Original Item: Only One available. This is a lovely Luftwaffe Flight Branch EM/NCO Schirmmütze (Visor Cap), made by Lago of Berlin, a known maker of visor caps for the military during WWII. It still has the original crown stiffener installed, so the sides have not sunken down over the years, giving it a gently "relaxed" look. This NCO Schirmmütze Visor Cap is an original high quality manufactured cap. It is fabricated in Luftwaffe blue gray Fliegerblau (Flier's Blue) "whipcord" weave wool, with wide black wool cap band, plus three rows of goldgelb (Gold-Yellow) color piping for the flight branch (Waffenfarbe) around the circumference. This included Aviator troops such as pilots and ground personnel as well as Fallschirmjäger (parachute troops).

The is decorated with the correct insignia, including a finely-detailed aluminum eagle on the peak, and an aluminum oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and central painted tri-color cockade on the band. These are in very good condition, though the paint on the cockade is just a bit worn. The dual-buckled black leather chinstrap, designating the wearer to be an enlisted man, is attached to black lacquered buttons on either side. It shows cracking and checking to the finish, very common on patent leather items of this age. The visor is the classic gloss black color with a faux leather stitched edge trim, made of pressed vulcanfibre with a checkered green underside. It shows crazing and checking on the visor, caused by age, and the edge trim is in wonderful condition and complete. The visor is still well attached to the body of the cap.

The interior of the cap is lined with light brown "service cloth" type material, which shows little to no staining from use. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond is fully intact, and there is just a bit of pulling on the stitching. The maker logo marking under the plastic is fully visible:

Landes=Lief.-Gen.d.
Kürschner=u. Mützenmacher
Handwerks
BERLIN NO 18 Lieferjahr 1939

56

This translates to "State Supply Cooperative Furriers and Hatters" located in Berlin, and indicates it was supplied in 1939. The sweatband is tan leather, and is unfortunately now brittle and torn in many areas. We were able to see underneath it, where it is marked by the maker:

Lago - Berlin
23
Jahr     Große

Overall, the condition of the cap is very good, and there is little damage or wear to the exterior. The main issue is the condition of the sweatband, and some deterioration of the fabric where the visor ends. The colors are very well retained, and there is no mothing we can see. This is a very nice Luftwaffe Flight Branch EM/NCO peaked visor cap, offered in very good condition with a great look. 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.