• Get Paid to Write for Comando Supremo: We are looking for talented researchers/writers who are fluent in English and can write original content on Italy in World War Two. Please reach out to webmaster@comandosupremo.com if interested!

Military cap identification

generaleagro

New Member
Hello! Does anyone know the vintage of this khaki visored beret? My great-grandfather reached the rank of general (brevet two-star during WWII) in the regio esercito, and while the grigio-verde cap from his dress uniform is easy enough to ID, this khaki one—it fits more like a visored beret—is more difficult to pin down. I read somewhere (maybe on here) that there was some odd uniform kit issued after 1943, for obvious reasons, and he did spend a couple of years (1943-1945) in an American-run POW camp in North Africa after handing over his brigade's surrender in Sicily in 1943. So maybe it has something to do with that?

image0.jpeg

image1.jpeg


Anyway, a bit of background for those who are interested. His name was Michelangelo Agrò, and he graduated from military school (Naples, I think) in 1911. I believe he served as a junior officer with the Bersaglieri. I know for sure that he went to Libya during the Italo-Turkish war, and that he was shot twice during World War I (two very fortunate hits—one through the neck, just below the spine, and the other in the stomach, but after his unit had gone without food for two or three days). I also know for sure that he commanded a regiment of Alpini based in Saluzzo (when he was a colonel) from 1930-37. These are all stories that older relatives are familiar with. We never talked much about the colonial campaigns in Africa, though, and I would be curious to know where he was during that time. I suppose it's simple enough to ask the Italian defense department for people's military records, but I haven't yet looked into it.
 

jwsleser

Administrator
Staff member
The second berretto is post war, Republic of Italy (Esercito Italiano). After 1946. The Royal crown has been replaced by the castle style crown. The color of the uniforms changed at the same time, becoming more of a khaki/olive color as seen in that hat
 

generaleagro

New Member
The second berretto is post war, Republic of Italy (Esercito Italiano). After 1946. The Royal crown has been replaced by the castle style crown. The color of the uniforms changed at the same time, becoming more of a khaki/olive color as seen in that hat
That makes sense. I think that one is probably my great-uncle's then. He served in the Italian army from 1947 until I think the mid-70s, and rose to the rank of colonel in the medical corps (he was a doctor). They were both hanging on the hat rack in his front hall when he died, so I had assumed they were both his father's.
 

generaleagro

New Member
The second berretto is post war, Republic of Italy (Esercito Italiano). After 1946. The Royal crown has been replaced by the castle style crown. The color of the uniforms changed at the same time, becoming more of a khaki/olive color as seen in that hat
Do you know what the star on the khaki berretto signifies?
 

jwsleser

Administrator
Staff member
I am not an expert on post war uniforms, but assuming the fregi (hat badges) didn't change much between the R.E. and the E.I., it is the medical fregio.

MedicalBerretto.jpeg

Picture is from Coccia and Pignato's Le uniformi metropolitane del Regio Esercito dalla riforma Baistrocchi all'inizio della seconda guerra mondiale 1933-1940, p. 391.
 
Last edited:

generaleagro

New Member
Ok cool. I had seen another fregio with the snakes that didn't have the star, but now that I know what it's called, I was able to do a search and determined that the one without the star was for pharmacists.
 

1089maul

Member
Generaleagro,
I am not at home at the moment but on my return I will check my books. I do have a large one that cover uniforms from the thirties to recent times and will update this thread should I learn anything new. Thanks for the info on your Bisnonno! I have said it in this forum many times that I find information on member relatives very interesting!
Regards,
Bob
 

generaleagro

New Member
Generaleagro,
I am not at home at the moment but on my return I will check my books. I do have a large one that cover uniforms from the thirties to recent times and will update this thread should I learn anything new. Thanks for the info on your Bisnonno! I have said it in this forum many times that I find information on member relatives very interesting!
Regards,
Bob
Thanks much, Bob!
 

1089maul

Member
Hi Generaleagro,
I can’t add much to Jeff,s reply apart from the below photographs which were taken from Atlanta delle Uniformi by Giudice. Picture number 34. The book is unclear as to the dates but I think that the badge seems to have been in use in the sixties and seventies.
Regards,
Bob
 

Attachments

  • 52BEA758-149A-4F14-AD23-2338A37D2A5F.jpeg
    52BEA758-149A-4F14-AD23-2338A37D2A5F.jpeg
    947.6 KB · Views: 315
  • 72599CC7-9B56-4728-9774-54A07A9C8977.jpeg
    72599CC7-9B56-4728-9774-54A07A9C8977.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 299

generaleagro

New Member
Hi Generaleagro,
I can’t add much to Jeff,s reply apart from the below photographs which were taken from Atlanta delle Uniformi by Giudice. Picture number 34. The book is unclear as to the dates but I think that the badge seems to have been in use in the sixties and seventies.
Regards,
Bob
Thanks, Bob!
 
Top