Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely service used German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Militärverwaltung (Military Administration) Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), made by the legendary EREL company. It is marked on both the inside of the crown (faint) and the sweatband, making it a VERY desirable DOUBLE MARKED example! The cap has a lovely "Crushed" or "saddle-form" shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "doe skin" weave wool construction with a charcoal gray band and a traditional high forward crown. The crown stiffener has been removed, giving it that lovely saddle-form "crushed" shape that everyone loves.

The cap also has matching Dunkelgrün (Dark Green) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for the Wehrmacht Militärverwaltung (Military Administration) in general. The specific branch of the administration would be denoted by additional color piping on the uniform collar and shoulderboards. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a well detailed injection molded aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open aluminum wreath surrounding an aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia look great, showing a lovely lightly aged patina, and the red felt insert in the cockade is still vibrant and undamaged. The officer's bullion chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled silvered buttons on either side of the cap, and shows oxidation in the on the bullion, as well as loss of the aluminum bullion covering. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting wear along the edge and is checkered brown on the underside. The top has a lovely pattern of light checking and crazing, while the underside shows quite a bit of wear.

The cap is lined with cream rayon faux silk, however it shows heavy staining from use on most of the interior. It still retains the celluloid diamond sweat shield in the crown, with intact stitching, and just a bit of loss at the top. Under this it still bears a faded EREL trademark logo, with the silver stamping still partly retained:

The cap also has a faint embossed stamp over the right ear on the sweatband: „Erel“ Stirnshutz / D.R.G.M. / D.R.P. angem., which refers to the "Forehead Protection" of the sweatband design. The additional abbreviations indicate that it is a trademarked and protected design. This means that the sweatband was never replaced, making this a great "double marked" example. We measured the cap and it is about a size 56cm / US 7.

The exterior condition of the cap is really very good, with the colors very well retained though there's definitely loss of the fuzzy "nap" on the fabric due to wear. There are also what look to be some moth holes right next to the piping around the crown. The interior shows heavy use, with the sweatband showing heavy wear and staining. There is also worked in dirt around the bottom rim of the band. Please consult the pictures for further condition details.

A very nice service used example of the classic hat worn by German Wehrmacht Administration Officers in WWII with a great "been there" look! Very impressive and 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.