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

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice 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 dark bottle-green (flaschengrün) “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.

It is decorated with a well detailed aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open aluminum wreath surrounding a a metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia all look great, still showing their original bright finish, and the red felt insert in the cockade is still vibrant. The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. which show some light wear. The chinstrap show some wear and oxidation on the silver bullion, but still looks great.

The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear around the edge, and is beige on the underside with a cross-hatched pattern. The black finish on the top has a lovely pattern of crazing and checking, which only happens after decades of age. There is also some wear on the bottom and around the edge, showing the red fiber material.

The inside of the cap is lined with amber sheer fabric, most likely rayon, which shows some staining from use, but no fraying or other major damage. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond is fully intact with complete stitching, and is really in great shape. There is a maker marking and Extra-Klasse stamped underneath it, though we have not been able to identify the maker.

The natural leather sweatband is still in very good condition with intact stitching, showing staining from age and use, and has the aluminum initials L P attached to it. Even better, the underside of the sweatband is stamped with Geprüft / 1. J. R. 62 in a box, indicating issue to that specific regiment. We are fairly certain it is a “62”, but it could be some other number, as the stamping is faint. The red foam rubber under the front perforations is also almost completely missing.

The exterior shows light staining and fading, but no mothing we can see, and really is in great shape for its age. We very rarely get them in such fine condition as this!

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.