WWII Norwegian Naval Uniforms Information

I'm currently doing research on Norwegian naval uniforms during the WWII period, but - not surprisingly - I'm having no luck finding any photo references that are in colour. The uniform that I'm most interested in is a naval captain's uniform (not the regular seaman's uniform; I have plenty of photos and colored illustration references of those already). I've seen a few photos of the captain rank uniforms in black and white, but that's about it.

Could someone possibly tell me what color the captains' uniforms were back then? I would also appreciate it if anyone could direct me to a website that might have photos of WWII Norwegian naval uniforms too. Coloured photos if possible.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out

Hello ScotlandtheBrave,

A few years ago I was researching a photo showing several Allied junior naval officers, one each from the British, Free French, Dutch and Norwegian navies. The Norwegian officer appeared to be wearing the RN uniform. When I inquired into what sort of uniforms the Royal Norwegian Navy wore during the war, I learned that those men who were able to escape to the UK wore Norwegian uniforms at first but then eventually RN uniform became typical. I presume this was due to supply matters.

Two sources of uniform information about many navies during World War II do not show Norwegian uniforms, perhaps because the RNoN adopted RN uniforms. These books are:

Uniforms & Insignia of the Navies of World War II (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991). ISBN 1-55750-850-X. Introduction by Andre Mollo.

The information in this book was originally compiled by the naval intelligence division of the US Navy during the war. The color plates were published in National Geographic magazine. The Polish Navy also is not shown in this book though the Royal Netherlands Navy and Royal Hellenic Navy are shown.

Badges and Insignia of World War II - Air Force, Naval, Marine by Guido Rossignoli (London: Peerage Books, no date). ISBN 0-907408-34-6.

There is a Norwegian naval museum. Perhaps this museum can answer your questions? If you find a good source of information about Norwegian naval uniforms during the war, please post the details to the list. Good luck!

Mark C. Jones

Thank you for the information, Mark

Ah, that makes sense that the Norwegian navy officers and captains would end up wearing RN uniforms after a while, considering they were in exile at the time. I did have a sneaky suspicion that may have been the case as I noticed the similarities between the RN uniforms and the uniforms worn by Norwegian captains while looking at photographs that I have in one of my books, and from photos I've managed to find online as well. Sadly, I would still love to see a colored, modern photograph of the original Norwegian naval uniforms they wore when they first came to the UK, although I have a feeling that it'll be difficult to find any of those uniforms still around unless it's a replica.

For now, I'll check out the suggestions you've given me. For some reason it never even crossed my mind that there was a Norwegian Naval Museum - not sure why since Norway's always been a sea-faring nation but I'm going to poke about online some more, check out the books you've suggested as well and see how things go from there. Thanks again for your help!