase of this, firemen were a grade ahead of their seaman counterparts. Fireman first class was a 4th pay grade rate, equivalent to petty officer third class in other branches, and so there were no third class engine room petty officers until January 1944. At that time, fireman and musicians rates were brought into line with the other branches. Third class engine room petty officers were introduced, fireman first class became 5th grade, fireman second class became 6th grade, and fireman third class became 7th grade. Musicians first and second class became 5th and 6th grade, respectively.

In 1943, the title "mess attendant" was changed to "steward's mate."

Pay Grade 3

			no branch mark
			lower left sleeve

			Musician 1st Class

Pay Grade 4




	Fireman 1st Class

Pay Grade 5

		no branch mark	no branch mark	no branch mark	no branch mark
		upper left sleeve	lower left sleeve	lower left sleeve	upper left sleeve

Seaman 1st Class	Fireman 2nd Class	Hospital Apprentice 1st Class	Musician 2nd Class	Bugler 1st Class	Mess Attendant 1st Class

Pay Grade 6

		no branch mark	no branch mark	no branch mark
		upper left sleeve	upper left sleeve	upper left sleeve

Seaman 2nd Class	Fireman 3rd Class	Hospital Apprentice 2nd Class	Bugler 2nd Class	Mess Attendant 2nd Class

Pay Grade 7

					no branch mark
					upper left sleeve

Apprentice Seaman					Mess Attendant 3rd Class

Photo details courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center Photographic Section's Online Library.

All text and images � Justin T. Broderick, 2005 unless otherwise indicated.
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Pay Grade:	1st Grade	2nd Grade	3rd Grade	4th Grade

	Chief Petty Officer	Petty Officer 1st Class	Petty Officer 2nd Class	Petty Officer 3rd Class