From November 11, 1949 the establishment of the Chinese Air Force, it has been 74 years now, during this period of time, the Air Force has also undergone many reforms and innovations, but also from weak step by step to strong, in the 74 years of development of the Chinese Air Force, not only the equipment is constantly changing, but also the Air Force officers and soldiers and military caps are also changing, so this issue of the article will talk about the 74-year history of the Chinese Air Force's military caps.
In 1949, at that time, the Chinese Air Force had just been established, and it was not completely unified in **, so the Air Force adopted the same 49-type military uniform as the Army, and both Air Force soldiers and officers basically wore the same series of 49-type liberation caps as the military uniforms, which were the same as the layout of the Army, and also used earthy yellow, and the biggest difference was that the Air Force cockade was added to the hat in the later period.
In the 50s, as the army's clothing began to be standardized, the whole army was equipped with a new 50-style military uniform, soldiers were equipped with liberation caps, and officers basically wore 50-style large-brimmed hats imitating the Soviet M43, and the same was true for the Air Force, the basic shape of the large-brimmed hat was the same as that of the Navy and the Army, and the external color was the same as that of the Army, mainly earthy yellow, but the big-brimmed hat was surrounded by a blue hook line, and the front had an exclusive cockade of the Air Force, which could better represent the identity of the Air Force.
The picture above is the exclusive cockade of the Type 50 Air Force large-brimmed hat, but it was not used for a long time, and it was completely replaced after the advent of the Type 55 series of military uniforms and cockades.
In the mid-50s, the army adopted the rank system for the first time, and in 1953 a completely new set of ** was designed for it In 1955, the army began to be installed, and called the 55-type military uniform, in which the Air Force, male cadres in the non-combat situation, basically wear the 55-type large-brimmed hat, this refers to the previous 50-style design, but in order to make it more coordinated, the brim is shortened as a whole, and equipped with a new 55-style cockade, also in order to highlight the difference with the army, so the top of the hat also added a blue hook.
In addition to the 55-style large-brimmed hat in the Air Force, the female soldiers and female cadres of the Air Force also have their own exclusive standard military hats, such as the 55-type female soldier beanie hat that was changed in 1951, the main body is dark blue, and a light blue hook is added to the top of the hat, and it is also equipped with a 55-style cockade, in which the hat of the female cadre is made of woolen fabric, and the beanie of the female soldier is made of cotton fabric.
At the end of the 50s, the new 58-type series of military uniforms came out, and the whole army began to be redressed the next year, and the previous large-brimmed hat was canceled and changed to the 58-type liberation hat, the air force is also configured like this, in which the officer style is made of woolen fabric, and the color is darker, and the junior officer and soldier style is cotton fabric, the color is more yellow, but no matter which style, the top of the hat is also with a circle of blue lines, in order to highlight the identity of the Air Force.
In 1965, the whole army began to change into simple and unpretentious 65 series military uniforms, whether it was male soldiers in the army, navy or air force, Male cadres all wear the 65-type liberation cap in this military uniform, of which the color of the Air Force version of the 65-type liberation cap is the same as that of the army, which is also army green, and the front of the hat is also equipped with a red five-pointed star cockade, under normal circumstances, the hat alone cannot be distinguished from other military branches, but can only be distinguished from the pants, because the pants of the lower body of the Air Force are blue, which is different from the army's all-green, and then entered the 70s of the 71-type, The 74 and 78 liberation caps are also improved on the basis of the 65 type, except for the different materials, they are the same in style and shape.
The same is the 65 type series of military uniforms, the air force female cadres and air force female soldiers, mainly wearing the 65 type female soldier beanie, and the same military uniform, are made of "really good" fabric, the main body is also army green, the air force version of the hat with a circle of blue dental floss, which can clearly distinguish the identity of the air force, similarly, after the 70s, the 71 type, 74 type and 78 type female soldier beanies, are also based on the 65 type of basic improvement, in addition to the difference in fabric, color, The style is basically the same, and it is difficult to distinguish it from the outside.
In the mid-80s, the whole army began to change into a new generation of 85-style series military uniforms, and returned to the large-brimmed hat again, and this military large-brimmed hat, both in shape and decoration, are more internationalized, among which the Air Force version of the 85-type large-brimmed hat and the navy, the army's style is the same, the biggest difference is that the hat wall part is blue, the top of the large-brimmed hat is surrounded by blue dental floss, the picture above is the Air Force officer's 85-type large-brimmed hat, you can see that the wind belt is a woven style.
In the picture above, it is the 85-style Air Force soldier version of the large-brimmed hat, compared with the officer style above, it is much more monotonous in decoration, only the top of the hat retains a circle of blue dental floss, the hat wall part is not decorated, it is the default green cloth, and the hat wind belt is not a woven style, but a leather hat wind belt.
In the mid-to-late 80s, according to the previous 85 series, a more complete 87 series was developed again, and the army, navy and air force were unified again, and there was also a new 87 type large-brimmed hat in this series, the air force style is still the same as before, the top of the hat has a circle of blue dental floss, the hat wall is blue, and a larger air permeability has been added under the top of the hat, which is more perfect and practical than the 85 type.
Around the early 90s, in the Type 87 series of Air Force large-brimmed hats, there was another summer white style, the top of the hat directly used white fabric, retained the blue dental floss and blue cap wall, and the style worn by the general also changed the previous silver hat windband to golden yellow.
Also around the 90s, the Air Force ground crew was equipped with the ground support hat in the picture above, also known as the "work hat", which was mainly distributed to some airport technicians, ground crews, etc., and was used in the summer working environment, but the specific name of this hat was not found, and if you know, you can say it in the comment area.
With the return of Hong Kong in 1997, the army, navy and air force troops stationed in Hong Kong are equipped with a more international style of 97 series of military uniforms, which also includes a 97 type large brim hat based on the 87 design, the air force version is completely made of navy blue cloth this time, the dental floss on the top of the hat and the hat wall are still the same as before, but this can also highlight the spirit of this hat, and there is a difference that the edge of the brim is decorated with golden wheat ears, making it more international military large-brimmed hat.
At the end of the 90s, the officers and men of the Air Force were equipped with Type 99 berets, which were improved on the basis of the Type 97 berets of the Hong Kong Garrison, and equipped with a more concise cockade.
At the beginning of the 21st century, around 2005, the Air Force's 05 series of military uniforms came out, and soon began to be equipped, along with this series, there is also a 05 type air force large-brimmed hat, the basic style inherits the characteristics of the earlier 87-style large-brimmed hat, but at the same time, like the 97-style, the entire hat is navy blue, rather than the green body plus blue dental floss and hat wall, which is also divided into 05-type air force soldier style, officer style and general style, the picture above is the 05-style officer style large-brimmed hat.
The picture above shows the 05 Air Force General version of the large-brimmed hat, which is different from other styles only in that the material of the hat is better, and the hat wind belt is the best color, which is mainly distributed to Air Force major generals, lieutenant generals and generals.
In the 05 series, it also includes a special brimmed hat for female cadres and female soldiers in the Air Force, which is also the first female military hat in our army with reference to international design, the general style is basically the same as that of the West, with simple and beautiful characteristics, and also increases the traditional blue hat wall and cockade of the Air Force, and the 07-style roller shutter hat of female soldiers in the later period is also improved with this style.
Entering 2007, more international style 07 series of military uniforms officially came out, in 2011 the whole army began to change, in the 07 type military uniform family is very comprehensive, including the various branches of the military and the version of each branch, among which the air force's large-brimmed hat inherited the Hong Kong garrison's 97-style design, added gold leaf decoration on the edge of the brim, and continued to use navy blue fabric, this time the color of the hat wall was adjusted deeper, so that the whole large-brimmed hat appeared more coordinated, completely bid farewell to the "old-fashioned" feeling of the year.
In the 07-style series, female soldiers also have a new roll-brimmed hat, the basic shape is the same as that of international female soldiers, and combined with the characteristics of the previous generation of 05-style design, but 07-style has more decorations on it, and wears a new cockade, the overall appearance is more mature and more coordinated.
There is also a Type 07 beret in the Type 07 series, based on the design of the Type 97 beret of the Hong Kong Garrison, the Army, Navy and Air Force basically have their own different versions, among which the color of the Air Force version is somewhat biased towards navy blue, whether it is a male or female soldier, they will wear it in their daily work in summer.
Following the 07 series of camouflage training uniforms, there is also a 07 type urban digital camouflage training cap and penny cap, which are mainly distributed to the ground combat units of the Air Force, airborne troops or officers and soldiers under daily work, the above picture is the 07 type Air Force training cap.
The picture above is a Type 07 Penny hat equipped with urban digital camouflage, also known as a "round-brimmed hat", which was distributed to air force units in the early years along with the above training cap.
In 2016, the army began to gradually cancel the beret in the summer clothes, and in 2017, the male soldiers and male cadres began to equip the more traditional and concise 17-style long-brimmed hat, which is mainly used in daily work with the summer uniform.
Today's Air Force ground crew is equipped with a new ground crew hat, which is simple and practical like a civilian baseball cap, and the main color is dark blue, but the specific name of this hat is unknown.
With the 21-type series of work clothes equipped with troops, in order to better match with it, a special 21-type large-brimmed hat was also designed for it, which is essentially a facelift of the 07-type large-brimmed hat, which is basically unchanged in shape and decoration, and the biggest difference is that the angle of the top of the hat has been slightly modified.
Now the latest training uniform issued by the whole army is the 21-type starry sky camouflage training uniform, this series contains various different terrain versions, and it is no longer exclusive to the military, but according to what kind of environment, what kind of combat conditions to freely match, in the 21-type series of training uniforms, there is also a 21-type training hat, its appearance is similar to the previous 07-type, but the biggest feature is that the cockade part is changed to velcro. It can be easily disassembled, and today the ground forces of the Air Force are using this style.
In addition, there is also a Type 21 starry sky camouflage round-brimmed hat, which is also being equipped with the training cap, and some officers and soldiers of the Air Force are also using it.
The above is the 74-year history of the Chinese Air Force's military hat change article, such as what errors or deficiencies exist in the article, and I hope you will give more guidance and improvement, if you want to know more, please remember to pay attention, and continue to update for you in the next issue.