Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good service used condition Luftwaffe Flakkorps (Flak Artillery branch) EM/NCO Schirmmütze Visor Cap, manufactured in 1938 by Robert Lubstein under their legendary EREL brand. Additionally, it has regimental markings on the underside of the sweatband, making it ripe for further research! A wonderful honest example with a fantastic "Crushed" or "saddle-form" shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It is fabricated in Luftwaffe Fliegerblau (Flier's Blue) "whipcord" weave grey blue wool, with wide ribbed black wool cap band, plus three rows of deep red (tiefrot) color piping around the circumference. This is the Luftwaffe Waffenfarbe (corps color) for Anti-aircraft troops and other Artillery.

The peak visor cap retains an excellent, high quality, aluminum pin Luftwaffe eagle with swas, and an aluminum oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and central painted tri-color cockade on the band. The front emblem is somewhat loose and currently at an angle, which we have not attempted to fix, as it is part of the history of the piece. Chinstrap and buttons are still present and in very good condition, though there is some cracking and melting to the finish of the leather, which happens over time. The visor is a classic vulcanfibre construction example, gloss pattern with age crazing on the top. The underside is a nice green color, showing some wear, and unfortunately the edge trim is completely missing. The visor is still firmly attached to the body of the cap.

The visor cap has an orange / brown color light canvas "service cloth" interior lining, with the celluloid moisture shield mostly intact with nearly complete stitching. The maker marking in gold is still mostly legible under the size marking, however a good amount of the bronze powder paint has flaked off, oxidizing to green:

55 ½
EREL
SONDERKLASSE
Robert Lubstein
Größte Berliner Militär Mützen Fabrik
Berlin N.W. 21
Alt Moabit 105
Lieferjahr
1938

"Lieferjahr" translates to "Delivery Year", so that is when the cap was slated to be delivered to the Luftwaffe. Robert Lubstein was a very well known distributor of caps, and was particularly known for their famous EREL brand of headgear, which is actually the pronunciation of the initials RL in German. The leather sweatband is in good condition, showing wear and staining from use, but no tears. It is however partly detached from the cap at the visor due to the stitching rotting out. THe leather is still soft, and has a regimental marking stamped on the underside.

III. / Flak 12

We found the service history of this unit online: Flak Regiment 12.

Overall exterior condition is very nice showing only light wear to the wool, and just a bit of staining. The soft wool piping however has suffered damage from moths or other insects, particularly under the crown where there is less light. Still, the colors are well retained, and the insignia are still in good shape. Really a fantastic looking cap!

This is a great totally honest used Luftwaffe FLAK EM/NCO peaked visor cap, ready to research and display!

A flak corps (German: Flakkorps) was a massed anti-aircraft (AA) artillery formation employed by the Luftwaffe for anti-aircraft, antitank, and fire support operations in World War II. A Flakkorps was a flexible organization that was made up of a varying number of AA regiments, brigades, or divisions. A total of six flak corps were organized by Germany during the war. The flak corps, while mainly intended to support ground units with concentrated anti-aircraft fire, in many cases provided also antitank support.

Flak corps did not exist before World War II. Until the end of war Germany eventually organized a total of six flak corps, being numbered I - VI, plus one short-lived special flak corps.

Flak corps I and II were formed on 3 October 1939. They grouped previously existing mobile AA battalions so as to overwhelmingly concentrate their firepower at points of decision on the battlefield. The original two flak corps were used in the Battle of France in 1940, and later inactivated. They were reorganized for the German invasion of Russia and fought for the remainder of the war on the Eastern Front. The I Flak Corps was destroyed at Stalingrad and later formed again.

The III Flak Corps was formed in February 1944 and fought on the Western Front. In total, III Flak Corps entered combat in Normandy with 27 heavy batteries, 26 light batteries and some 12,000 men. During the fighting in Normandy in 1944, the III Flak Corps was motorized although not all authorized vehicles were present. It was eventually destroyed in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945.

The IV Flak Corps was formed in July 1944 and supported Army Group G on the Western Front until it surrendered in May 1945.

The V Flak Corps was formed in November 1944 and fought in Hungary and Austria.

The VI Flak Corps was formed in February 1945 and fought in northern Germany in support of the 1st Parachute Army.

The flak corps "for special employment" (Flakkorps z.b.V.) was organized in 1945 to control V-weapons.

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.