Original Item: Only One available. This is a lovely service used condition Luftwaffe Signals EM/NCO Schirmmütze Visor Cap, which looks to have seen a good amount of use during the war. This wonderful honest used example is an original high quality manufactured cap, and still has the original crown support stiffener ring, so the sides of the crown have not slumped down over the years. It has a lovely relaxed look that looks great. It is fabricated in Luftwaffe blue gray Fliegerblau ( Flier's Blue) "whipcord" weave wool gabardine, with wide black ribbed wool cap band, plus three rows of saddle brown (braun) color piping around the circumference. This is the Luftwaffe Waffenfarbe (corps color) for the Air communications corps (Lufnachrichtentruppe), usually referred to as "Signals".

The visor cap is decorated with the correct insignia, including a finely-detailed zinc alloy eagle on the peak, and an oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and central tri-color cockade on the band; the latter is made of zinc alloy with a red and black painted kokarde. The insignia are in good shape, though much of the original silver wash has worn away. The eagle also has had the two attachment prongs break off, and is only attached by the stitching around the eagle's legs. The black-finished patent leather chin strap rests just above the visor and is made up of three pieces: the central piece with two magnetic metal buckles and joined to the flanking end pieces via oval loops, the end pieces attached to black finished buttons on either side. It shows cracking and checking to the finish, but no cracking or other issues.

The visor is the classic black color with stitched edge trim, made of pressed vulcanfibre, and a checkered green underside. The edge trim is faux leather, and does show deterioration due to age and wear, with the stitching and some of the trim missing in one area. The top of the visor shows a lovely pattern of checking and crazing due to age. It is still firmly attached to the body of the cap, with intact stitching.

The inside of the cap is lined with light orange "service cloth", which shows staining from wear and use. The celluloid sweat-shield diamond is unfortunately completely missing, and there is only a bit of the original stitching intact. We can see traces of a maker marking, however it is too faded to read, and there is no size marked either. The sweatband is natural leather, and is still soft and supple, with no tears we can see. We checked underneath, and there are no markings, and the size seems to be about a 58cm.

This is a great Luftwaffe Signals EM/NCO peaked visor cap, offered in very good service used condition. Ready to display!

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.