A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, forage cap, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It derives its name from its short visor, or peak, which was historically made of polished leather but increasingly is made of a cheaper synthetic substitute. The term forage cap is also used, although that also applies to the "field service cap" or the side cap. Other principal components are the crown, band, and insignia, typically a cap badge and embroidery in proportion to rank. Piping is also often used, typically in contrast to the crown colour, which is usually white for navy, blue for air force, and green for army. The band is typically a dark, contrasting colour, often black, but may be patterned or striped. In the British Army, each regiment and corps has a different badge. In the United States Armed Forces, the cap device is uniform throughout every service branch, although different variants are used by different rank classes.
History
The peaked cap originated in late 18th or early 19th-century Northern Europe, usually worn by working-class men. It began to appear in 1811, in the later years of the Napoleonic Wars, in the Russian and later the Prussian army (Russia's ally at that time), being popular because of its comfort and light weight, as opposed to the cumbersome bicorns and shakos that were standard-duty issue. During the Biedermeier period (1815–48), it became universal dress for German and Austrian civilian males of all classes, and for the entire 19th century it was popular with the working classes all over Northern Europe, although in England the flat cap became more popular with the working class around the turn of the century. In 1846, the United States Army adopted the peaked cap during the Mexican–American War due to the unsuitability of the shako in the hot Mexican climate. In 1879, a form of peaked cap was adopted by chief petty officers of Britain's Royal Navy, in imitation of an undress headdress worn by officers from as early as 1825. The British Army adopted peaked caps in 1902 for both the new khaki field dress and (in coloured form) as part of the "walking out" or off-duty wear for other ranks. A dark blue version was worn with dress blues by all ranks of the U.S. Army between 1902 and 1917. During the 20th century, the combination or peaked cap became common in the armies, navies, air forces and police forces of the world, although replaced in combat by protective combat helmets. During the Cold War and after dissolution of the Soviet Union, uniforms copied from the Russian pattern were issued to the armies of various Asian, Eastern European, African communist nations and post-Soviet states (except Baltic states, Azerbaijan (similar design but closely aligned with the Turkish counterparts), Georgia (after 2004) and Ukraine (after 2016)). Particularly famous are the oversized caps worn by North Korean army officers, unchanged from the 1950s to 2023.
Military usage
Australia
In the Australian Army, the peaked cap is known as the service cap and is generally worn with the "Patrol Blues" order of dress by all ranks with the cap colour being blue. A khaki service cap could be worn previously by warrant officers, commissioned officers and officer/staff cadets with any general duty order of dress and working or protective dress until September 2010. The khaki service cap was officially reintroduced in February 2026, and was first publicly seen when the new Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army, Brad Doyle, was introduced on Army social media channels in July 2026. In the Royal Australian Air Force, the peaked cap is the standard headdress for all ranks, usually worn with service dress, ceremonial dress and tropical dress among others. In the Royal Australian Navy, the peaked cap is the standard headdress worn by personnel holding the rank of petty officer and above when wearing ceremonial dress, regular day dress and informal evening dress among others.
Austria
Throughout the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Army were issued with shakos, originally in black leather and later in pike grey wool. Gradually, the height of the shako decreased and the cardboard stiffening removed until, by 1908, it had evolved into the ski cap. This was worn by Austrian officers and enlisted personnel during both World Wars, but when the postwar Austrian Bundesheer was established in 1955 an olive drab peaked cap and American style uniform were introduced.
Canada
The cap was used in the early stages of the First World War as the primary headgear, but increased head injuries led to its replacement by the Brodie helmet as primary combat head protection.
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