Original German WWII Army Heer Cavalry EM & NCO Schirmmütze Visor Cap – Size 56 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very good example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Cavalry EM/NCO Schirmmütze (visor cap). It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) “whipcord” weave wool construction with a forest green “badge cloth” band and a traditional high forward crown. It still has the stiffener ring around the crown to maintain the shape, and shows light wear overall. The cap features matching Goldgelb (Golden Yellow) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Cavalry, as well as reconnaissance and armored reconnaissance units with cavalry traditions.

It is decorated with a well detailed silvered aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and an open silvered aluminum wreath surrounding a metal tri-color cockade on the band. All insignia are still mostly bright, with very little wear or oxidation, and the red felt insert inside the cockade is present and vibrant. The dual-buckled black leather chinstrap, designating the wearer to be an enlisted man, is attached to black lacquered buttons on either side. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting some light wear along the edge and is brown on the underside with cross hatching. There is some age crazing present on the visor, but it still looks great.

The inside of the cap is lined with orange “service cloth” type fabric, and the original plastic/celluloid sweat protector “diamond” is fully intact, with complete stitching. There are no markings other than a size 56 stamped underneath the sweat protector. The sweatband is made from light brown finished leather, which is quite supple. There is just a bit of tearing at the edges. There is a maker marking stamped on the undersize of the leather, but unfortunately it is too faint to make out accurately.

Overall the condition is very nice, with the original colors still well preserved and vibrant. The only real condition issue are some moth holes on the underside of the crown, as well as a few on the top.

A great example of a classic hat worn by German Army Cavalry NCOs in WWII.

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.