Can anyone I.D. this cap please ?

[Anonymous]

Anyone any idea of the age & origins of this cap ? I'm thinking submarines .........

Cheers !
Dave

 

[USMC_GAU-21]

Dave,

Cannot be 100%, but this appears to be a 60's - 70's US Navy Aircrew hat. I am thinking a P-3 Orion Crew-member. SS-1 refers to a ASW operator, nothing to do with a Submarine Crew-member. If I could see the back of the aircrew wings I could better date the cap. They look like they are clutch back and not permanently attached. That will help with the dating.

SS-1 refers to a crew position on a P-3C Orion ASW crew.

Typical P-3 Crew Compliment:

* three Naval Aviators
o Patrol Plane Commander (PPC)
o Patrol Plane 2nd Pilot (PP2P)
o Patrol Plane 3rd Pilot (PP3P)
* two Naval Flight Officers
o Patrol Plane Tactical Coordinator (PPTC or TACCO)
o Patrol Plane Navigator/Communicator (PPNC or NAVCOM)
* two enlisted aircrew flight engineers (FE1 and FE2)

* three enlisted sensor operators
o Radar/MAD/EWO (SS-3)
o 2 Acoustic (SS-1 and SS-2)

* one enlisted in-flight technician (IFT)
* one aviation ordnanceman (ORD position no longer used on USN crews; duties assumed by IFT.)

The senior of either the PPC or TACCO will be designated as the aircraft Mission Commander (MC).

Since the cap has "Enlisted" aircrew wings this hat would belong to a enlisted Navy Aircrewman.

If I can see the back of the wings like I said, I could possibly date the hat.

Hope this helps.

r/Gy Dan

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks there Gunny ! That's as full an explanation as could be given

I'll dig it out of my overloaded attic and check the back of the wings, take a photo and wait to hear your thoughts.

Is it worth putting on eBay do you think ?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[USMC_GAU-21]

No worries! glad I could help. It appears to be a very nice "cloth/wool" cap. So it could be older then 1969 or so. Maybe from the 50's? But can not be sure. The wings could tell us if it is from 50-60's, or 60's - 70's.

Yes I think it is a very nice piece of "Cold War" militaria. Especially if a collector of Patrol Squadron uniforms needs some "Squadron" only ball caps. These were worn in and around the squadron area, and on the aircraft. So, it could be a hard item to get.

Looking forward to seeing the pictures of the wings.

r/Gy