Raf warrant officer visor construction

[Trubia26]

Hello there! So much time..hope you enjoy your holidays!
Well...I have seen this picture in the net, a RAF Warrant officer with a peaked cap with cloth visor...I thought that WO visors in peaked caps were leather, not cloth...am I wrong?
Screenshot_20210801-110814.jpg

[dragon166]

I haven't managed to find any info on why this SD was worn but the wearers all appear to be aircrew. Other pictures of WOs show them wearing the FS cap or the standard WO version.

[Trubia26]

Ok...thanks for your help!

[Padre]

There are numerous photographs of Warrant Officers wearing the officer pattern service dress cap, many being Australian and New Zealand.

Prior to WW2 the RAF, RAAF, RCAF and RNZAF had both a Warrant Officer (1st Class) rank, who wore officer pattern uniform with cap in matching barathea wool but patent peak, and the Royal coat of Arms rank badge, and Warrant Officer (2nd Class) who wore Airman pattern serge uniform with cap in matching serge also with a patent peak, and a large crown rank badge. All but the RCAF had abolished the 2nd Class rank by 1940.

The main reason for the wearing of officer pattern caps by Warrant Officers seems to be supply. I know of a number of cases where caps have not been readily available (as they and the uniform were stores issued items unless a Warrant Officer specifically wanted to pay out of his own pocket for a tailor made item) and they have been permitted to instead wear officer pattern by permission of their CO, although there were expected to obtain the correct pattern when they could.

[Insignia]

Most interesting thread, there’s a clearer version of the photo at:

https://rafstories.org/story/raf-wp-22716

[Padre]

This is perhaps more interesting. A colour photo of Air Vice-Marshal James Robb wearing a standard RAF Officers service dress cap, rather than the Air Officers version with patent peak and two rows of bullion oakleaves.

Robb was Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group when he was promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal on 12th September 1940. He was further promoted to Acting Air Marshal on 15th October 1944, by which time he was Deputy Chief of Staff (Air) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, meaning the photo must have been taken between those two dates.

The full length black and white photo shows Robb as an Air Chief Marshal, a rank he attained on 1st October 1948 when he was Commander in Chief Air Forces, Western Union Defence Organisation. He retired on 26th November 1951. As can be seen by the close up photo, he was still wearing the plain officers service dress cap at least in late 1948 when he was first appointed to the rank! Its hard to believe an Air Rank could not be found for him in eight or nine years or so, but then again, few would challenge an Air Chief Marshal as to why he was (technically) improperly dressed!

Other photos show Robb late in his career with the correct Air rank cap.