Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very good service used condition example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army EM / NCO Schirmmütze (visor cap). It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "doeskin" wool construction with a forest green band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching Weiß (white) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for infantry and motorized infantry. It still has the stiffener ring around the crown to maintain the shape, though it has still sunk a bit, giving it a nice gently sloped look.
It is decorated with a well detailed silvered aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silvered aluminum wreath surrounding a plated metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia look great, only showing oxidation and plating loss on the cockade, and the red felt insert in the cockade is still vibrant. The dual-buckled black leather chinstrap, designating the wearer to be an enlisted man, is attached to black lacquered buttons on either side. The finish has degraded a bit, giving it a "melted" look as often seen on patent leather from this era. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is brown on the underside. The top of the visor has a lovely pattern of crazing and checking, and there is just a bit of a bend on one part of the brim.
The light green finished leather sweatband is still supple, with the stitching still intact most of the way around the edge, with some missing on the forehead area. It shows significant sweat and oil staining on this area as well from use. The interior of the cap is lined with cream rayon on the top, and "service cloth" style fabric ion the sides. The original celluloid sweat shield diamond is only partly intact and now delicate, with the central portion torn away. It still has a clear maker mark printed onto the top lining, which reads:
Albert Walter
Tübingen
The name slot on the sweat shield has a piece of cardboard in it with the name Sapper-Wilh. written on it. We assume this would be for the name Wilhelm Sapper, which would be a nice research opportunity. There is no size marked but it seems to be about a 57cm.
Exterior condition is very nice, showing just a few moth nips and other minor damage. The piping shows some age toning on the crown, while the piping on the bottom is definitely dirty and stained from use. The center row, protected by the crown, is still a vibrant white.
A very nice example of the classic hat worn by German Army Infantry NCOs in WWII. Ready to research and display!
The German Schirmmütze Visor Cap:
The visor cap (Schirmmütze) was an important part of the headgear worn by German uniformed military, civil, paramilitary and political organizations during the Third Reich. This was the standard cloth headgear worn as a part of the service uniform. Visor caps were worn outdoors as well as indoors, and were often required to be worn by all personnel on duty. Visor caps were made in versions specific to each organization and were often further differentiated through the use of insignia, colored piping, or style of chin cord, to indicate rank, role or branch. The insignia used on these caps ranged from simple stamped metal emblems, to elaborate hand embroidery. Visor caps were issued to enlisted soldiers and NCOs in the military and in some other organizations. Officers had to purchase their own hats, and lower ranks could choose to purchase caps that were of a higher quality than the rather basic, issue examples. The private purchase caps were generally made in very high quality, with fine materials. A wide variety of fabrics were used, from Trikot and doeskin, to heavy wool, or even lightweight white fabric for summer wear. In the military, issue of these caps was generally suspended shortly after the outbreak of the war, but they continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.
