Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice service used example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Officer's 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 features the typical feldgrau (field gray) wool gabardine 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 has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a very nice stamped aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silver bullion embroidered wreath surrounding a metal tri-color cockade on the band. The red felt insert on the cockade is still present and vibrant, however there is definitely some oxidation on the bullion wreath, and loss of silvering on the peak eagle. Also the wreath looks to have had the stitching degrade, so some stitching was redone, and for some reason sewn right through the sweatband. The chin strap is attached with the standard silvered buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is gray on the underside.

The cap is lined with lovely cream rayon faux silk, which now shows significant staining and soiling from use. The top plastic sweat shield is partly intact, with cracks and about 30% missing. Most of the stitching is intact, and there is just a bit of the original maker name visible, with other parts of the logo more well retained. The sweatband is made from light brown leather, which is now stained to a somewhat dark brown color, showing deterioration around the edge. Much of the original stitching that holds it in places has deteriorated.

The cap definitely saw a lot of service during the war, which has given at a great "salty" service used look, which is simply impossible to duplicate. This is a cap that was "really there", and it has the staining and wear to show it. The interior shows a bit of tearing, showing the internal fiber band. There is also some light mothing in areas, very common on these caps due to the amount of wool used in their construction.

A great "salty" example of the classic hat worn by German Army Infantry Officerss in WWII. 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, 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.