Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a wonderful very early example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Artillery Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), with a lovely "Crushed" shape. This "saddle-form" shape is highly desirable, and accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features lovely feldgrau (field gray) "whipcord" weave wool construction with a dark bottle-green (flaschengrün) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The also has matching Hochrot (Deep Red) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a well detailed aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open aluminum oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding a plated metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia look great, with no real damage to speak of, though there is some patination on the plated central portion of the cockade. The red felt insert inside the cockade is present and vibrant. The officer's chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap, which has a small bit of damage on the left side. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting some wear and scrapes along the edge and is checkered brown on the underside. It has a lovely look, with a fantastic pattern of checking and crazing on the black enamel top finish.

The cap is lined with lovely cream rayon faux silk, which now shows moderate staining and soiling from use. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond is partially intact, with mostly intact stitching. The sweatband looks to be made from tan finished pressed paper faux leather, and is in excellent condition, still flexible after all this years. It shows only minor wear, with no tears or major damage. Embossed on the sweatband is the maker’s information:

Stirndruckfrei
D.R.G.M. 14.19.504

Condition is very good, with no real mothing we can see on the exterior. The colors are very well retained, and we do not see any major wear or staining. Definitely one of the better looking examples we have had recently!

A great example of a classic hat worn by German Army Artillery Officers 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.