Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Heer officer Schirmmütze visor cap for personnel of the recruiting and replacement service, or Wehrersatzwesen. Manufactured by the Pfälzische Mützenfabrik August Müller of Zweibrücken, it features orange yellow branch piping, silver bullion officer chin cords, aluminum insignia, and an attractive saddle form profile. The cap measures approximately size 57.

The cap is constructed from high quality Heer Feldgrau, or field gray, doeskin weave wool with a dark bottle green badge cloth band and a traditional high forward crown. Its shaped crown support gives the cap a desirable saddle form appearance.

Orange yellow piping follows the upper crown edge and both edges of the dark green cap band. This Waffenfarbe, or branch color, was associated with recruiting and replacement personnel and was also used by certain military police formations.

Silver bullion officer chin cords cross the front of the cap and remain attached by standard pebbled metal buttons on either side.

The upper crown bears a detailed stamped aluminum Heer national eagle. The cap band carries an open cast aluminum oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding an aluminum national tricolor cockade.

The insignia remain mostly bright and show only light oxidation. The red felt insert within the cockade remains notably vibrant.

The pressed vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather look upper surface and a checkered beige underside. The upper finish displays an attractive pattern of light age related crazing and checking, together with minor wear along the edge.

The interior is lined in gold toned sheer fabric, most likely rayon. The lining shows staining from use and several tears along the sides, particularly toward the front.

The tan finished leather sweatband remains supple and is in very good overall condition, with no tears described. It shows only light staining from age and wear.

The transparent celluloid sweat shield diamond is mostly intact. The lower portion, which originally incorporated the name tag slot, is largely missing, and additional material is absent from the lower left side. Most of the shield’s retaining stitching remains present.

The surviving upper portion of the sweat shield retains a gold maker logo and address:

Pfälzische Mützenfabrik
August Müller
Zweibrücken

These markings identify the cap as a product of the Pfälzische Mützenfabrik operated by August Müller in Zweibrücken.

Overall condition is very good and reflects light service use. The exterior shows general staining and several small moth nips.

The lower edge of the cap near the sweatband displays additional staining and fabric wear. Several torn holes are also present along the very bottom edge and should be handled carefully to prevent further enlargement.

The cap measures approximately 57cm using a hat sizer. No original stamped size marking is described, so the size should be regarded as approximate.

With its orange yellow recruiting and replacement branch piping, shaped saddle form crown, silver officer chin cords, bright aluminum insignia, vibrant cockade insert, and clearly marked August Müller interior, this is an appealing example of specialized Heer officer headgear. The lining tears, damaged sweat shield, missing name slot, exterior staining, moth nips, lower-edge wear, torn holes, visor crazing, and approximate sizing are fully disclosed. It would display particularly well in a Heer recruiting and replacement service, German officer uniform, August Müller headgear, Wehrersatzwesen, or advanced WWII visor cap collection.

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.