Original German WWII Kriegsmarine Navy Blue Field Grade Officer Visor Cap – Schirmmütze Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. As with most countries, the Insignia and Rank structure of the German WWII Era Kriegsmarine Navy was different from their land-based counterparts. This also extended to the visor caps that they used, in that they did not utilize the bullion chinstraps to denote rank, as they proved impractical for actual usage and leather chinstraps were worn instead. As a result, there was no way to determine Officers from Senior NCOs until regulations of May 13th, 1936 introduced new identifying visor trim for officers ranks to distinguish them from the NCO’s. The new visor trim came in three different patterns with one pattern for Company Grade Officers, one for Field Grade Officers and the third for Flag Officers.

This is an fanatastic and rare German World War Two Kriegsmarine Navy Senior / Field Grade Officer’s Schirmmütze (Visor Cap). This version of the cap was worn by officers of the Korvettenkapitän up to Kommodore. These are quite rare to find on the market, as Company / Junior grade officers were far more numerous. This is the same type of cap worn by Battleship level Captains, which were usually Kapitän zur See (Sea Captain) rank.

This cap looks to be an early issue version, as it does not have a removable cover, as many did, although it may have been sewn in place. The Reichsadler National Eagle Insignia as well as the front cap badge wreath are both hand-embroidered with gold bullion thread, while the Tri-Color cockade is metal with a felt insert. By the early WWII period typically the peak eagle would at least be a cast insignia, but not on this example. The badge is attached to the classic black coarsely woven band, which is partly covered by the black patent leather chin strap.

The visor has a felt top with a single row of gold bullion embroidered oak leaves, indicating a Senior or “Field” grade officer.

The interior features a classic cream colored silk or rayon lining, which does show some use and staining. The top celluloid sweat shield is completely missing, though the stitch holes can still be seen, so it definitely did have one originally. The sweatband is made from tan finished leather, and is still in very good condition, supple with no major tears or damage, and intact stitching. There are no markings that we can see inside of the cap. It seems to be about a 56-57cm size.

The cap does show some age and light wear, but is overall in very good condition, and is one of the better examples that we have had, if not the best. There is some oxidation and damage to the bullion insignia, but nothing out of line with age and service. This will be an impressive and handsome addition to any German Kriegsmarine Naval display.

Overall a great condition totally genuine Kriegsmarine Field Grade officer’s visor cap!

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.