The Spanish ancestor of the 'boonie hat', the wide-brimmed hat worn by soldiers

In armies around the world there is one piece of headgear that is very common, especially in hot environments.

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This item of clothing is known in English as a "boonie hat" and in Spanish it is usually called a "chambergo". Obviously, throughout history many wide-brimmed hats of different types have been used in many armies. About this item of clothing, HatHistorian has published an interesting video today (it is in French, you can activate the automatic subtitles in English in the bottom bar of the player):

This video cites the origin of the current hat by pointing out the hats used by the British before World War II. In turn, in 1937 the US adopted the so-called "Daisy Mae hat", made of denim fabric and which was barely used in combat. Obviously, those who most popularized this garment were US soldiers in Vietnam, especially special operations units, who used these headgear instead of the heavy M-1 steel helmets.

In my opinion, HatHistorian is missing something important: the Spanish Army already used this type of garment before the US and the UK. In Cuba and the Philippines, it was common for Spanish soldiers to wear straw hats with their classic "rayadillo" uniforms, with the Cuban jipijapa hat being especially popular. However, the closest thing to the current chambergo before World War II was the hat worn by the Spanish Legion in Africa in the 1920s. A photo from that time can be seen here.

The Spanish Legion's hat was very similar to the Soviet "panama" hat, officially called the M-38 Campaign Hat, after the year it was adopted: 1938. This type of hat, later than the Spanish one, became popular among Soviet soldiers during the invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989). Its popular name in Russia was given to it because of its aesthetic resemblance to the famous Panama-type hats, although they have no relation.

Nowadays there are many different types of hats. In the British Armed Forces they are usually worn with a shorter brim. In Spain we have followed the style of the hats used by the US in Vietnam, with a very wide brim (initially) or a medium-sized brim (more recently). Below we can see a Spanish Air Force hat with pixelated arid camouflage, which I photographed at a BRILAT exhibition in Pontevedra in 2013.

In addition to being a lighter garment than a helmet in hotter environments, where it also offers better protection from sunlight, chambergos have the great advantage of helping to make the soldier's silhouette less regular, which is why they initially became very popular among special operations units. They also have another advantage: they are easy to fold and store, as well as very easy to put on.

As an additional note, it should be noted that these hats have a chin strap to secure them to the chin, but the most widespread custom among soldiers in many countries is to place this chin strap at the nape of the neck, where it is less bothersome and better secures the hat to the head.

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Photos: DVIDShub.net / Ejército de Tierra / RIA Novosti / Elentir.