Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Medical EM/NCO Schirmmütze (visor cap), with a lovely "Crushed" shape. This rumpled "saddle-form" shape is highly desirable, and accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "whipcord" weave wool construction with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching medizinblau (medical blue) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for the Sanitätstruppe (Military medical service).

It is decorated with a well detailed stamped aluminum Wehrmachtadler eagle on the peak and and an open aluminum wreath surrounding an aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia are all in very good shape, still bright, and the red 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. It shows some degradation to the finish, which can happen as the patent leather finish checks and crazes over time. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is checkered brown on the underside. It has a lovely pattern of light crazing and checking on the top surface from age.

The cap is lined with brown "service cloth" type material on the inside, which is in very good condition, showing overall wear and light staining. The celluloid diamond sweat shield is still mostly present, with intact stitching, and while there is no maker mark, there is a faint 58 size stamp under it at the top. There is also a small piece of paper in the name tag slot that looks to read Gefr. Klug, Josef. The sweatband is brown finished oil cloth, which has become very brittle over the years, and now shows finish cracking and flaking, as well as some tears and others issues.

Overall condition is just lovely, with a fantastic lightly used look. There is just a bit of fading to the colors, but nothing out of line with wear from service and storage. We don't see any real moth nips or other damage from misuse.

A great broken in example of the classic hat worn by German Medical EM/NCO soldiers in WWII, very impressive and ready to 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.