M-1969 Summer General Parade / Walking Out Uniform (Out of Column)

 


Lieutenant General Summer
Parade Uniform (1982)
 

The general is Wearing:

The late period general's 'wave blue' visor cap with the large crown.  It is piped in light blue and features a light blue band.  An embroidered cap device is attached at the front of the crown.  Gold bullion embroidery on the visor and band signify the general's rank.  A general officer cockade is pinned in the center of the embroidery.  The buttons retaining the gold braid above the visor feature the seal of the USSR instead of the simple star found on officer and enlisted caps.

His 'wave blue' jacket features blue piping and gold embroidery along the collar and cuffs.
  1969 pattern shoulder boards are also seen here.  On the left breast is an embroidered patch of the air technical services.  Six buttons and two pockets adorn the jacket.

A gold generals belt is also worn with the uniform.

Three light blue stripes (two thick and one thin) run down each leg of the 'wave blue' trousers.  Black shoes complete the uniform.

 

Sources Cited

 

 

Return to Air Force Uniforms
of the Cold War

 

 

More about the uniform...

This uniform was authorized in 1969 as part of the new uniform regulations.  It differed little from its 1958 era counterpart.  In fact, only the shoulder boards and size of the visor cap would change (the latter around 1980 when it became slightly larger). 

Generals were authorized to wear this uniform on both holiday/parade occasions as well as by officers who were not part of a formation on such days (such as working in an office or when going about the base while off duty).

The jacket is made in the usual 'wave blue' fabric that had become characteristic of the air force in the post-war era.  The gold embroidery found on the collar and cuffs is of very high quality.  The buttons feature the state seal of the USSR.  The air-technical patch on the left breast is simply a more ornate version of the excellent aviation engineer badge.

A high quality belt with gold embroidery and a unique general's buckle is worn around the waist.  On the buckle is the Soviet state seal with banners for each of the republics.  Its outer portion is adorned with a wreath.

The uniform's trousers are 'wave blue' in color and feature two thick stripes on either side of a thin light blue stripe running down each leg.  Black officer shoes complete the uniform.

Badges and ribbons were authorized for wear with the uniform, but on more formal occasions orders and medals were worn instead.

 

 

Service Chronology

The Soviet Air Force general's summer parade-walking out uniform is a modification of the M-1958 uniform pattern.  The cut is almost completely the same, with slight differences along the lapel corner.  Buttons can also differ in the number of republic banners and date stamps.  Ours are the very early type that feature the 16 republic banners and lack a date on the backs.  The embroidery of the earlier version is also slightly more elaborate - especially around the cuffs.  While our example is virtually identical to the earlier uniform and trousers we placed it as a 1969 pattern because that is the final standard that it was adapted to.  The shoulder boards were changed by its owner to 1969 standards, and the visor cap is a later period one with a large crown.

This uniform continued to be used through the latter half of the Cold War and into the early 1990's.  It would only be replaced with the establishment of the 1994 regulations that introduced the first distinctive uniforms of the Russian Federation.

This Uniform Replaced... M-1969 General's Summer Parade Uniform (in and out of column) This Uniform was Replaced by...
M-1958 Summer General's Parade / Walking Out Uniform
(out of column)
1994 General's Summer Parade Uniform
   

 

Sources Cited

(1) Prilutskaya, N. V. and N. L. Kortunova, Военная Одежда Вооруженных Сил СССР И России (1917-1990)[Military clothing of the Armed Forces of the USSR and Russia (1917-1990)], Moscow: Military Publishing, 1999.

(2) Правила Ношения Военной Формы Одежды [Regulations on Wearing Military Uniforms], Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense, 1989.

(3) Правила Ношения Военной Формы Одежды [Regulations on Wearing Military Uniforms], Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense, 1973.

(4) Правила Ношения военной формы одежды военнослужащими советской армии и военно-морского флота (на мириое время)[Rules of wearing military uniforms by the servicemen of the Soviet army and navy (in peacetime)], Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense, 1958.
 


Last Updated 3 January 2019 by Ryan Stavka