Original Item: Only One Available. This is fantastic "salty" heavily service worn mid war M43 Heer Feldmütze (Army Field Cap), which looks to be in size 56cm. It is constructed of wool gabardine cloth, with fold-down panels with squared scallops to the front and forward sides, covering the entire neck on the sides and rear when in use. When not in use, the panels are raised with their ends resting upon the visor, being joined together by two pebbled steel buttons. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching gabardine cloth, with green underneath.

Sewn in place in the front of the cap is a Heer cap insignia triangle constructed of BeVo style machine woven grey and green embroidered threading in the shape of a standard eagle over an embroidered cockade. This patch is original to the cap and is machine sewn to the outer fabric only. The interior of the cap looks to be gray rayon, with a fabric sweatband on the front side.

56
RBNr. 0/0250/2562
43

German RBN Numbers, or Reichsbetriebsnummer, also known as the National Business Number, were an alternative to the 3 letter codes in use late in the war. The first number 0 is the prefix for "industry", while 0250 is the location code for Berlin, and manufacturer 2562 is a specific maker. The records of these are very incomplete, so we have not been able to locate this specific manufacturer in Berlin.

Condition of the cap is definitely "well worn", with areas restitched and others with fabric patches installed. It is stained overall, and some areas that are worn clear through. There also are areas that make it look like it was worn under a helmet, as there is a black substance stuck to the outside, that could be residue from oilcloth. The interior is in similar condition, showing extensive use in the field.

Overall, this is a wartime used M43 Heer field cap with LOADS of history! We've never really had a cap that has the level of patina that this one has. Ready to display!

The M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap) is a variety of "Ski Cap" and was based on the Bergmütze (Mountain Hat) used by Austrian and German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Troops) during WWI. Germany had adopted it in 1915, and after the war it spread throughout the military.

The skirt that surrounds the cap is made in the same wool as the cap, and can be folded down over the ears, though this was rarely done outside of the Mountain troops, which had a double-thickness skirt. The skirt has a small dip in the front quarter with a divide secured by one aluminum button which is covered by an embroidered cockade. The small section in the front quarter was built shorter to show the insignia, and cover the wearer's chin or mouth, without disturbing breathing by covering the nose. There were also later M43 caps, such as those used by the DAK, that omitted the skirt entirely, as it had little use in the desert heat.