Military Hat Photos

[DOUGLAS]

This is a bulgarian Bustina style cap. It is not vintage but Cool hat from maybe the past twentyfive years or less. I actually have the entire uniform.It is interesting that the cap looks close to an Italian type but the shirt/tunic and pants look very Soviet.

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[DOUGLAS]

East German Side Cap

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[chippler]

Pat_H, It feels really nice but I suspect it is wool. It is definitely not an officer grade hat. Although it is soft it has that feel of boiled wool. I could be entirely incorrect though.From what ever material it was with , it is made well.

as you already know (from the other forum) it's a circa WW2 Australian army slouch hat and it's made from the fur of approximately 11 rabbits. There is no such thing as "officer grade" when it comes to Australian slouch hats... every digger (Aussie soldier) got the same type of slouch hat regardless if they were a private or a Brigadier. In fact, Field Marshal Montgomery liked them so much on his visit to North Africa he requested one and was given a 1940 dated one to wear and he fixed several regimental badges onto it.

- Chris

 

[DOUGLAS]

Thanks for the info Chris. You definitely know your Australian Military:eusa_clap

 

[BellyTank]

Home made German Imperial Tropical cap-

This was a repro WW2 Luftwaffe "Herman Meyer" Tropical cap.
I mentioned it in the Aventure Gear thread but I'm sure it belongs here.
Now I have modified it-

Before:

Now:
Early 1910s-1930s Colonial style.
Weathered and sporting a German National cockade and different chinstrap.

Part of my home made pre-WW2 military surplus...

B
T

 

[DOUGLAS]

It looks much better after you altered it.

 

[BellyTank]

Thanks Douglas- I had my good eye open.

That Bulgarian cap you showed earlier reminds me of an Italian Bustina-
I like Italian military headwear.

I really like this type: WW2 Tropical Italian Bustina.

And the WW1 Austro-Hungarian field cap/Ski cap.
I'm working on getting one of these.

Here's a nice shot.

The Italian Pith Helmets are very stylish too-


B
T

 

[DOUGLAS]

I concur on all counts Belly. I too am fond of the Italian head gear. I need to pull some more hats out. That tropical bustina is fantastic.

 

[BellyTank]

I thought you might, Douglas.

My interest in early German/Austro-Hungarian Mountain Troops/Kaiserj?¶ger
and Italian militaria is growing.

B
T

 

[DOUGLAS]

Here is a Swiss Kepi in the same vain as your Austro-Hungarian.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Here's a nice bit of military hat trivia for you. Please forgive me if you already know it.


Ever notice that the insignia on General Douglas MacArthur's cap looked, well, unique? How the entire bullion was embroidered, with no metal emblems at all? What was that all about?


Well, I finally found out. A BBC documentary on MacArthur explained that the cap was made especially for him in the Philippines. It was presented to him as a gift from the Phillipine people sometime before December, 1941.


MacArthur wore the unique cap to stand out from other generals, and to show the Filipinos that he hadn't forgotten them.
.

My turn to dig up an old thread. I came across some information from 1954 that appears to contradict this story.

According to my (reliable) source, MacArthur's cap was a Cavanagh, and after his escape to Australia, he had to cable the Park Avenue store for a replacement. A young woman who filled the order wanted to send him her autograph, so she scratched her name into the visor. This was caught in time, though, and a non-autographed hat was sent on to him.

I don't know enough about MacArthur to know if he lost his cap in the Phillipines and showed up later with a new one, but I found the story intriguing.

Brad

 

[DOUGLAS]

That is interesting Brad. I have never seen him in a hat that looked new or newer than the one that he is associated with. I do suppose that after repeated wear it doesn't seen odd that he would have more than just the one.

 

[fishmeok]

Keeping the old thread alive...
This is my small collection

The usual selection of crush caps, etc. The green hat next to the B-6 gunners cap (eastman repro) is a CCC winter cap dated June 24 1941. Used to see these around but the source must have dried up.

These are two unissued Bancroft USAF peaked "pac-caps" dated 1954 with the tags still attached.

Cheers
Mark

 

[thunderw21]

Here's a U.S. enlisted man's "crusher" cap. Not neccessarily a real-deal crusher, the stiffener was removed to allow it take this shape. Although it did come with a USAAF lot, so who knows, it could be an authentic crusher.
[huh]

It's a bit moth eaten on top, which is unfortuante.

 

[Tango Yankee]

I know these are primarily OLD military hats...

but I can't resist. Here is a selection of Air Force hats I've worn over the years. I'm missing the Marine desert hat I wore in my last assignment, and of course there were different baseball caps worn with fatigues and BDUs that aren't represented here.

Starting in Basic Training in 1980:

Six years later in Korea:

A few years later in Texas:

Later that same year (1990) in the UAE for Operation DESERT SHIELD (yeah, we were in woodland BDUs-go figure!)

Fast forward more than a decade to the next desert war, this time in Saudi Arabia (and in DCUs this time!):

And ending with my retirement in 2005, wearing the same hat that started this post:

Regards,
Tom

 

[indycop]

Cool!!:eusa_clap

 

[deanglen]

My reproduction M1907 US Army Winter Cap from AEF Supply. I love this hat so much I can't wait for winter's worst. My favorite winter headgear.

dean

 

[Pat_H]

My reproduction M1907 US Army Winter Cap from AEF Supply. I love this hat so much I can't wait for winter's worst. My favorite winter headgear.

dean

Outstanding!

 

[deanglen]

Thanks, Pat! Takes a real aficianado to appreciate this hat! Thanks, again!

dean

 

[thunderw21]

Dean, you'll like these.

I got this wool cap in a WW2 enlisted man's footlocker with a bunch of other personal items. The relative I got it from said that after the war the owner had been promoted up to an officer of some kind.
I think this is one of those caps like SAC aircrews use to wear when flying the B-36. Other than that, I wouldn't know what it's for.

This is a Navy cold weather hat. It has stenciling on the back: "CVB-42 GUNNERY". Looking it up, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was from the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt aircraft carrier!