With the white mess dress and the white undress the rank is indicated by the stripes of gold braid or by other insignia of rank worn upon the shoulder straps. These shoulder straps are also worn with the great coat. There are no sleeve stripes on the white coats or the great coat.
The insignia of rank used on the shoulder straps of Flag Officers and the stripes indicating rank used on the shoulder straps of officers below the rank of Flag Officer are shown in the accompanying illustrations.
The Corps or Branch of the service to which an officer belongs is shown as follows on the sleeves and shoulder straps:—
| Officers of the Line | By the circle or “curl” on the upper stripe of gold lace braid. |
| Engineer Officers | By the circle or “curl” as above with the addition of stripes of purple cloth between the gold stripes. |
| Medical Officers | The circle or “curl” is omitted and there are stripes of scarlet cloth between the gold stripes. |
| Accountant or Pay Officers | The circle or “curl” is omitted and there are stripes of white cloth between the gold stripes. |
| Naval Instructors | The circle or “curl” is omitted and there are stripes of light blue cloth between the gold stripes. |
It will thus be seen that the system of stripes on the sleeves and shoulder straps to indicate rank is practically the same in the British and United States navies, the “curl” in the British navy being used for the same purpose as the gold star in the United States navy, that is, to show that the officer wearing it belongs to the Line, or the command branch of the service.
The officers’ overcoat or “great coat” in the British navy is a double breasted coat of ulster style reaching to just below the knees. It has a rolling collar with notched lapels and is closed by two rows of gilt service buttons down the front and has shoulder straps to indicate the rank of the wearer but no stripes on the sleeves. In the back the fulness is held in by a strap secured by two gilt buttons.
The service buttons of the British navy bear a raised design of a vertical foul anchor surmounted by a royal crown, the edge being surrounded by a raised rope design.
The caps and cocked hats of the British Navy are similar to those worn by United States naval officers except that there is more bell to the crown of the British cap. The cap insignia worn by commissioned officers are embroidered on the front of the cap and consist of a vertical foul anchor surrounded by a gilt wreath and surmounted by a royal crown in gilt and scarlet; the anchor being silver in the case of officers of the Line and gilt for officers of the Staff Corps.
The sword worn by British naval officers is much the same in general appearance as that worn by American officers, the differences being in the carved designs upon the hilt and blade of the sword and upon the bands of the scabbard. This is due to the fact that the American sword like the other parts of the American naval uniform was originally adopted from the British Navy.
