Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely Luftwaffe Offiziersränge Schirmmütze (Officer Ranks Visor Cap), with a great early pattern "Droop-Tail" eagle on the front. These were worn by the rank of Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) up to Oberst (Colonel). It shows signs of only light use in service, and is definitely one of the better examples we have had. A wonderful honest lightly used example with a fantastic "Crushed" or "saddle-form" shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring.

This Officer's Schirmmütze Visor Cap is a very high quality manufactured example. Fabricated in Luftwaffe blue gray Fliegerblau (Flier's Blue) "whipcord" weave wool gabardine, with a wide black ribbed wool cap band and three rows of fine silver bullion piping around the circumference. The visor cap is decorated with the correct insignia, including a finely-detailed aluminum eagle of the early-war "Droop-Tail" design on the peak, and an oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and central tri-color cockade on the band; the latter is made of aluminum with a red and black painted cockade. The visor on this cap is the standard "vulcanfibre" with a lovely gloss top, which shows just a bit of crazing and checking due to age. It also still has the black patent faux leather trim around the edge retained almost completely. The bottom of the visor is checkered green, as we often see on Luftwaffe visor caps. The stitching for the visor is still fully intact, and it is firmly attached to the body of the cap. Above the visor is the correct bullion officer's chin strap, retained by pebbled buttons, which is in fantastic condition.

The interior is lined with fine light gray colored rayon twill, which shows little to no staining, though the original diamond shaped celluloid sweat shield is 40% missing, with the remainder showing cracking and degradation. The stitching is still mostly intact. The inside of the cap has a very nice light blue finished leather sweatband, which is still in good shape, relatively supple, though it does show some tears. The underside of the sweatband has a size 56 marked, and there is also a 1945 date, but we do not know if it is a production date, or from a unit marking.

Overall condition of the cap is very good, near excellent, with the colors are very well retained. The bullion shows little to no wear, the same with the crown. We did note however that the very bottom of the band is soft felt like wool, which is much more attractive to moths, and there is some mothing there.

A truly quality Luftwaffe officer in lovely condition with a great "Droop Tail" eagle. 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.