ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy is debuting new uniforms for the annual Army-Navy game, paying tribute to a squadron of naval aviators with a storied legacy.
Known as the Jolly Rogers, the squad was established in 1943. Their tagline is "Fear the Bones" and their callsign is Victory.
Flying over nine different types of fighter aircraft in the past 63 years, the Skull and Crossbones have become the most recognized and feared insignia in the world. The Skull and Crossbones first flew in January 1943 on the F4U Corsairs assigned to VF-17, the most lethal Navy fighter squadron of World War II. By the end of the war, the original Jolly Rogers had racked up over 150 kills in the skies over the Pacific.
This is the second time the Navy football team has honored the Jolly Rogers. In 1962, Roger Staubach and the Mids wore a Jolly Rogers-inspired helmet design in a 34-14 rout of the Cadets at Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium.
Here's a closer look at how the Jolly Rogers are incorporated into the new uniforms.
- Representing the Jolly Rogers tail design, the neck of the jersey incorporates the dark Navy blue color and the Jolly Rogers insignia.
- The uniform collar striping is a direct reference to the classic stripe found on the top edge of the tail fin.
- The Navy wordmark is inspired by the wordmark found on the side of the aircraft and the uniform numbers model the aircraft side number on the fuselage and the trailing edge flap of the wings.
- The sleeves feature the traditional Jolly Rogers angled stripe, with 9 total chevrons (jersey + pant) on either side. This pays tribute to the nine aircrafts flown throughout the squadron's history.
- "Fear the Bones" is incorporated into the interior collar as a discoverable detail.
- The locker tag draws inspiration from the iconic VF-84 tail fin design with a drop shadow "JR" (Jolly Rogers) composition.
- Featured on the side panels of the pant, the microtext honors the six Jolly Rogers squadrons that have exemplified what it means to bear the skull and cross bones.
- The helmet design is a culmination of the past and present Jolly Rogers aviator helmets.
- Featuring the iconic VF-84 helmet design, chevrons are incorporated with the skull on the sides of the helmet as well as chevrons representing the nine different aircraft that the Jolly Rogers have flown in the striping of the helmet.
- The Jolly Rogers tagline Fear the Bones is on the bumper of the helmet.
- A white base coat with reflective qualities was used to represent VFA-103's helmet.
The 125th Army-Navy game kicks off at Northwest Stadium on Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. You can watch all the action on WUSA9.