Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII 1936 Pattern metropolitan police officer Tschako by Hans Römer of Neu-Ulm, dated 1937 and marked size 55. It is constructed with the later police green wool covered pressed fiber body and black trim, and retains a fine quality aluminum police officer eagle front plate. The currently fitted chinstrap and Feldzeichen cockade are both replica replacements.

This style of black trimmed green police shako was associated with metropolitan and municipal police formations such as the Ordnungspolizei (Order Police), the Schutzpolizei (Protection Police), Gemeindepolizei (Local Municipal Police), and related urban police organizations, in contrast to the brown trimmed versions encountered for rural police use.

The front is fitted with a high quality aluminum police officer eagle Wappen and the correct aluminum chinstrap attachment lugs. The attached chinstrap is a reproduction and appears closer in style to an M16 type helmet strap, while the field sign cockade is also a replica.

The interior retains a supple leather liner in very good condition, showing moderate age and use but no major cracking or tearing. The original leather top tie string remains present, and both side ventilation openings retain their sliding covers, which move freely.

The inside crown bears the original Hans Römer maker decal:

HANS RÖMER
Echt
Fiber-Tschako
[5]5
Neu-Ulm (Donau)

The size 55 is also stamped into the leather liner itself. Beneath the liner is an additional:

1937

date stamp.

Overall condition is very good and strongly service worn. The police field green felt covering shows scattered moth nips, along with a larger area of material loss approximately 1 1/2" long on the left side near the top of the eagle, exposing the pressed fiber body beneath. The black faux leather trim remains in good condition with age related checking, while the front and rear vulcanfibre visors show characteristic crazing and checking with some edge chipping to the front visor.

With its Hans Römer maker decal, 1937 date, size 55 markings, officer aluminum police eagle, intact liner, and original pressed fiber construction, this is a strong example of a metropolitan police officer Tschako. The replica chinstrap and cockade, moth damage, exposed fiber area, and visor edge wear are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in a German police headgear, Schutzpolizei, metropolitan police, Hans Römer, or advanced German WWII uniform collection.

History of the shako-
The word shako originated from the Hungarian name csákós süveg ("peaked cap"), which was a part of the uniform of the Hungarian hussar of the 18th century. Other spellings include chako, czako, schako and tschako.

From 1800 on the shako became a common military headdress, worn by the majority of regiments in the armies of Europe and the Americas. Replacing in most instances the light bicorne, the shako was initially considered an improvement. Made of heavy felt and leather, it retained its shape and provided some protection for the soldier's skull, while its visor shaded his eyes. The shako retained this pre-eminence until the mid-19th century, when spiked helmets began to appear in the armies of the various German States, and the more practical kepi replaced it for all but parade wear in the French Army. The Imperial Russian Army substituted a spiked helmet for the shako in 1844-45 but returned to the latter headdress in 1855, before adopting a form of kepi in 1864. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, military fashions changed and cloth or leather helmets based on the German headdress began to supersede the shako in many armies.

Although the mid-nineteenth century shako was impressive in appearance and added to the height of the wearer, it was also heavy and by itself provided little protection against bad weather as most models were made of cloth or felt material over a leather body and peak. Many armies countered this by utilizing specially designed oilskin covers to protect the shako and the wearer from heavy rain while on campaign. The shako provided little protection from enemy action as the most it could offer was in giving partial shielding of the skull from enemy cavalry sabers.