RN Radio Operator with 148 Commando battery Insignia Question

[sailorbear]

Hi all. Not sure whether this belongs in the RN & RM section or the RA & RE section?

I did, many moons ago serve briefly alongside 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery in their Naval Gunfire Support role. I noticed that on their DPM combat smocks, unit members wore the combined operations patch (I think on both arms, but after 40+ years memory is fading?), but my question is this, Royal Naval radio operators, I'm assuming on their green woolly pully's they wore the ROYAL NAVY COMMANDO white on black shoulder title, the same as the Medical Assistants, but did they wear the Combined Operations patch on their woolly pully's also? and if so was it on both arms or one? To my knowledge (and I could be wrong) the army gunners only wore the triangular commando dagger on their woolly pully's?

Regards

Tony

[Colin S]

Depends on what era you’re looking at - in the 1960s the Combined Ops badges were round and worn on both sleeves of the Denison smock. I don’t know about pullovers in the 1960s.

By the 1980s the Combined Ops badges were square and worn on both sleeves of the DPM para smock. In the 1980s RN Commandos wore ‘Royal Navy Commando’ white on dark blue shoulder titles on the pullover and Army Commandos just wore the dagger qualification badge - the only other badges worn on pullovers were para wings and subdued rank badges.

The Combined Ops badges became round again in the 1990s and are now worn on both sleeves of MTP smocks and shirts with subdued Army or RN Commando shoulder titles. On pullovers I’ve seen red-on-black ‘Army Commando’’ shoulder titles and the white-on- blue RN Commando shoulder titles but the Army’s qualification dagger is only used for No.1 and No.2 Dress now.

[sailorbear]

Cheers Colin S, that's fantastic, tells me everything I needed to know, I was Royal Signals in the early 80's and was attached for an exercise, but never saw them in jumpers, so never actually knew? Many thanks again. Tony

[Royal]

Its black on green commando shoulder flashes on (green) wooly pullys for RN now...