Original Item: Only One Available. This is a Luftwaffe Officer's Schirmmütze Visor Cap, marked on the sweatband by the very desirable EREL company, a top class maker of headwear during the war. It features desirable early pattern bullion embroidered insignia, and shows signs of moderate age and use wear, but no abuse, giving it a pleasing lightly aged look. It has the classic crusher cap "saddle-form" appearance which we all love, with the standard high front, accomplished by removing the crown stiffener ring, though it is possible that it never had one.

This Officer's Schirmmütze Visor Cap is a very high quality manufactured example. Fabricated in Luftwaffe blue gray Fliegerblau (Flier's Blue) "whipcord" weave wool gabardine, with a wide black ribbed wool cap band and three rows of fine silver bullion piping around the circumference. It is fronted by a heavy bullion embroidered Luftwaffe insignia pair that includes a silver bullion Luftwaffe eagle on blue gray wool backing above a high relief silver bullion oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and an embroidered tri color cockade. The insignia are in very good condition, with the bullion well retained, and showing very little in the way of oxidation, though there is some fraying on the eagle and top of the wreath. The red felt insert is still vibrant, making this a great set of early hand embroidered insignia.

The visor on this cap is the standard "vulcanfibre", and shows some wear around the edge, though no tears through the trim. The black gloss top side shows a very fine pattern of checking and crazing on most of the surface, with some dents and aluminum stains from the chinstrap. The bottom of the visor is checkered green, as we often see on Luftwaffe visor caps. Above the visor is the correct bullion officer's chin strap, retained by pebbled buttons, which is in very good condition.

The interior is lined with fine gray blue colored rayon faux silk, which is mostly stain free. The celluloid sweat shield "diamond" is still present, with fully intact stitching, showing some cracked away material at the top. There is unfortunately no maker name present, and no name tag slot either. It is fitted with a brown leather sweatband embossed with EREL PATENT / STIRNSCHÜTZ on the left side. This shows tearing in several places, and is dated 1944 on the underside of the rear, next to size 55.

Overall condition is very good, showing signs of moderate age and use wear, but no abuse. We did note however that the size support band of this example is quite soft, so it does not seem to be made from the usual fiber material. The bullion piping is still in great shape, showing very little in the way of wear, and no areas of fraying. The color is still well retained, and there is no real mothing we can see.

This German WWII Luftwaffe officer’s visor cap retains its Fliegerblau whipcord exterior, silver bullion piping, embroidered officer’s insignia, bullion chinstrap, green-checkered visor underside, and EREL-marked leather sweatband dated 1944 in size 55. The exterior color remains strong, with no significant moth damage noted, while the insignia show only limited fraying and oxidation. The visor exhibits edge wear, surface checking, small dents, and staining from the chinstrap fittings, and the interior celluloid shield and leather sweatband have several areas of cracking and tearing. The crown-support band is notably soft, contributing to the cap’s pronounced saddle-form profile. Despite these condition issues, it remains a well-preserved Luftwaffe officer’s cap with strong surviving bullion details and clearly marked interior components.

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.