A side cap is a military cap that can be folded flat when not being worn. It is also known as a garrison cap or flight cap in the United States, a wedge cap in Canada, or a field service cap in the United Kingdom. In form the side cap is comparable to the glengarry, a folding version of the Scottish military bonnet. It has been associated with various military forces since the middle of the 19th century, as well as various civilian organizations.
Australia All ranks of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) are entitled to wear the blue garrison cap with appropriate cap badge as an optional item with General Purpose Uniform (GPU), Service Dress (SD) and Flying Dress (FD) uniforms. The piping of the garrison cap for air officers is light blue, the piping for all other ranks is solid blue.
Canada
Army In the Canadian Armed Forces, the field service cap () is defined by the Canadian Forces Dress Instructions as a "cloth folding or 'wedge cap'...Originally designed for wear during field operations and training, it may now also be worn as an undress cap with full and undress uniforms."Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 1, ¶ 22 The cap is worn as part of the undress uniform by students of Royal Military College of Canada,Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 5, Annex B, ¶ 2 and as an optional item by all ranks of rifle regiments with ceremonial dress, mess dress, and service dress uniforms.Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 6, sect. 1, ¶ 4c
The field service cap was originally adopted army-wide in 1939, and replaced in 1943 by a khaki beret. The coloured field service cap was a variant permitted for private purchase and worn only when off duty. These were in the colours of the regiment or corps of the wearer.
Air Force For personnel who wear air force uniform, the blue wedge cap () is authorized for wear with all orders of dress, save for the combat uniform.Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 6, sect. 1, ¶ 5 It is properly worn "on the right side of the head, centred front and back, with the front edge of the cap above the right eyebrow."Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 2, sect. 2, ¶ 15d Cap badges are worn on the left side, with the centre of the badge from the front of the cap centred between the flap and the top seam.Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, Annex D, Appendix 1 The cap worn by general officers is embellished with silver piping.Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 3, sect. 2, ¶ 9 Air force military police in dress uniform wear a scarlet flash in the front of their wedge caps showing . Air force members of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command wear a tan flash in the front of their wedge caps.Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, chap. 6, sect. 1, ¶ 5c
Prior to Unification in 1968, the Royal Canadian Air Force wore uniforms similar to those worn by the Royal Air Force, including a blue wedge cap. After 1968, the uniforms of the three services were replaced by a universal rifle-green uniform; the air force, however, was permitted to retain the wedge cap, although in rifle green instead of blue. With the advent of the Distinct Environmental Uniform, the blue wedge cap returned.
The wedge cap is also the official headdress of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.
France
The French (or "") originated as a long, pointed headdress, with a tassel at the end of the trailing crown (or ). Gradually the grew shorter until by the mid-nineteenth century the had become a true folding cap with no trailing crown. Instead the tassel dangled from a short cord sewn onto front point of the crown, hanging above the soldier's right eye. This style of headdress with a hanging tassel was widely worn by both the Belgian ArmyLiliane et Fred Funcken, page 107 vol. 1, Casterman 1972 and the Spanish Army during the first half of the 20th century. It is still used by the Spanish Foreign Legion.
When reintroduced for undress or fatigue wear in 1891 the French army's had become a plain item of dress without decoration. The colour of this working cap matched that of the tunic with which it was worn (either dark blue, light blue or black prior to World War I; horizon blue from 1915 to 1930; and thereafter khaki).Francois Vauvillier, page 21, , Argout-Editions Paris 1980 In 1915 the generally replaced the kepi for other ranks during the remainder of the First World War, because of its greater convenience when the Adrian steel helmet was issued.
Between 1944 and 1962, however, this headdress was worn by most branches of the French Army in a wide variety of colours, which normally matched those of the kepis historically worn by the particular branch or regiment. Line infantry caps for example had a dark blue base with a red top. In 1959 the was replaced by the beret for most units.
In the modern French Army the is worn by the 1st Spahi Regiment in the historic bright red of this branch and, since 2017, by the 1st Tirailleur Regiment in light blue. The is also worn by the servicemen of the French Gendarmerie and the (CRS), the riot units of the French National Police. Members of these units may have to change quickly from an ordinary headdress to a helmet, and an easily foldable cap is therefore practical.
Italy
In the Italian language, the side cap is called . It was adopted by the Royal Italian Army in the 1920s, and by the 1930s it was the main cap used by personnel belonging to the Royal Italian Army, the (air force) and the Blackshirts. It remained in use until well after World War II.
The side cap is currently used by the Italian Air Force () as part of the uniform, except for the armed personnel of the Support and Defense branch, who use the more commonly worn beret in grey-cyan color. The side cap has three variants in the ITAF based on the rank of the wearer. While the typical dark blue color is shared across all three variants, the piping of the officer ranks is colored in gold yellow, the one for the NCOs (marshals) is dotted gold/blue and the volunteer’s is the same as the cap.
Norway In Norwegian, the side cap is known as , literally 'boat cap', and is used by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The Royal Guards use a distinct variety commonly known as which is worn in garrison and while on leave.
Portugal
In Portuguese service, the side cap is known as barrete de bivaque (bivouac cap) and often referred simply as bivaque.
Two basic models are in use by the armed forces, the security forces and the fire services of Portugal.
The first model has a curved top line and is used by the Portuguese Air Force (all personnel, except members of Air Police), the Portuguese Navy (officers and sergeants), the Public Security Police (all personnel, except members of special units) and the fire services.
The second model is a pointed cap and is used by the Portuguese Army (only personnel in training) and by the National Republican Guard (GNR).
Russia/Soviet Union
In the USSR, the garrison cap was known as (, from "pilot"—the original cap was a part of the air force pilots' uniform in World War I). It was the most common type of cap used by the Red Army since December 1935"для комбинированного ношения со стальным шлемом и для работы в поле вводится суконная пилотка"Новая форма и знаки различия в РККА // газета "Известия" № 286 (5839) от 10 декабря 1935 стр.4 and until the 1980s. The was worn during the summer season instead of the winter ushanka. It continues to be worn in modern Russia, although more in the Air Force and the Navy, especially among submarine personnel, where its compactness is inherently practical. In the Ground Forces the has been more or less displaced by the patrol cap and the beret as an undress headgear, although it remains in the regulations. Navy tropical uniform also features the peculiar visored , to protect its wearers from the sun. The garrison cap was also the standard dress headgear for women in all of the Russian armed services (except for those units authorised to wear berets, such as airborne troops and marines), until replaced in March 2017 by the world-standard female peaked cap.
Aeroflot flight attendants wear a scarlet-colored garrison cap with a gold Aeroflot winged sickle-and-hammer stitched in the center.
Spain
The gorro de cuartel – referred to variously as gorrillo, gorra, chapiri or platano – was modelled on the later versions of the French bonnet de police and has the same vestigial tassel hanging from the front of the crown. The gorro de cuartel was originally known as the Isabellina; a large beret-like headdress which also included a tassel and was worn by the supporters of Queen Isabella II during the Carlist Wars of the mid-19th century.
It was in common use by both sides during the Spanish Civil War and continued in use by the Francoist forces after the war ended. It is now the distinguishing headgear of the Spanish Legion who wear it in barracks and on parade.
In 2024, the cap would be used by the National Police Corps (National Police) in its Cavalry unit to replace the Baseball cap and which uses it only on the service uniform of this unit.
Sweden
In Sweden this style of headdress is known as a (). It is mainly used by the Swedish Police Authority, Swedish Customs Service, Community Service Officers and also by Navy, Air Force and Army personnel, most recognizably by the infantry and cavalry units of the Life Guards.
Turkey In Turkey the cap is called (). The Turkish Air Force personnel employ a navy-colored one, while the aviation units of the Turkish Naval Forces use a tan cap, and the Turkish Land Forces units use a green cap.
United Kingdom
In the British Army, the first cap to be adopted of this style was the "Glengarry", which was authorised for all British infantry regiments in 1868 (although Scottish regiments had been wearing a round version since 1848 called a KilmarnockMajor R. M. Barnes, page 284 "The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments, Sphere Books Ltd, London 1972 or Humle bonnet, which had been folded to make a side cap). The Glengarry was replaced for officers of most non-Scottish units by a cap called the "torin" (similar in shape to the USSR's ), which was worn from circa 1884 until 1896, when it too was replaced by a style for all ranks known as the "Austrian cap", which had a fold-down arrangement, giving the appearance when unfolded of a balaclava, thus warming the ears and back of the neck. The Austrian cap (officially known as the field service cap) was then replaced by an entirely different style of head dress in 1902 and so went into abeyance from general usage, although officers continued to wear them as a private purchase item of undress uniform. An all-khaki version was also selected in 1912 as a practical head dress by the fledgling Royal Flying Corps that went on to become the Royal Air Force (who continue to use the same type of cap).
In 1937, a khaki field service cap, described in an amendment to the Dress Regulations for the Army that year as "similar in shape to the Glengarry" was introduced as the "universal pattern field service cap", and saw extensive service during World War II as a head dress to be worn with Battledress when steel helmets were not required. At around the same time coloured versions were introduced for officers of both regular and territorial regiments, although these were an optional item and were produced in a range of colours for different regiments. In 1940 the War Office announced that such caps were to be part of the uniform of the LDV/Home Guard.