Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Luftwaffe officer Schirmmütze visor cap in honest service worn condition, retaining a desirable crushed or saddle form created by removal of the crown support stiffener. It features high quality hand embroidered bullion insignia, three rows of silver bullion piping, officer chin cords, and the classic Luftwaffe Fliegerblau blue gray wool construction.

The cap is made from Luftwaffe Fliegerblau whipcord weave wool gabardine with a wide black ribbed wool cap band and three rows of fine silver bullion piping around the circumference.

The front carries a heavily embroidered silver bullion Luftwaffe eagle on charcoal gray wool backing above a high relief silver bullion oak leaf wreath and stylized winged cockade assembly. The insignia remain in very good condition overall, with the bullion well retained but showing some fraying and oxidation from age and use. The tricolor cockade retains its woven construction and vibrant red felt center, which remains free of major damage.

The visor is the standard vulcanfibre type with a gloss upper surface. The finish shows widespread age related checking and crazing. The original faux leather edge trim is missing, together with its retaining stitching. The underside of the visor is green. Most of the visor attachment stitching remains present, although the visor has become somewhat loose where the stitching has pulled and deteriorated from long use.

Above the visor are the correct bullion officer chin cords retained by pebbled side buttons. The cords remain in very good condition, with some localized oxidation near the left attachment button.

The interior is lined with tan to gold colored ribbed rayon showing staining and honest service wear. The original diamond shaped celluloid sweat shield is completely missing, though much of its former stitching remains visible. Traces of a maker marking are still present beneath the missing sweat shield area, but they are too faint to identify with confidence. The brown leather sweatband shows clear service wear and staining. There are small edge tears and flaking, together with some tearing along the perforations in the forehead area.

No original size marking is visible. The cap was measured with a hat sizer at approximately:

55cm / 6 7/8"

Overall condition is very good for a heavily service worn officer visor cap. The exterior color remains well preserved across most of the body, though the top of the crown shows staining, moth holes, and localized wear. There is additional discoloration around the lower edge, while the black cap band has begun to fade toward the front, likely from prolonged light exposure. The silver bullion piping around the crown also shows service wear. On the left side, the plant fiber core is exposed in one area, while the lower piping on the same side shows additional wear.

The interior displays substantial honest use. The internal support for the front of the crown has separated from its original attachment point on the cap band, contributing to the cap's pronounced crushed profile.

With its authentic saddle form, high quality bullion eagle and wreath insignia, officer chin cords, three rows of silver bullion piping, whipcord Fliegerblau wool construction, and strongly service worn appearance, this is a particularly appealing Luftwaffe officer Schirmmütze. The missing visor edge trim, loose visor stitching, absent sweat shield, moth holes, staining, worn sweatband, exposed piping core, faded cap band, and separated internal crown support are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in a Luftwaffe officer headgear, crush cap, bullion insignia, service worn visor cap, or advanced German WWII uniform 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.