Surprise with the US Air Force Reserve Pipe Band Tartan

[Barb T]

I'm sorry that I appear not to be explaining this clearly.

The thread count listed in the SRT and STA for what is called the USAF Reserve Pipe Band tartan (aka Lady Jane - clearly the tartan that Todd refers to in his historical description and clearly described in the Registry as having been adopted by the USAFRPB) is _not_ what Strathmore is weaving as US Air Force. The thread count in both registries calls for a _blue stripe_ between the red stripe and the light blue, and the two dark blue stripes in the light blue are medium width and fairly widely spaced. That is _not_ what Strathmore is weaving as US Air Force - in their version, there is no blue stripe between the red and light blue, and the double dark blue stripes in the light blue in their version are narrow, closely spaced stripes.

Here is what is in the registries as U.S. Air Force Reserve Pipe Band (aka Lady Jane) (BTW - "Corpor" is an abbreviation for "Corporate tartan"). The swatch below that shows what Strathmore is currently weaving as Air Force.




This the sett that Strathmore is weaving:



I could not find anything in the register that matches what Strathmore is weaving as US Air Force. The closest match is what's registered as US 2001 Air Force, designer unknown. And even this doesn't match exactly - it has a green stripe, rather than a gold stripe. Here is the thumbnail from SRT for the US 2001 Air Force tartan:



And, yes, that is a green stripe.

As I said, I don't know if the USAFRPB tartan was recorded wrong in the registers or if there's a long-standing weaving error at Strathmore.

[TheBrus]

LOVE the accessories--especially the sporran chain! Kilt is beautiful.

[Barb T]

LOVE the accessories--especially the sporran chain! Kilt is beautiful.

It's a custom Air Force sporran set. The maker used Air Force uniform buttons on the sporran chain, sgian dubh, and kilt pin, plus her career classification badge on the belt. It's pretty swell.

[Mark Stephenson]

Barb,
Thanks for posting this interesting background on my kilt. It is a beautiful work of art; nothing short of stunning. I can't wait for it to arrive.
Re: " Those of you with sharp eyes will immediately see the difference - an extra dark blue stripe between the red and the light blue in the STA/Register version." As my eyes were pretty severely damaged testing ejection seats, I don't find the differences all that great. When I blew up the photos on my special computer software, I did notice one significant difference that I was surprised you didn't mention - my kilt seems to have some funny white zig-zag lines the other did not... <grin> At least the ejection seat tests didn't seem to affect my sense of humor!
Thank you for all of your efforts! I am looking forward to wearing it on Veteran's Day next week, and will be proud to be the owner of a Bart T. kilt!

[Riverkilt]

Most surprising since I thought Strathmore was the go-to mill for tartans related to the American military.

[mookien]

Most surprising since I thought Strathmore was the go-to mill for tartans related to the American military.

That adds more circumstantial evidence to the theory that in the SRT the US 2001 Air Force is recorded incorrectly, and not woven incorrectly by Strathmore.

The SRT invites inquiries. Maybe someone should ask them.

[mookien]

Todd: Interesting article. Thanks for the pointer. That Lady Jane is one mysterious tartan!

Any idea why the Strathmore US Air Force (Not Official) tartan is shown (on Strathmore's web page) with gold overstripes, while the U.S. 2001 Air Force is shown with green overstripes (on the SRT web page), as Barb pointed out in post #3?

Are they indeed two different tartans as their different names suggest? Or, was there possibly a transcription error in recording the "(Not Official)" on the SRT?

John

[EagleJCS]

Perhaps a note to Sandy Jones is in order? He's a former P/M of the USAF Pipe Band. He may be able to clarify which is the correct tartan, if there was an official one adopted at some point. The USAF Pipe Band website shows a picture of the band circa 1963. They're wearing what appears to be a tartan that has a wider green stripe in the pattern. I don't know enough about writing out the thread counts to describe it accurately.

I see light blue, dark blue/black, white, red, dark blue/black, green, dark blue, green, light blue. There's also possibly a gold stripe in the red. It's hard to tell in the blowup.

[macwilkin]

Perhaps a note to Sandy Jones is in order? He's a former P/M of the USAF Pipe Band. He may be able to clarify which is the correct tartan, if there was an official one adopted at some point. The USAF Pipe Band website shows a picture of the band circa 1963. They're wearing what appears to be a tartan that has a wider green stripe in the pattern. I don't know enough about writing out the thread counts to describe it accurately.

I see light blue, dark blue/black, white, red, dark blue/black, green, dark blue, green, light blue. There's also possibly a gold stripe in the red. It's hard to tell in the blowup.

The USAF Pipe Band, according to most sources, wore what has become known as the "Galbraith/Hunter/Russell/Mitchell" tartan, the USAF connection being the surname Mitchell, a reference to General Billy Mitchell, a noted proponent of air power. My article addresses how the tartan became associated with the Mitchell surname. It is, INMHO, not the tartan Barb is describing here.

T.

[cessna152towser]

Obviously two distinct tartans, but two beautiful kilts nonetheless.