Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice "salty service used example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army EM/NCO Schirmmütze (visor cap), with a lovely "Crushed" shape. This "saddle-form" shape is highly desirable, and accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It looks to have seen heavy use, and has had the entire sweatband rot out, and also looks to have had the visor re-attached post war. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "whipcord" wool construction with a forest 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 is decorated with a well detailed aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open aluminum wreath surrounding an aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia have some great age to them, showing some wear with very minor oxidation, and the red felt insert in the cockade is faded a bit towards orange. The dual-buckled black leather chinstrap, designating the wearer to be an enlisted man, is attached to buttons on either side. The finish has degraded a bit, with a lovely pattern of checking and crazing in the patent leather. The black enamel finish on the buckles and buttons has also degraded, and they now show a lovely oxidized patina. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is checkered brown on the underside. The top of the visor has a lovely pattern of crazing and checking due to age, as well as some wear and damage from use.

The cap is lined with orange brown "service cloth" type material, and shows wear, soiling, and staining from use. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond is completely missing, though the stitching still remains. We do not see any maker or other markings present, and as mentioned before, the sweatband before is missing, with only a small inch long remnant remaining.

Overall condition shows moderate to heavy use, with fading and staining to the exterior, as well as some small holes and the other expected wear from service. The fiber band that gives the bottom its shape has become a bit deformed, so the cap is now oval shaped, however this could probably be fixed by keeping it on a form.

A lovely "salty" service used example of the classic hat worn by German Army Infantry NCOs in WWII that really looks like it went through a war. 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, issued 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.