For any of you that have been following my feed for some time, you will know that I have a little passion for these caps! During the Korean War, the classic painted jackets of WW2 were frowned upon by the airforce, who were looking to smarten up their image. Instead the B-29 crews baed in Japan leaned toward the locally made garments as an expression of camaraderie and individuality. The squadron cap was born!
These particular caps are definitely both the most iconic, and the hardest to find. These caps tell a story, the B on the front stands for Bombardier, the crew member's position, the H is the letter that was painted on the tails of all 98th Bomb Wing B-29s and signifies the group, Jimmy is the name, and the 345th the squadron number. On the top is an amazing hand stitched 345th BS patch. To top it all off this also has captains bars to the front.
Condition
- Good condition for its age - these caps are usually wrecked
- The leatherette sweatband has lost it's plastic coating
- There is some stretching to the cotton paneling
- Light staining throughout that may come out with dry cleaning
Size
- I'm a 7 3/8 and it does sit on my head nicely. Whilst this is in wearable condition, due to the extreme scarcity of the item, I can't recommend wearing.