The pilot also existed before the Second World War, but this headdress gained the greatest popularity precisely during the years of the bloodiest, destructive and inhuman military confrontation in the history of mankind. It was worn by the soldiers of the Red Army, the Wehrmacht, and the Allied troops. So why is this unpretentious headdress really needed on the head?
Where does the garrison cap begin?
The garrison cap begins with a beret, in any case, this is what connoisseurs of army fashion say. Beret - a small baggy hat, was invented in ancient times, presumably by the Celts, and was very popular for more than a century. Subsequently, it is precisely takes, will supply the cap with such elements as edging and pompom. Gradually, in the troops of European countries, the beret began to evolve into a bonnet, which was especially widely used in the navy.
A significant step towards the creation of the cap was made in 1848 by the British Colonel Alexander McDonnelli, who commanded the Scottish regiment. The colonel decided to separate his unit and replaced the Scottish beret, which was popular at that time in the army, with a balmora beret, which folded in half and looked very much like a modern garrison cap. This headdress was called "glengarry".
Laziness is the engine of progress
In 1900, the UK approved a new "Official Dress Code", which was published by the British War Office. It was then that the glengarries became the headdress of all British military. They were also worn by the pilots of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. But for the duration of the flight, they had to take off the glengarry in order to put a helmet on their heads. You had to keep the hat with you, so the military aviators folded their bonnets across the fields, turning them into a narrow strip, and then put them in this form under the shoulder straps.
Because of such actions, the cap bent and did not unbend itself, after being removed from under the shoulder strap. Most of the pilots were too lazy to immediately iron their hats, and they wore them in this form. This is how the garrison cap appeared. Similarly, the situation developed with bonnets for pilots in other countries, including Tsarist Russia. Officially, the headdress "cap" was introduced to the troops in 1919, after it became clear that this cap is equally comfortable for soldiers of all branches of the military. It is curious that after the revolution, many generals considered the cap to be a relic of tsarist times and were extremely reluctant to meet the headdress.
Want to know even more interesting things about military uniform? How about reading about why do French sailors have a red pom-pom on their peakless cap and what a legend is behind all this.