Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a lovely "salty" service used example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Infantry Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), and it really looks the business. It still has the original crown stiffener installed, so the sides have not sunken down much over the years. It features lovely feldgrau (field gray) "doeskin" weave wool construction with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching Weiß (white) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Infanterie (Infantry) and Motorisiert Infanterie (Motorized Infantry). 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 cast aluminum oak leaf and acorn wreath with an attached aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia are all still bright, showing little wear or oxidation, and the red felt insert inside the cockade is present and still vibrant. The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting just a bit of chipping along the edge and is checkered gray on the underside. The top shows a lovely pattern of crazing and checking to the gloss enamel finish.

The inside of the cap is lined with gray rayon, with the diamond celluloid "sweat shield" and stitching completely missing. There is also staining and fading over much of the interior, so the cap definitely looks to have been used a lot. The maker marking is almost completely worn away, but we can still make out the interlocking CW emblem of Clemens Wagner of Braunschweig, a very well regarded manufacturer of hats. The gray leather sweatband is still in very nice shape, relatively supple without any major tears or other issues. It has however had the stitching rot out in areas, which was then repaired, possibly post war. We measured the cap, and it comes out to about 55cm.

Condition overall is very good, especially considering the amount of use it must have seen. There is definitely wear to the exterior shell, which has worn away much of the fuzzy "nap" on the fabric, and also caused fading to the original color. There is scattered mothing, as well as an area at the rear where a hole has been made. The piping is in good shape, but definitely age toned.

A lovely "salty" service used example of a classic hat worn by German Army Infantry 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.