1941-1942 U.S. Enlisted Military Base Pay Charts
Base pay is according to the Department of Defense Under Secretary of Defense for Personnal and Readiness Military Compensation Background Papers, Seventh Edition, Chapter II.B.1. pages 119-143, dated, November 2011, and Statutes at Large, Volume 54, pg 895, section 12 of the "Selective Training and Service Act of 1940". Government Printing Office. Washington D.C., 1941.
1940 Pay | 1942 Pay | Pay Raises
The United States officially entered World War II on December 8, 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The pay rates are monthly, US dollar.
1941-1942 Enlisted Military Base Pay Chart
| Grade
note 1 |
Years of Service | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 4 | Over 4 | Over 8 | Over 12 | Over 16 | |
| 1st | 136.00 | 148.60 | 154.90 | 161.20 | 167.50 |
| 2nd | 94.00 | 102.40 | 106.60 | 110.80 | 115.00 |
| 3rd | 82.00 | 89.20 | 92.80 | 96.40 | 100.00 |
| 4th | 70.00 | 76.00 | 79.00 | 82.00 | 85.00 |
| 5th | 64.00 | 69.40 | 72.10 | 74.80 | 77.50 |
| 6th | 46.00 | 49.60 | 51.40 | 53.20 | 55.40 |
| 7th | 40.00 | 43.00 | 44.50 | 46.00 | 47.50 |
| 7th
Less than 4 months |
31.00 | ||||
| Grade | Years of Service | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over 4 | See note 2 | ||||
| 1st | 30.00 | ||||
| 2nd | 25.00 | ||||
| 3rd | 20.00 | ||||
| 4th | 15.00 | ||||
| 5th | 6.00 | ||||
| 6th | 3.00 | ||||
Note 1: The "E" and "O" pay grades did not come until the approval of the Career Compensation Act of 1949; however, for comparison purposes, the 1st Grade, is the same as today's E-7; 7th Grade is the same as E-1.
Note 2: Enlisted men of the Army and the Marine Corps shall receive, as a permanent addition to their pay, an increase of 10 per centum of their base pay and pay for specialists' ratings upon completion of the first four years of service, and an additional increase of 5 per centum of such base pay and pay for specialists' ratings for each four years of service thereafter, but the total of such increases shall not exceed 25 per centum. Enlisted men of the Navy shall be entitled to receive at least the same pay and allowances as are provided for enlisted men in similar grades in the Army and Marine Corps.
Effective August 1941 to May 1942.
Developed by NCCM Thomas Goering USN (Retired)
