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Reproduction of the final version of the Army service shoes, typically referred to as "roughouts" due to their flesh out leather. These were standard issue from late 1943 onward.
History: The well known shortcomings of the Type I and II service shoes led the QMC to develop a better alternative and in the Fall of 1942, the Type III service shoe was introduced. The new boots looked very similar to the ones issued during the First World War- in contrast to the previous models, the leather was turned flesh side out, which was more water repellent, especially once dubbing was applied. Most had a full rubber sole, although some had leather with hobnails. Early versions had toe caps and riveted quarters, features which were dropped during the production runs. The design was quickly approved and orders were placed in January 1943. Contracts for the Type II Shoes were amended to change to the new style during production.
Rush shipments were sent to England during the late Spring of 1944 in anticipation of "Operation Overlord", the invasion of Normandy. Replacement troops would have been largely equipped with this style, and its prevalence increased as the War went on.
Production continued into the postwar period until they were replaced by the Combat Service Boots.
ATF's Shoes: Our reproductions are an entirely new product, exclusive to us, developed from original examples in our collection. We teamed up with an American work boot company who has production facilities overseas as we can no longer get these made in the USA. The final product is nearly indistinguishable to the previous shoes that were made here.
Made on a Munson last, with the leather facing flesh (rough) side out, no toe cap or internal toe box, Goodyear welt construction and rubber heel and taps. They're correctly size stamped inside and out, with WWII contractor markings roll stamped inside.
I chose to create a retro looking ATF company logo for the soles & heels. The other choices were leave them blank (boring), copy a WWII maker name and risk legal problems or seek out a trademark licensing agreement: been-there-done-that-hell-no-never-again. If the fact that we didn't make soles in 1941 is problematic for one's time warp, just remember that they'll wear off.
Sizes: 8-13, in half sizes, D or EE widths.
Note! The factory marked wides as "2E" rather than "EE". Annoying, but they mean the same thing.
Imported
Treat these boots! To accurately portray WWII military personnel, roughout footwear needs to be greased, as this was the first task given to the men when they were issued new boots. They did not fight wearing buff colored boots. If left untreated, they will have very little water repellency, and the light color will easily show stains.
The US Army designed these boots with flesh-out uppers in order to improve their water repellency. This required "dubbing", which was a beeswax based leather treatment. It was issued with the boots and soldiers were required to apply it to their boots as part of their basic equipment maintenance.
The modern equivalents are Huberd's Shoe Grease or Sno-Seal. We have them on our accessories page, or you can find them on Amazon. Mink oil and original WWII "Dubbing" also work.
Yes, the color change is as dramatic as the photo. The dubbed boots were treated once, wetted, then worn for an afternoon until they dried to break them in. That's it.
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