Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Luftwaffe Flak Artillery EM/NCO Schirmmütze visor cap manufactured by Robert Lubstein of Berlin under the EREL brand and marked with a 1938 delivery year. This company was a "Top Five" maker during the WWII period, up there with Peküro and Wilhelm Welhausen, and caps made by them were desirable then as they are now.

It is constructed from Fliegerblau, or Flyer’s Blue, doeskin wool with a wide black ribbed center band, three rows of deep red Tiefrot Flak Artillery piping, aluminum insignia, and the correct black leather EM/NCO chinstrap. The original crown stiffener remains installed, preserving the cap’s sharp high crown profile. It is marked size 56 1/2 and additionally bears a Luftwaffe clothing depot stamp beneath the sweatband.

The cap body is made from fine Flyer’s Blue doeskin wool with a wide ribbed black wool center band. Three rows of deep red Tiefrot piping run around the crown and along both edges of the band, identifying the Luftwaffe Flak and Artillery branch.

The front is fitted with a high quality aluminum 2nd Pattern Luftwaffe eagle above an aluminum oak leaf wreath with stylized wings surrounding a painted tricolor cockade. The insignia remain in excellent condition with only minor wear to the painted cockade. The red center remains well retained.

The black leather EM/NCO chinstrap remains present and is secured by enameled side buttons. Both the strap and buttons are in excellent condition with very little age deterioration or service wear.

The Vulkanfiber visor has a glossy black upper surface, green checkered underside, and fully intact faux leather edge trim. There is only minor deterioration to the upper finish where the chinstrap rested against the visor. The visor remains firmly attached to the cap body.

The interior is lined in orange brown lightweight service cloth. The celluloid crown sweatshield remains fully intact with complete surrounding stitching. Beneath it is the clearly legible EREL maker, size, and delivery information:

56 1/2
EREL
SONDERKLASSE
Robert Lubstein
Größte Berliner Militär Mützen Fabrik
Berlin N.W. 21
Alt Moabit 105
Lieferjahr
1938

The gold printing remains largely complete, with some oxidation toward green near the lower portion. Lieferjahr indicates the delivery year, dating the cap to 1938.

The natural leather sweatband remains supple and in very good condition with light staining and wear from use but no major tears. The stitching securing it remains intact.

On the underside of the sweatband is a rectangular Luftwaffe depot stamp:

Bkl.L. Brunn a.G.

identifying the Bekleidungslager der Luftwaffe at Brunn am Gebirge, the Luftwaffe clothing depot associated with issue or distribution of the cap.

The cap is marked:

56 1/2

Overall condition is very good. The exterior colors remain strong, the deep red piping is well preserved, and the aluminum insignia remain bright. No obvious moth damage or other significant exterior textile damage is noted. The principal condition points are light service wear, minor cockade paint loss, slight visor finish deterioration beneath the chinstrap, light sweatband staining, and some oxidation to the gold interior printing.

With its 1938 dated EREL Sonderklasse marking, retained crown stiffener, deep red Flak Artillery piping, aluminum 2nd Pattern insignia, EM/NCO chinstrap, and Brunn am Gebirge Luftwaffe clothing depot stamp, this is a particularly well marked Luftwaffe Flak visor cap. It would fit especially well in a Luftwaffe Flak, EREL headgear, pre-war German uniform, or advanced WWII visor cap collection.

A flak corps (German: Flakkorps) was a massed anti-aircraft (AA) artillery formation employed by the Luftwaffe for anti-aircraft, antitank, and fire support operations in World War II. A Flakkorps was a flexible organization that was made up of a varying number of AA regiments, brigades, or divisions. A total of six flak corps were organized by Germany during the war. The flak corps, while mainly intended to support ground units with concentrated anti-aircraft fire, in many cases provided also antitank support.

Flak corps did not exist before World War II. Until the end of war Germany eventually organized a total of six flak corps, being numbered I - VI, plus one short-lived special flak corps.

Flak corps I and II were formed on 3 October 1939. They grouped previously existing mobile AA battalions so as to overwhelmingly concentrate their firepower at points of decision on the battlefield. The original two flak corps were used in the Battle of France in 1940, and later inactivated. They were reorganized for the German invasion of Russia and fought for the remainder of the war on the Eastern Front. The I Flak Corps was destroyed at Stalingrad and later formed again.

The III Flak Corps was formed in February 1944 and fought on the Western Front. In total, III Flak Corps entered combat in Normandy with 27 heavy batteries, 26 light batteries and some 12,000 men. During the fighting in Normandy in 1944, the III Flak Corps was motorized although not all authorized vehicles were present. It was eventually destroyed in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945.

The IV Flak Corps was formed in July 1944 and supported Army Group G on the Western Front until it surrendered in May 1945.

The V Flak Corps was formed in November 1944 and fought in Hungary and Austria.

The VI Flak Corps was formed in February 1945 and fought in northern Germany in support of the 1st Parachute Army.

The flak corps "for special employment" (Flakkorps z.b.V.) was organized in 1945 to control V-weapons.

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.