Original German WWII Luftwaffe Officer Schirmmütze Visor Cap by HPC – Hermann Potthoff Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice service worn condition Luftwaffe Officer’s Schirmmütze Visor Cap by the well known firm HPC – Hermann Potthoff of Coesfeld. An honest example with a wonderful swept back shape. It has the “crusher cap” saddle appearance, which we all love, with the HPC High Front.

This Officer’s Schirmmütze Visor Cap was a very high quality manufactured visor. Fabricated in Luftwaffe blue gray Fliegerblau (Flier’s Blue) wool, with wide black ribbed wool cap band, plus three rows of fine silver bullion piping around the circumference. Fronted by a heavy bullion embroidered Luftwaffe insignia pair that includes a silver bullion national eagle on a wool backing above a high relief silver bullion oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and tri color cockade.

The visor on this cap is the standard “vulcanfibre” with black patent faux leather stitched around the edge. The cap seems to be approximately a size 56, and has a partial pressed paper faux leather liner, which is in somewhat delicate condition. About 1/3 is missing, and it shows a lot of deterioration from age and use. The interior is also lined with cream colored sheer rayon, which does have a lot of staining. The celluloid diamond at the top is partly intact, with a larger section missing at the top, and is overall delicate. Underneath it has the HPC logo in a circle over Stirndruckfrei (Front Pressure Free). There is also a paper name label in the slot, but it is no longer legible.

Overall the condition is good, but it does show use and wear. There is some fraying of the bullion piping, which shows the internal metal support in one spot. The crown eagle is worn, and there is light oxidation on the “wings” and cockade, which is white aluminum oxide. The interior and sweatband also show extensive use. This cap has a real patina of age, from an item that was “actually there”.

A truly quality Luftwaffe officer cap of the mid-war style with silver bullion embroidered cockade and eagle. 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, 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.