Cap band and piping colors through the yearsUnder the Red Star
The following chart is designed as a quick reference to help identify and roughly date Soviet Army visor caps based on cap band and piping colors. Band color is the colored rectangle, piping is shown by the stripe at the top; solid rectangles indicate piping color same as band. Chart reflects all known regulation changes in arms/services cap colors since 1945. Additional information can be found on the Cap Development Timeline page. All bands are wool, with the exception of black ones, which may be either wool or velvet.
| Visor Cap | 1945 | 1955 | 1958 | 1969 | 1980 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tank Generals |  | | | | | |
| Tank Troops | | | | | | |
| Artillery Generals | | | | | | |
| Artillery Troops | | | | | | |
| Infantry Generals | ||||||
| Infantry Troops | ||||||
| Airborne Generals | * | * | * | |||
| Airborne Troops | * | * | * | |||
| Air Force Generals | ||||||
| Air Force Troops | ||||||
| Med/Vet Generals | | | | | | |
| Med/Vet Troops | | | | | | |
| Admin Generals | | | | | | |
| Admin Troops | | | | | | |
| Intend Generals | | | ||||
| Intend Troops | | | | |||
| Justice Generals | | | ||||
| Justice Troops | | | ||||
| Engr Tech Generals | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Engr Tech Troops | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Special/Technical Troops | ||||||
| Generals (all) | | | ||||
| Engineers |  | | | | | |
| Signal/Radio Tech | | | | | | |
| Topographic | | | | | | |
| AD Searchlight | | | | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Construction | | | | | | |
| Pipeline | | | | | | |
| Motor Transport | | | | | | |
| Chemical | | | | |||
| Railroad/VOSO |  | | | | | |
Med/Vet = Medical/Veterinary
Admin = Administration
Intend = Intendance
VOSO = Military Communications Troops
* = wore colors of the units to which they were assigned
Special Troops enlisted personnel may have used black piping in lieu of dark blue until the 1950's (not confirmed)
Airborne typically wore infantry colors after 1946 and before re-adopting Air Forces colors in 1963
All black bands made velvet as of 1980
1989 color changes never implemented!
Colors:
| purple-pink; aka magenta/raspberry/crimson | |
| light blue/azure | |
| dark blue | |
| dark-medium green | |
| bright red | |
| black; velvet or wool | |
| * | unassigned; matched that of owning unit |