Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very appealing, genuinely service worn German WWII Heer Army EM/NCO M38 overseas cap, or Schiffchen, dated 1940 and marked size 56. Often described by collectors as a “salty” example, the cap shows extensive period wear and age while retaining its original separate BeVO style eagle and national cockade insignia. The combination of an early wartime date, strong field worn character, and surviving insignia gives this example excellent visual appeal for the Heer headgear collector.

The German nickname Schiffchen, literally “little ship,” refers to the cap’s distinctive boat shaped profile. This style of overseas cap was widely worn by Heer personnel during the early years of WWII and remains one of the most recognizable forms of German Army field headgear from the period.

The cap is constructed from field gray feldgrau wool with a lightweight brown canvas liner assembled from several pieces of fabric. A folding flap runs around the full circumference of the cap and forms the characteristic scalloped shape at the front.

Sewn to the upper front is a fine BeVO style machine embroidered EM/NCO cap eagle, executed in gray embroidery on a dark bottle green background. Mounted below on the scalloped front flap is a separate BeVO tricolor national cockade, also on a dark green background. This separate eagle and cockade arrangement is characteristic of earlier production, before later Heer overseas caps commonly appeared with the combined trapezoid style insignia.

No branch color soutache is currently present. As the cap is dated 1940, a soutache may originally have been fitted, but we were unable to determine from the surviving cap whether one was removed or what branch color it may have displayed. The cap should therefore not be attributed to a specific Heer branch without further evidence.

The interior liner retains a faded rectangular maker marking, although unfortunately the maker’s name is no longer legible. Above it is a clear size marking:

56

Below the maker stamp is the date:

1940

Condition is good for a cap that clearly saw substantial service use. Much of the fuzzy surface “nap” of the exterior wool has worn away, exposing the underlying whipcord like weave of the material. Looking beneath the side flaps reveals the considerably stronger original color and texture of the protected wool, providing a useful contrast that illustrates the amount of genuine wear to the exposed surfaces.

The original insignia show age toning and some light staining but remain clearly defined and visually effective. Both ventilation grommets are still present. The grommet on the right side is beginning to tear away from the surrounding fabric.

There are multiple moth holes to the exterior, concentrated primarily on the right side, with additional holes present on the left. One hole at the extreme rear passes completely through the outer skirt and into the underlying fabric. Moth tracks are also visible beneath the side scallops. These condition issues are noticeable but entirely consistent with the cap’s age and heavily worn appearance.

The interior shows staining, worked in dirt, and oils from prolonged wear. There are no major tears to the liner. At some point a safety pin was used to draw together the top pleat, apparently to give the cap a more defined profile, and evidence of this alteration remains visible.

This is an excellent example for the collector who prefers untouched looking, service worn German WWII headgear over a cleaner parade or lightly used piece. Its 1940 date, size 56 marking, surviving separate BeVO eagle and cockade, pronounced wear pattern, and protected areas of original feldgrau wool give the cap considerable character. It would display particularly well in an early war Heer uniform grouping, German WWII cloth headgear collection, or field equipment display where authentic service wear is an important part of the appeal.