Date my Kangol SAS Beret & my WW2 Para Beret

[martyboy]

Hi all,

Can any member please date my SAS beret?
It is from Kangol and has their lengthy
code numbers across.

and....Is my 1943 dated Para beret all correct?

Thanks in advance. Mart.

[kradman]

The SAS Beret is most likely 1980s with the NSN being in it

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I would have expected to see a leather band on the rim of the para beret - not the artificial band it seems to have. Also it looks like it has a slider pocket for the badge, neither of these would be seen on a wartime beret.

Cheers,
Steve

[Richie B]

The NSN 8405-99-132-2256 is BERET, Guards Division with 56cm headband according to Defence Clothing Catalogue JSP 786 September 2020.

Link

https://assets.publishing.service.go...deee/s_3-9.pdf

[Jerry B]

The SAS beret is late 1960's to early 1980's

[Jerry B]

The airborne beret is 1970's with fake markings, the trim and slider pocket are not wartime

[Watchdog]

The NSN 8405-99-132-2256 is BERET, Guards Division with 56cm headband according to Defence Clothing Catalogue JSP 786 September 2020.

Link

https://assets.publishing.service.go...deee/s_3-9.pdf

That is correct. However, there is something even more wrong here.
The contract number dates to the mid '60s to circa 1979 and whilst the current NSN might not have changed since then (I'm no longer serving so can't check it that easily) the official nomenclature describes the "Beret Guards Division" as Khaki which that one does not appear to match if you are familiar with the shade. The "Beret Special Air Service" is described as Beige to which this one seems closer allowing for weathering etc. The badge needs a better pic so that our cloth insignia experts can take a view. I wouldn't try from this picture.
Either way I would not shell out for this one

Sorry!

Regards
PS
An imperial size which a beret with that contract number should most likely have (the change did not occur uniformly) would be 6 7/8 to equate to metric 56 as per the NSN whereas a US size7 does equate to a metric size 7. That might be the "Smoking gun"

Mark

PPS I agree with the comments on the Para Regt beret. It's a Frankenstein