Historical information

While the iconic headgear of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during the Second World War was the peaked visor cap or the side cap (forage cap), specialized operational units broke away from standard dress requirements to adopt the highly practical blue beret.The beret was a practical headgear, for soldiers who needed a hat that could be worn in confined areas, slept in and could be stowed in a small space when they wore steel helmets.

Physical description

An original World War 2 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wool/felt beret typically features a dark navy or air-force blue wool construction, an inner leather rim with a drawstring, black metal ventilation eyelets and is lined with black cotton inside. There is small oval white cotton patch sewn inside with the name and number of the owner.

Inscriptions & markings

Inside the beret stitched on an oval piece of white cotton, handwritten in ink : 'W. Sumner 51845'