Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a great example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Infantry Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), and it really looks the business. It still has the original crown stiffener installed, so the sides have not sunken down excessively over the years, but it still has developed the lovely "saddle-form" shape that everyone loves. It features lovely feldgrau (field gray) "doeskin" weave wool construction with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching Weiß (white) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Infanterie (Infantry) and Motorisiert Infanterie (Motorized Infantry). It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a well detailed silvered nickel alloy eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silvered nickel alloy wreath surrounding a plated metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia look great, showing a lovely aged patina, with oxidation and tarnishing to the silvering, giving them a great "been there" look. The red felt insert in the cockade is still relatively vibrant, and does not show any damage. The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap, and shows very little wear. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting just a bit of wear along the edge and is checkered beige on the underside. The top shows a lovely pattern of very fine crazing and checking to the gloss enamel finish, and also some markings from the chinstrap. The visor is still relatively attached to the cap.

The inside of the cap is lined with lovely cream colored faux silk twill, often seen on officer's caps, which shows staining from use. The diamond celluloid "sweat shield" on the top is still present with some cracking on one edge, and the attachment stitching is mostly intact. There is no maker mark, just Sonderklasse (Special class) inside a diamond with a small logo at the top. There is however an intact name tag in the slot, which reads as follows:

Syrbe
1. Komp. Erg.=Batl. 21

We assume this is one of the Ersatz replacement battalions, though we may have misread the Fraktur typeface. The sweatband in this cap is made from genuine natural finished leather, and is still in very good condition, soft and supple with very little tearing. There is no size marked, but it seems to be about a 57 cm / US 7 1/4. Overall condition is very good, showing light to moderate use during the war. It has just a few moth nips, and no major wear, and the colors are very well retained. We also noticed a small paper label tucked under the sweatband stating "This Officer's cap brought home by Harold MacKenzie", but we do not have any other information regarding this.

A lovely well-preserved example of a classic hat worn by German Army Infantry Officers in WWII, with both a name and unit designation! Very impressive, ready to research and 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.