In the Great Patriotic War, caps were worn by both Soviet soldiers and Wehrmacht soldiers, but unlike the German model, ours remained unchanged for the Victory.
In the beginning there was a beret
Fashion historians claim that the cap originated from the beret, which was invented by the Celts. As for the beret itself, no one knows how and when this baggy cap gained popularity. Meanwhile, many ideas for caps, such as piping and pom-poms, were borrowed from the beret.
In particular, balls stuffed with tow were sewn onto the beret not for the sake of ostentation, but in order to avoid banging one’s head in the low cabins of ships. But, as it turned out, the headdress only benefited from this. And in order to prevent the berets from flying away in windy weather, the sailors tied them together with piping. However, they still slid up and took the shape of an inverted boat, but they looked more beautiful.
Glengarry or Shaikachi?
In 1811, units of the British army wore berets in parallel with bulky shakos for everyday service. And in 1830, Her Majesty’s soldiers began to wear Kilmarnock bonnets (caps) without brims, named after the manufactory that produced them. In 1848, Scottish Colonel Alexander MacDonell of Glengarry replaced the bonnet with a Scottish Balmoral beret folded in half. He did this in order to distinguish his regiment from the British army.
The headdress later received the name “Glengarry”, and in fact it became the prototype of the traditional cap that we are used to seeing these days. In the middle of the 19th century, reports appeared about the Serbian cap “shajkach”, which is also considered the prototype of the cap. At first it was sewn for sailors of the Danube River Flotilla, and then for officers. However, the cap does not owe its appearance to Glengarry or Shaikachi.
Mother laziness
According to the "Regulations on the Dress of Officials", published in 1900 by the British War Office, bonnets and glengarries became the official headdress of British military personnel. They were also worn by pilots of the Royal Air Force. However, for personal safety during flights they were required to wear helmets. That is why, before boarding the plane, aviators folded bonnets, bending the brim so as to turn the cap into a narrow strip. Then they stuffed it under the shoulder straps.
After the flight, the pilots were too lazy to smooth out their bonnets and wore them “fore-and-after”, that is, with two noses. This is how the cap appeared. In different countries it has its own names and characteristics. In America it is a Harrison cap, in Italy it is a bustina, in Poland it is a forage cap.
Flight
In Tsarist Russia, such headdresses were first called “polyotkas,” which quickly transformed into “caps.” At first, this word was slang, since the regulations spoke of “a soft folding cloth hat for pilots.” By the way, this headdress was introduced in 1913 at the suggestion of the Chairman of the Foreign Commission for the Purchase of Aviation and Aeronautical Property S.A. Ulyanina.
The cap, as practice has shown, turned out to be so practical that, following the pilots, servicemen of other branches of the tsarist troops began to wear it. The first among the Soviet ground forces to introduce caps into their uniforms were cadets of the Red Army military courses. The order to this effect was signed on January 16, 1919. By the way, many military commanders of the Red Army opposed this innovation, considering the cap to be a royal relic.
The fascist pilot also lost the war
On March 16, 1935, the Wehrmacht was created, in which the cap became the main field headdress. It was sewn so that the front of the sides was higher than the back, cutting out the corners on the lapels in a figurative manner. For this purpose, feldgrau colored fabrics were used. A tricolor cockade was embroidered in front, with an imperial eagle above it.
For officers, the bottom contours and lapels were edged with aluminum tape. Tank generals also wore this headdress, with the difference that the cap was black, and the piping and eagle were pink. According to numerous testimonies, German soldiers liked this attire. However, the war made its own severe adjustments.
After Stalingrad, the fascist cap lost its former luster. The eagle and cockade were combined into one to simplify the sewing technology. Soon the edging and silk lining disappeared, and the quality of the cloth dropped sharply. The shape of the lapels has also been simplified. In 1944, the cap was made from the cheapest khaki fabric, gradually replacing it with a simpler field cap. The fascist cap, just like the Wehrmacht, also lost the war.
The May holidays are approaching and we at the Nomad Ethnopark are preparing for them in a special way. On holidays, little visitors to the park will receive a cap as a gift - a headdress - a symbol of the May celebrations.
Do you know the history of this item of clothing?
In the Russian Imperial Army, the pilot appeared in 1913 as an element of uniform in aviation and aeronautical units. Initially called “perelyotka” or “polyotka” (“flight folding hat”, “soft folding cloth hat for pilots”), it was introduced as a compact folding headdress so that the pilot could carry it with him in his pocket or in his bosom and put it on after the flight instead of a leather helmet (a cap was not suitable for this). The cap was worn by pilot officers during flights and service at the airfield. At the end of 1915, the cap was also introduced in military schools, and was sometimes seen in the infantry.
The first prototypes of caps as parts of a military uniform appeared in the 18th century in the armies of Great Britain and Serbia. Colonel of the English Armed Forces Alexander Randelson invented the Glengarry, which became widespread in the army by the middle of the 19th century. At the same time, this soldier’s headdress became a mandatory element of the Scottish bagpipers’ uniform. This English analogue of a military cap is made of wool and, in addition to identification marks and a cockade badge, has ribbons at the back and a pom-pom on top.
The appearance of the Serbian “šajkača” also dates back to the mid-17th century - initially this national headdress was worn by soldiers of river flotillas on the Danube River. If you look at the shajkacha from above, it will resemble a boat turned upside down; this headdress became the main one in the Serbian army during the First World War. Today the Šajkača is an element of the uniform of an officer of the Serbian army, as well as an element of the national costume.
Russia also had its prototype of the soldier cap; the Czech falcon cap was used as the official headdress of falcon societies of the early twentieth century. It very vaguely resembles the familiar Soviet cap, but the similarity is still obvious.
The first experience of introducing this headdress was in the tsarist army - at the beginning of the century, a pilot cap appeared among the uniforms of the tsar’s army. At that time, a folding cap, not called a cap, was introduced into use in 1913 as a spare headdress for soldiers and aviation officers in the Imperial Army.
The initiator of the introduction of such an element of military uniform in the Russian army was the then head of the officer department S.A. Ulyanin is one of the founders of domestic aviation. The version for junior ranks was made of dark cloth material with red piping, and there was a cockade on the front. The soldier's cap differed from the officer's cap primarily in the quality of the fabric and the absence of silver inserts.
The uniform cap of an officer of the Imperial Aviation, then called a “perelyotka,” was a product made of wool and velvet, 27 centimeters long, with silver Caucasian braid with an officer’s cockade on the front. Officers had permission to wear a pilot's cap only during a flight, between flights and when working at the airfield - for other cases a traditional cap was mandatory.
Two years after the introduction of the aviation uniform, the cap migrated to the ground forces, becoming the headdress of a corporal. The version for the ground forces is reminiscent of the familiar Soviet-style headdress - the gray cap is made in a much simpler cut from hard cloth.
The October Revolution of 1917 became a turning point in Russian history - the power of the Soviets sought to sweep away everything connected with tsarism from the face of the earth. This also affected military uniforms - all accepted insignia between ranks were rejected, and soldiers' uniforms, including soldiers' hats, were abolished. In 1918, the development of uniforms for Red Army soldiers began: firstly, five-pointed stars were created for Soviet soldiers, and secondly, new military headdresses - the famous “Budenovki” began to arrive in the troops (although they were not called that then). A little later, new overcoats, insignia and caps were introduced; there was no place for a hat and cap in this system.
Aviators, as a rule, preferred the old uniform, including using a comfortable pilot’s cap. And the cadets of aviation schools all wore uniform collapsible imperial aviation caps, and often their cockades were insignia adopted under the tsarist regime; there were very few caps with a red star.
In 1923, Soviet aviation became an independent branch of the armed forces. In 1924, military pilots finally achieved the introduction of a separate uniform for the Air Force, however, caps have not yet been introduced in the USSR - dark blue caps became the official headdress.
Only as a result of the reform of 1934 did the fabric cap again become part of the uniform of the Air Force troops. It was made of thick dark blue cloth with turquoise piping; a Red Army star was attached to the center front. Ease of use and preservation of appearance have become the key to success. A soldier's cap can be folded in half or three, put in a pocket, tucked into a belt - it will endure anything. Of course, it was military pilots who reacted most favorably to the appearance of a new element of the Soviet soldier’s uniform, and within a month they completely switched to wearing a new headdress.
In accordance with the order of 1935, all command and control personnel in the field were ordered to wear a cap of their branch of the military. The types of caps differed primarily in the color of the edging; for officers they were made of woolen fabric rather than cloth. This military headdress consisted of a cap lined with cotton fabric and two so-called barrels (sides). The soldier's cap did not have edging; for officers, the color of the edging determined whether they belonged to a particular branch of the armed forces.
The Finnish War revealed significant shortcomings in uniforms, which resulted in another change in the military uniform system of the Soviet soldier: firstly, budenovki were abolished, secondly, the cut of the uniform was changed, the insignia was somewhat modified, and finally, the main military headdress of privates and juniors and The middle command staff recognized a cap with a cockade in the form of a red star.
In 1941, in preparation for the war, several secret decrees were issued aimed at creating a unified front uniform for the Red Army and reducing the cost of producing soldiers' clothing. The uniform of the Soviet soldier was made of khaki-colored fabric (only the tank crews had a steel-colored uniform); caps were officially abolished for privates - only army caps were sewn. The sizes of the caps were different, but often did not fit the soldiers - hence the manner of wearing them on top of the head, otherwise they would slide down over the eyes.
The cap of the Red Army troops was a truly universal headdress - both men and women wore them without fail. In August 1941, an order was issued to change the military uniform of senior command personnel - shiny insignia, sleeve insignia and special uniforms were abolished for field conditions. Even the generals at the front wore standard tunics, trousers without stripes, and the uniform also included a green cap with a gray tint.
At the end of the Great Patriotic War, a major reform began to improve the quality of military uniforms of the Soviet army. However, the economic state of the state did not allow for a full-scale replacement of the Red Army uniform; the changes initially affected only the air and armored forces. The cap of a tanker or pilot, intended for ordinary personnel, was now made of cotton fabric, and a new, more comfortable lining option was developed. In addition, emphasis was placed on improving the appearance of buttons and badges on military hats.
On August 30, 1947, the “resolution on the unification of metal enamel stars for headdresses of personnel of the Soviet Army and Navy” was approved; in addition, stars with a varnish coating began to be produced.
III. Peculiarities of wearing individual items of military uniform 15. Fur servicemen wear hats with ear flaps with a golden-colored cockade in dress and casual uniforms and in khaki color in field uniforms. It is allowed to wear a woolen jacket, buttoned to the top in inclement weather. A cloak-cape and a winter field jacket are worn with or without a hood. Summer field trousers in camouflage colors are worn tucked into high-top boots or boots. It is permitted, by decision of commanders of military units, to wear trousers over shoes. The following items are placed in a duffel backpack: a raincoat, spare foot wraps (socks), a bowler hat with a mug and a spoon placed in it, a combat food ration (or dry rations), a steel helmet in a camouflage case (in cases when it is not in use), toiletries accessories, towels and household items - in the pockets of a duffel backpack. Alexis: I am surprised that almost all the information is on the Internet and you can find it out in a maximum of an hour, if you drink coffee along the way. Which is what I did. And what about the rest? Or is there no interest?caps:
The cap came from the beret, which they say was invented by the Celts. At least the beret was very popular in the Middle Ages and had different sizes, shapes and colors. Much later, a pompom began to be sewn on the top of the head. It is believed that it was introduced into use by sailors, since the rooms on ships of that time had low ceilings and, in order not to get stuffed, sailors sewed pom-poms - balls filled with hair, tow, rags - to their berets - whoever took out what.
Forage cap (forage cap) - originates from a small beret-type hat that was worn by English cavalrymen in the early eighteenth century when they were engaged in feeding and cleaning horses. The hat was very comfortable and gradually began to be used throughout the army as an auxiliary element of military uniform. During the American Civil War, a special cap was used, which is confused with a cap. The Russian language includes the words “forage” (feed), “forager”, “cap”, “kepi” and “cap”
The beret first officially became part of the military uniform in 1811 in the British army as a substitute for bulky hats that were difficult to use in cramped circumstances. However, it is known that the beret was used unofficially as early as 1768. It was knitted or altered from a worn-out shape, and was always round in shape. Most often it was blue, since blue paint was the cheapest dye then. When the cap began to be used as an official element of the military uniform, the color, shape and size were standardized. The headdress received the name “Kilmarnock Bonnet” in the army after the name of the manufactory that began producing it in 1830. They wore a bonnet with one side edge lowered and the other raised, or evenly.
The Kilmarnock bonnet was replaced in Scotland by the Glengarry beret (Glengarry) in 1848, which was the same bonnet, but with both side edges raised and flattened. It was invented by Colonel Alexander MacDonell from Glengarry in order to somehow highlight his regiment. The rest of the English army continued to wear regular berets. When the air force appeared, pilots were forced to exchange bonnets for helmets during flights. The berets were folded flat and then the edges were folded back, turning them into a narrow strip that was convenient to tuck under a shoulder strap, in a belt or in a pocket. The pompom was removed so as not to interfere. They were too lazy to unfold the beret and just put it on folded. These were the first caps. They were called “fore-and-after” (can be translated as “two-nosed”). Soon they were used by everyone who served in the air force. Berets with pom-poms became the dress uniform; berets folded in half without a pom-pom spread throughout the English army. Then they began to sew them specially, turning them into real caps. During the First World War, caps, as a comfortable form of clothing, spread to armies around the world. The Russian path has already been mentioned. Today, the cap is used as an element of uniform in a variety of fields.
Cap (from the word pilot) is a headdress in the form of a light cap flattened on the sides. The cap can be an element of military uniform (in particular, the USSR Armed Forces), various uniforms (for example, the headdress of pioneers and flight attendants) or a delicacy of women's fashion designers.
In the Great Patriotic War, caps were worn by both Soviet soldiers and Wehrmacht soldiers, but unlike the German model, ours remained unchanged for the Victory.
In the beginning there was a beret
Fashion historians claim that the cap originated from the beret, which was invented by the Celts. As for the beret itself, no one knows how and when this baggy cap gained popularity. Meanwhile, many ideas for caps, such as piping and pom-poms, were borrowed from the beret.
In particular, balls stuffed with tow were sewn onto the beret not for the sake of ostentation, but in order to avoid banging one’s head in the low cabins of ships. But, as it turned out, the headdress only benefited from this. And in order to prevent the berets from flying away in windy weather, the sailors tied them together with piping. However, they still slid up and took the shape of an inverted boat, but they looked more beautiful.
Glengarry or Shaikachi?
In 1811, units of the British army wore berets in parallel with bulky shakos for everyday service. And in 1830, Her Majesty’s soldiers began to wear Kilmarnock bonnets (caps) without brims, named after the manufactory that produced them. In 1848, Scottish Colonel Alexander MacDonell of Glengarry replaced the bonnet with a Scottish Balmoral beret folded in half. He did this in order to distinguish his regiment from the British army.
The headdress later received the name “Glengarry”, and in fact it became the prototype of the traditional cap that we are used to seeing these days. In the middle of the 19th century, reports appeared about the Serbian cap “shajkača”, which is also considered the prototype of the cap. At first it was sewn for sailors of the Danube River Flotilla, and then for officers. However, the cap does not owe its appearance to Glengarry or Shaikachi.
Mother laziness
According to the "Regulations on the Dress of Officials", published in 1900 by the British War Office, bonnets and glengarries became the official headdress of British military personnel. They were also worn by pilots of the Royal Air Force. However, for personal safety during flights they were required to wear helmets. That is why, before boarding the plane, aviators folded bonnets, bending the brim so as to turn the cap into a narrow strip. Then they stuffed it under the shoulder straps.
After the flight, the pilots were too lazy to smooth out their bonnets and wore them “fore-and-after”, that is, with two noses. This is how the cap appeared. In different countries it has its own names and characteristics. In America it is a Harrison cap, in Italy it is a bustina, in Poland it is a forage cap.
Flight
In Tsarist Russia, such headdresses were first called “polyotkas,” which quickly transformed into “caps.” At first, this word was slang, since the regulations spoke of “a soft folding cloth hat for pilots.” By the way, this headdress was introduced in 1913 at the suggestion of the Chairman of the Foreign Commission for the Purchase of Aviation and Aeronautical Property S.A. Ulyanina.
The cap, as practice has shown, turned out to be so practical that, following the pilots, servicemen of other branches of the tsarist troops began to wear it. The first among the Soviet ground forces to introduce caps into their uniforms were cadets of the Red Army military courses. The order to this effect was signed on January 16, 1919. By the way, many military leaders of the Red Army opposed this innovation, considering the cap to be a royal relic.
The fascist pilot also lost the war
On March 16, 1935, the Wehrmacht was created, in which the cap became the main field headdress. It was sewn so that the front of the sides was higher than the back, cutting out the corners on the lapels in a figurative manner. For this purpose, feldgrau colored fabrics were used. A tricolor cockade was embroidered in front, with an imperial eagle above it.
For officers, the bottom contours and lapels were edged with aluminum tape. Tank generals also wore this headdress, with the difference that the cap was black, and the piping and eagle were pink. According to numerous testimonies, German soldiers liked this attire. However, the war made its own severe adjustments.
After Stalingrad, the fascist cap lost its former luster. The eagle and cockade were combined into one to simplify the sewing technology. Soon the edging and silk lining disappeared, and the quality of the cloth dropped sharply. The shape of the lapels has also been simplified. In 1944, the cap was made from the cheapest khaki fabric, gradually replacing it with a simpler field cap. The fascist cap, just like the Wehrmacht, also lost the war.
