UNIFORMS (File #5) Contents Military Berets............................p.2 Drill Sergeant's Hat.......................p.7 Steel Helmets..............................p.8 ..........p.10 See also: USAMHI Uniform-Head RefBranch dv 1979 RESEARCH REPORT: MILITARY BERETS Beret headdress in military uniforms is a relatively modern fashion. The beret's military appeal did not emerge until World War I, after which its use became widespread, not just functionally but as a distinctive badge for elite troops, especially airborne and commandos. Berets are now eminently fashionable military garb. The word "beret" traces back in English to 1850 at least, but the cap itself boasts more ancient origins. Standard reference authorities attribute the beret as a distinctive article of clothing to the Basques, a unique ethnic group in the northern Pyrennes region common to France and Spain. The "boina," a small, round woolen cap with a flattened top, still typifies Basque peasant dress. Similar in appearance to boina and beret, and of equally ancient origin, are the distinctive cloth caps of Scotland: the bonnet and tam-o-shanter. The early bonnet was much thicker than the modern beret, whereas the tam-o-shanter is a bonnet with a pom-pon on the top and is often favored by modern Scots units. The bonnet appeared in military uniforms at least as early as the English Civil Wars, being noted at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644. The first wearing of an actual beret as part of a military uniform can probably be attributed to the Spanish. Although none of the sources consulted for this report document a first appearance of the beret, several allude to its early Spanish use. Possibly inspired by beret-wearing Spanish troops, French mountain fighters, the elite Chasseurs Alpins, adopted in 1891 a large baggy-type beret, deep blue in color. Earlier, French marines wore a dark blue beret. Although the warfare of 1914-1918 led to nearly universal adoption of steel helmets, it also introduced berets into the main-stream of Western military uniforms. Nearly all pertinent sources identify the tank as the casual agent. Its cramped and obstructive confines compelled the British Royal Tank Corps, for one, to adopt a more functional headgear than their cumbersome and easily-stained khaki cap. Officially adopted in 1924, the new British black Beret was a compromise between the "skimpy" beret of the Basque peasant and the "sloppy" beret of the French Chausseurs Alpins. Later, select units within the Tank Corps wore distinctively colored berets, e.g., gray for the Royal Dragoons (Mechanized) and brown or red for the 11th Hussars (Armoured). Interestingly, the beret became a symbol of progress and modernization, with "hidebound colonels" refusing to allow berets to be worn in their regiments. Meanwhile, the beret also capped heads in the armed forces of other European nations, most notably French fortress troops, German tank troops, and others, as follows: Belgium: mountain (Ardennes) troops - green frontier motorcycle troops - black France: commandos -green airborne troops - red tank corps - black fortress troops - khaki mountain troops - blue Free French independent fighters - maroon Germany: tank troops -black Great Britain: commandos -green paratroopers - red all combat troops (1943- ) - khaki tank troops - black Italy: royal marines -green and khaki royal and republican parachutists - black, khaki, and green women's auxilliary corps - green Soviet Union: Army Administrative Section (female) - green Only the British Army appears to have adopted the beret wholesale. Besides distinctive berets for its elite troops, khaki-cloth berets became the general service cap, being first issued to Irish troops in 1943 and eventually replacing most other hats in the British Army. German experience with berets contrasted with the British and French forces. The only beret-like headgear worn was the short-lived black panzer cap (Schutzmutze), which consisted of a special leather crash helmet overfitted with a large beret. By the winter of 1939-1940, German tank crews no longer wore it. After 1945, berets proliferated among the armed forces of most nations. By 1960, berets joined the military uniforms of Canada, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Iran, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Furthermore, national units of United Nations peace-keeping forces wore light blue berets. Meanwhile, the armed forces of the United States were not immune to this military fashion. The US Marine Corps tested blue and green berets in 1951, but did not adopt them. (Additional testing by the Marines took place in 1976-1977.) The US Air Force permitted para- rescuemen to wear red berets in 1966 and female personnel blue berets in 1969. Black berets were authorized in the 1970s for US Army personnel assigned to Ranger units and for all female soldiers. The US beret's preeminence, however, belongs to the US Special Forces. The idea and origin of the well-known Green Berets is claimed by officers of the 77th Special Forces Group in 1954 at Fort Bragg, NC. Wishing to bolster esprit and distinguish themselves from other airborne troops, they decided to adopt a distinctive article of uniform, choosing the beret because of its association with high professionalism and unconventionality. Their model was the British Royal Marine Commandos. Without higher authority, these officers procured from local commercial sources "what looked like man-sized Girl Scout berets"- and thereby began the legend. Before that legend encrusted, however, a running battle ensued between Special Forces and higher headquarters over the unauthorized headgear. When the 82d Airborne Division attempted to similarly outfit itself with red berets in 1956, Headquarters, Department of the Army prohibited all berets. Persistence kept the beret firmly on the heads of the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany despite official opposition. Eventually a sympathetic President, John F. Kennedy, in 1961 bestowed official authorization on the green beret. Even then, some senior commanders continued to issue "take-off-the- beret" orders. Not until 1965-66 did Army policy preclude major commanders from denying Special Forces personnel their privilege to wear the green wool beret. It required a decade of controversy and struggle to achieve this particular exception to uniform standardization. SOURCES Adair, Robin. British Eighth Army, North Africa, 1940-1943. NY: Arco, 1974. 32 p. UC485G7A6. Air Force Times (30 Mar 1966): p. 2; (25 Jun 1969): p.3. Per. Anderson, Douglas N. Scots in Uniform. Edinburgh: Holmes McDougall, 1972. pp. 14-15 & 26-27. UC485G7A7. Carman, W.Y. A Dictionary of Military Uniforms. NY: Scribner's Sons, 1977. p. 26. UC480C27. _________. British Military Uniforms From Contemporary Pictures. NY: Arco, 1957. pp. 154, 155 & 158. UC485G7C32. Company of Military Historians. Military Uniforms in America: Plate 287, 1966. With text, 2 p. Curator. Corts, Henry. Les Berets Rouges. Paris: Amicale des Anciens parachutistes, SAS, 1952. 333 p. D802F8C63. Davis, Brian L. German Army Uniforms and Insignia, 1933-1945. NY: World Pub, 1972. pp. 102-103, 105, 160 & 162. UC485G3D3. Davies, howard P. British Parachute Forces, 1940-45. NY: Arco, 1974. pp. 24-25. UC485G7D3. Del Giudice, Elio e Vittorio. Uniformi Militari Italiane. Milano: Bramante Editrice, 1968. ca. 300 p. UC485D4v.2. See Plates 37, 49, 52, 56 & 59. Ferrer, Llull Francis, and Hefter, Joseph. Bibliorafia Icongrafica del Traje Militar de Espana. Montevideo, Mexico: Mefter, 1963. p. 24 & Plate IV. Z6724U5F4. Fighting Forces XVII (Dec 1941): p. 266. Per. Fortitudine VI (Winter 1976-1977): pp. 3-4. Per. Frye, John W. "The Green Beret: Where it Began." Army 26 (May 1976): pp. 39-41. Per. Funcken, Liliane, and Funken, Fred. L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de la Guerre, 1939-1945. 2 vols. Tournai, Belgium: Casterman, 1967 & 1972. UC480F84t. Vol. I, pp. 16-17, 22-23, 102-103, 112-113 & 122-123; Vol. II, pp. 122-123. Galot, A., and Robert, C. Les Uniformes de l'Armee Francaise. Vols 1 & 3. Paris: Society des collectionneurs de figurines historiques, n.d. p. 46 and passim. UC485F8G28. German Military Uniforms and Insignia, 1933-1945. Old Greenwich, CT: WE, Inc, 1967. p. 183. UC485G3G4. Hudspeath, William A. Beret Insignia of the U.S. Army. Hendersonville, TN: Smith, 1987. 142 p. UC533H83. Journal of the Armed Forces 102 (16 Jan 1965): pp. 1 7 16; (27 Mar 1965): p. 11. Per. Kannick, Preben. Military Uniforms in Color. NY: Macmillan, 1968. 278 p. UC480K313. See color plate figures 454, 479, 484, 499, and 500. Kieffer, Philippe. Vert Beret. Paris: Presses Pocket, 1962. 250 p. D570C6K54. Lawson, Cecil C.P. A History of Uniforms of the British Army. Vol. 1. London: Davis, 1940. p. 57. UC485G7L38. US Dept of Army. Uniforms and Insignia: Female Personnel. Army Regulation 670-5, 23 Sep 1966. pp. 13-1 & 13-6. AR. Also Change 1, 11 Aug 1975, p. 13-2. _________. Uniforms and Insignia: Female Personnel. AR 670-30, 24 Oct 1975. p. 18-1. AR. US Dept of Defense. Armed Force Information and Education. Military Uniforms: A Manual of United States and Foreign Uniforms, Insignia, and Organization. Pam 1-14/DA Pam 355-120, 1960. With three changes, 1960-1962. Pams. Wilkinson, Frederick. Battle Dress: A Gallery of Military Style and Ornament. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970. pp. 141- 142. UC480W54. _________. Collecting Military Antiques. NY: Harper & Row, 1976. pp. 40 & 46. U790W5. See also: - Oxford English Dictionary of the English Language (1933). - Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 3, p. 332. - Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed (1974): Micropeadia, Vol IV, p. 946. USAMHI Uniforms-Head RefBranch dv Dec 1988 NOTE: DRILL SERGEANT'S HAT The drill sergeant's hat, presently an accessory item authorized for wear by selected Army personnel, descends from the enlisted man's Montana peak felt campaign hat, first issued in 1911-1912. See: "Hats Off--And On: Army Headgear Through the Years." Army Digest 24 (Apr 1969): pp. 48-49. Per(Soldiers). Rankin, Robert H. Military Headdress: A Pictorial History of Military Headgear form 1660 to 1914. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1976. pp. 18-19. UC500R36. U.S. Dept of Army. Uniform and Insignia: Male Personnel. Army Regulation 670-5, Sep 1966. pp. 13-2, 13-3, & 13-7. AR. Windrow, Martin, and Embleton, Gerry. Military Dress of North America, 1665-1970. NY: Scribner's, 1973. pp. 123 & 128. UC483W46. USAMHI Uniform-Headgear RefBranch dv Jul 89; Jan 91 HELMETS, 20TH CENTURY A Working Bibliography Brumbaugh, A.M. "Streamlined Headgear." QM Review 21 (Mar-Apr 1942): pp. 37, 94 ff. Per. Cole, C.A., and Derrick, L.G. Military Helmet Design. Study, Naval Medical Field Research Lab, Camp Lejeune, NC, 1958. 141 p. UC500M54. Crockett, Cary I. "Tin Hats." Infantry Journal 47 (Mar-Apr 1940): pp. 179-180. Per. Dean, Bashford. Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare. Tuckahoe, NY: Pugliese, 1977. 363 p. U825D4. Hitchman, Norman A. An Estimate of the Miltary Value and Desirable Characteristics of Armor Helmets for Ground Forces. Study, Operations Research Office, Feb 1950. 21 p. UC053H57. _________. "Keep Your Head...Keep Your Helmet." Army 8 (Sep 1957): pp. 42-43. Per. Data on WWII casualties and estimations of steel helmet's protection. Koppel, T. "U.S. Army Helmet Markings: A Brief Look at Combat Headgear Insignia of the American Army in WWII." Military Modeling (Jun 1972): p. 287 ff. Headgear File, Curator. Lewis, Frederick J., et al. Military Helmet Design: Research Project NM 81 01 09.1. Camp Lejeune, NC: 1958. pp. 31-39. U825U5. Massen, Marion. "The History of the Helmet Liner." Chicago, QM Depot, 1944. ca 250 pages, charts, photos. On microfilm. Reel 114, QM Heraldic Branch Coll. MF "New Army Helmet...Made Grenada Combat Debut." Army 34 (Jan 1984): pp. 13-14. Per. Reilly, James A. "Wanted: An American Helmet." Infantry Journal 44 (Jan-Feb 1937): pp. 66-67. Per. Reynosa, Mark A. M1 Steel Combat Helmet: A Brief History and Visual Reference Report, 1941-1985. Booklet, Los Angeles, CA, 1988. 27 p. _________. STEEL HELMET p.2 Stanton, Shelby. U.S. Army Uniforms of the Vietnam War. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole, 1989. 246 p. UC483S72. See Chap 3. Studler, Rene R. "The New Combat Helmet." Ordnance 22 (May-Jun 1942): pp. 931-934. Per(NatDef). Sydenham, H.G. "Fighting Man's New Headgear." Infantry Journal 49 (Jul 1941): pp. 18-20. Per. U.S. War Dept. Prescribed Service Uniform. Army Regulation 600-35, 1921 - 1949. AR. Wells, Daniel L. The Story of the New American Helmet. Booklet, McCord Radiator & Mfg Co, Detroit, MI. 21 p. UC503W46.