Why do you need a pair of ribbons on a sailor's peakless cap

  • Nov 20, 2021
Why do you need a pair of ribbons on a sailor's peakless cap

The image of a sailor in the public mind is inextricably linked with such a headdress as a peakless cap with two ribbons. It looks bright and beautiful, but not everyone knows why these tapes are needed at all. They appeared in their usual form by historical standards relatively recently and were needed to perform utilitarian functions. What were these functions?

Looks beautiful. | Photo: livejournal.com.
Looks beautiful. | Photo: livejournal.com.
Looks beautiful. | Photo: livejournal.com.

The tradition of ribbons on sailors' peakless caps goes back into the darkness of centuries. It is generally accepted that people began to tie the first amulets with inscriptions-spells on floating devices, fishing tackle and themselves in ancient times. In a cropped form, the tradition of amulets among sailors survived until the modern era. The sailors' masses have always been extremely superstitious due to their ignorance: most of the rank-and-file sailors were taken to the navy by force in the modern era. The recruitment was carried out from the peasants and the urban poor. Therefore, extremely superstitious sailors tried in every possible way to protect themselves from the harsh fate of an insidious fate.

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The name of the ship, numbers and full name were written on the tapes. | Photo: radio-rhodesia.livejournal.com.
The name of the ship, numbers and full name were written on the tapes. | Photo: radio-rhodesia.livejournal.com.

At the end of the 18th century, the practice of amulet ribbons spread widely in the British navy, which was also tied to headdresses. However, this practice was completely eradicated after the introduction of the statutory maritime form in the 19th century. For a while, the tapes disappeared, but soon returned. True, their return did not take place in the form of a magical amulet, but in the form of a utilitarian element in the design of a headdress.

For fixing tapes. | Photo: livejournal.com.
For fixing tapes. | Photo: livejournal.com.

The statutory sailor uniform of most countries implied, among other things, the presence of a headdress. However, it quickly became clear that in a strong wind, peakless caps and berets were simply ripped off the head. For this, a pair of tapes was added to their design, which were used as a retention element. The ribbons were tied under the sailor's chin, as a result of which the peak was not blown away by the wind.

Over time, the utilitarian function was lost. | Photo: ay.by.
Over time, the utilitarian function was lost. | Photo: ay.by.

In the Russian navy, naval headdresses with ribbons appeared in 1857. They were black. In 1872, a peakless cap with ribbons, well known to all compatriots, appeared. At the same time, they began to put a stamp on the ribbons or make embroidery with the name of the sailor, the name of the ship and a personal identifier. In 1878, the award-winning guard orange-black ribbons for the peakless cap were introduced.

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Today it is just an element of the dress uniform. | Photo: iohotnik.ru.
Today it is just an element of the dress uniform. | Photo: iohotnik.ru.

However, after the 1917 revolution, they were canceled for some time as part of the struggle against the legacy of the tsarist armed forces. They returned the guards ribbons to the peakless cap in the USSR already during the Great Patriotic War, along with shoulder straps and officer ranks. Today, peakless caps with ribbons are used in the navy only as a ceremonial or output element of a wardrobe. At the same time, the considered element of the design of the headdress has lost its utilitarian function, retaining only its aesthetic function.

If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about
what is "golden" US destroyer Zumwalt for $ 4 billion
A source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/230621/59499/

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