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Post by timo1970 on Jun 28, 2016 15:03:26 GMT -5
I just found something today while hunting for equipment, a cap which looks like it was made in a tailor shop in the pattern that we think of today as USMC, in a material that looks like the French camouflaged poncho, perhaps a little bit lighter. ( I will add a picture in a bit)
Has anyone seen such a cap before?
Merci
Timo
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Post by lew on Jun 28, 2016 16:13:23 GMT -5
Sounds like a "fake"/non-period-made piece. The French-2e RPC; 1e, 14e and 18e RCP's- only started using the lizard pattern camo for headgear in Algeria (1955-1958). 3e RCP's famed "Bigeard cap" became the standard for the para units in 1958. None of these caps/berets had anything to do with the USMC cap. By that time, any USMC influence was far, far in the past, anyway. In Indochina, the HBT "frogskin" and British Windproof fabrics were the go-to choice for non-standard headgear. I'm interested in the picture.
Are there any stamps inside?
Salut!
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Post by timo1970 on Jul 5, 2016 22:00:18 GMT -5
lew Some pictures. Timo Attachments:
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Post by lew on Jul 6, 2016 11:51:35 GMT -5
Timo, thanks for the pictures.
The camo pattern looks like that from the Mle. 51 toile de tente (Zeltbahn copy). 1e RCP's camo berets worn during Algeria usually came from these tent sections. The workmanship is readily identifiable as crude. The stitching is the bare bones minimum and the edge of the brim is sloppy. Tailors in Vietnam and Algeria- local and French alike- usually put out very high quality wares. The locally-produced casquettes Bigeard, casquettes du 8e Choc, et le chapeau de brousse all had multiple rows of stitching on the brims for added reinforcement and because an cardboard brim stiffener would rot quickly in the tropics. I'm leaning toward this being a crude, modern creation, possibly one made for the tourist market in Vietnam.
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Post by Étienne on Jul 6, 2016 13:30:57 GMT -5
I'm with Lew on this one...everything looks good but the quality of the stitching. And, it's done in that bright minty-green thread that seems to get [over-]used a lot over there these days. Unless it was made by a blind person for a cheapskate USMC advisor circa 1962  |
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Post by craigtx on Oct 10, 2020 20:58:05 GMT -5
I just ran across one and picked it up on a whim. It's attributed to the Commando de chasse in Algeria.
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Post by lew on Oct 15, 2020 11:22:54 GMT -5
Craig, pictures man! Chop chop!
The Commando de Chasses typically had a lot of latitude.
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Post by craigtx on Oct 15, 2020 19:32:36 GMT -5
Nag, nag, nag... Here they are. |
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Post by craigtx on Oct 15, 2020 19:33:37 GMT -5
And the last one the previous post wouldn't let me attach... Attachments:
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Post by lew on Oct 15, 2020 21:25:05 GMT -5
Noice! Where'd ya snag that?
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Post by craigtx on Oct 16, 2020 7:22:04 GMT -5
eBay, of all places. It appeared on my saved search for French lizard camo.
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