RASC Air Despatch sign dates
 

I'm trying to establish the latest date when the printed RASC Dakota sign would have been worn on the Denison smock. I've come across a vague reference to 'some bloke in the 70s' with a pair on his shirt, but I wonder if anyone can be more precise than this? I guess I'm really asking the actual date the Dakota sign was last issued. Thanks in advance for any information.

Another bloke in the 70's answer I'm afraid - I was in a mixed unit in 1979, on the one occasion I remember uniform being worn by a few of us a RCT man wore the Dakotas on his Denison.

47 Air Dispatch Sqn, RCT, were certainly wearing them at RAF Lyneham in 1980, and I think I'd seen them being worn on subsequent trips back to Lyneham well into the 1980s and possibly the 1990s.
Geirge

47 Air Despatch Sqn RCT were wearing the Dakota badge at top of left sleeve of the DPM para smock in 1982 and its use continued on smocks intermittently - I saw the Dakota worn on the right arm of a DPM para smock in 2004. The Sqn became part of 13 Air Assault Support Regt RLC in around 2013 (and they now wear the 13 Regt DZ flash). The Dakota continues to be worn on flying suits and is now worn on No.2 Dress too.

In answer to the question about the wearing of the badge on Denison smocks I have seen many later issue 1959 pattern smocks with the Dakota on them, so certainly into the 1960s (photos confirm in 1960, 1967 and 1969) and probably into the 1970s too.

‘GloucYeoman’ will certainly know....

I saw the Dakota badge worn on the sleeve of a 59 pattern Denison smock worn by an RCT driver in Northern Ireland in December 1970.

Tim

Many thanks to all for your prompt replies -- much appreciated. I've acquired a rather well-worn postwar denison smock bearing a pair of the Dakota signs, but the maker's label is washed out and illegible. It looks from your information as though it could have been worn as late as the 1970s. Cheers again.

As a member of the 395AD Troop I wore the Denison smock with the printed Dakota signs on both arms from 1975 to 1978. Also on the non-issue jungle shirt and overalls. We also wore one on our flying suits.

Chris

Thanks, Chris. That would seem to put a firm set of dates on when the outfit would have been last worn.

What would those dates be?

The last pattern of Denison smock was phased out from 1978 onwards and replaced with a DPM smock thereafter. The Dakota continued to be worn on the left shoulder of the new smock in the 1980s, (later switching to the right sleeve like a DZ flash), until being replaced by 13 Air Assault Regt DZ flash when 47 AD Sqn came under its command (see above). Still worn on flying suits and No.2 Dress.

So Denison was giving way to DPM by the end of the 70's.

Hi Leigh,

We also had DPM issued in the mid 1970's but never wore them.

Chris

Thanks, I'm wondering now whether my reference to a Denison was correct or whether the man I mentioned was wearing the DPM smock. I have a vague recollection that it appeared brand new, whatever it was.
He was 47 Sqn, I'll pm you his name just in case you knew him.

I was going by Chris's dates of 1975-78. Given the introduction of the DPM jacket around 1978, this would seem the latest year in which the Denison smock with Dakota signs would have been worn.

I wax RAF attached to Joint Air Transport Establishement "JATE" 47 Air Dispatch wore the Dennison Smock then along with the Dakota, I left October 1983, the Dennison Smock was a prized possession and denoted you had time-in, (Dakota still worn today as 47 Air Dispatch here at Brize)