Original Item: Only One available. This is a very good condition Feuerschutzpolizei, (Fire Protection Police) NCO/EM Schirmmütze Visor Cap, which measures a bit under 55cm on our hat sizer. The cap has a very nice condition brown lightweight brown oilcloth crown lining, with an orange "service cloth" side lining. The inner crown still has a fully intact celluloid sweat shield diamond, with intact stitching. This marked with the following information:-

Deutsche
Arbeit

MARKE
STANDARD

As the lining states, this is a high quality German made cap, which is most likely intended more for an NCO than an enlisted man. It is fabricated from very dark navy blue "doeskin" wool cloth, with a wide black velvet plush material cap band. This is flanked by two rows of carmine red (karminrot) color piping around the circumference, the Protection Police Truppenfarbe (troop color) for the Fire branch. The crown stiffener is still present, giving it a very sharp look.

Cap is decorated with the correct insignia, including an aluminum Ordnungpolizei wreathed eagle on the band, with the classic metal Tri-color cockade above on the crown, still bearing its vibrant red fabric insert. The police badge is in fantastic shape, still bright and shiny, while the metal cockade is now oxidized from age and wear. The EM/NCO chinstrap is in very good condition, showing age checking and "melting" to the black patent leather finish, and is held in place by black enameled buttons.

The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is brown on the underside with cross hatching. There is a lovely pattern of light crazing and checking on the gloss top, only achieved after many years. The sweatband is made from chestnut color finished leather, and is in very good condition, showing only light wear.

Overall condition is very good, though there is some scattered moth damage to the cap, mostly to the fuzzy "nap" of the fabric, though there are one or two holes through the exterior shell. This is very common due to the all wool construction of the exterior, and is an unfortunate reality of collecting WW2 German visor caps.

A lovely example of the very colorful Fire Police visor cap, ready to add to your collection!

More on the Fire Protection Police:

On June 17TH 1936, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was appointed to the newly created position of Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern (Chief of the German Police in the National Ministry of the Interior), effectively giving him full control of all police agencies within Germany including the Feuerschutzpolizei, (Fire Protection Police). As a result of this appointment and the restructuring of all the separate German state police into a single national police force new regulations were instituted on June 25TH 1936 to bring about uniformity in dress for all police through-out the country. The Police were divided into eight assorted branches of service with each branch being assigned a specific identifying, Truppenfarbe, (branch of service color), with the Feuerschutzpolizei being allocated carmine truppenfarbe. The Feuerschutzpolizei were further distinguished from the other police branches of service with blue uniforms and headgear instead of the typical police green uniforms.