Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a German WWII Sturmabteilung SA Lagermütze (Camp Cap), usually referred to as a Garrison cap by collectors. In construction these are very similar, if not identical to the Heer Infantry EM-NCO M38 overseas cap, except for the color, which has more brown in the mix. The overseas cap, nicknamed in German military slang as Schiffchen, or literally "little ship" as it resembled an up-turned row-boat, was standard issue for all branches of the Heer.

This example is constructed of an olive green, with a brown cotton lining. The flap on the left side of the cap features a black felt triangle and gold early pattern SA Eagle, and also features a gold button on the front. This indicates use by the SA Gruppe Niederrhein (Lower Rhine Region), which encompassed a relatively small border area north of Cologne along the Rhine. Before 1939, to help differentiate the different SA groups, the top of these caps, as well as the collar tabs, were issued in a variety of colors. Additionally, the "button" or "pip" on the front of the cap could be silver or gold, which matched the color of the uniform buttons, which allowed colors to be used more than once.

There are no markings on the inside of the cap, but it seems to be about a size 57-58. The cap overall is in very good to excellent condition, with very little signs of wear.

An excellent example of hard to find SA Garrison cap, ready to add to your collection!

Sturmabteilung, literally Storm Detachment, was the NSDAP Party's original paramilitary. It played a significant role in Adolf AH's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for NSDAP rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Romani, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the NSDAP boycott of Jewish businesses.

The SA were also called the "Brownshirts" (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts, similar to Benito Mussolini's blackshirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other NSDAP Party groups, chief amongst them the Schutzstaffel (SS), which originated as a branch of the SA before being separated. Brown-colored shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been ordered during the war for colonial troops posted to Germany's former African colonies.

The SA became disempowered after Adolf AH ordered the "blood purge" of 1934. This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives (die Nacht der langen Messer). The SA continued to exist, but was effectively superseded by the SS, although it was not formally dissolved until after NSDAP Germany's final capitulation to the Allies in 1945.