Original German WWII Army Heer Infantry Officers Schirmmütze Visor Crush Cap Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a wonderful service used example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Infantry Officer’s Schirmmütze (visor cap), and it really looks the business. The cap has a lovely “Crushed” or “saddle-form” shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features lovely feldgrau (field gray) “doeskin” wool 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.

The insignia on this cap are both the very early fully hand embroidered aluminum bullion type, and show a lovely lightly oxidized patina. The peak eagle is woven onto a forest green background, and shows some light fraying and oxidation of the aluminum bullion. The light green threads that hold the bullion tight are still partly present, and there a few loose strands we can see. The oak leaf wreath is also very well executed, woven onto the same green background, and surrounds an embroidered tri-color cockade, which has a red felt insert in the center. There is just a bit of fraying on some of the thicker wires. Really a great set of early pattern insignia.

The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap, and is a bit loose, showing light wear and oxidation. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting very little wear, and is brown on the underside with a cross-hatched pattern. The top shows a lovely pattern of checking and crazing towards the left end, which occurs as the black enamel finish degrades over time.

The inside of the cap is lined with a black “service cloth” type material, possibly made from rayon. The original celluloid diamond sweats shield is still present with mostly attached stitching, with just a bit of cracking and stitching loss on the right corner. There are no maker or size markings visible on the inside of the crown, but we estimate that the cap is about a size 55-56cm. The sweatband is pressed paper faux leather, and is secured by a small split pin in the back. It shows tearing around a good part of the edge, and is definitely a bit deteriorated. 

Overall condition is very good, with no mothing we can see and the colors well retained, showing just a bit of age toning and staining to the white piping. The embroidered insignia and chinstrap are in good shape, with a great look.

A great example of the classic hat worn by German Army Infantry Officers in WWII. Very impressive and 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.