If your ship was picked for a trip to North Russia, you were issued Arctic clothing, consisting of parkas, face masks, heavy underwear, and a woolen jacket. The ship would get an extra set of radiators, extra heating coils to keep the oil flowing, and often the bow would be strengthened. But for ordinary trips you were issued a waterproof Navy jacket which was not particularly warm as I remember, and you wore your dungarees and ordinary clothing. Our gunners who stood watches on the bows and sterns often wore special clothing to keep dry and warm. I was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, just across the state-line from North Carolina, in the Good Old Mountain Dew Country!
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