Original German WWII Army Heer Medical Officer Schirmmütze Visor Crush Cap with Embroidered Wreath Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice service used example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Officer’s Schirmmütze (visor cap), with a lovely “Crushed” shape. This “saddle-form” shape is highly desirable, and accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. It features the typical 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 medizinblau (medical blue) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for the Sanitätstruppe (Military medical service).

It is decorated with a very nice silvered stamped zinc alloy eagle insignia on the peak and and an open hand embroidered bullion wreath surrounding a metal tri-color cockade on the band. The red felt insert on the cockade is still present, and both insignia show just a bit of light oxidation, with just some light wear to the bullion wreath. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer. The chin strap is attached with the standard silvered buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is checkered tan on the underside. It has a lovely look, and does not show much in the way of checking or crazing in the finish.

The cap is lined with what looks to originally have been light gray or blue rayon, which is now stained and worn overall. There are many small tears due to deterioration of the fabric, and the plastic sweat shield is mostly missing, with the stitching still present. There are no maker or other markings that we can see. The sweatband is made from pressed paper faux leather, and is mostly intact, but it definitely shows past wear and damage. There are several tears that have been repaired with white thread, and the forehead area is definitely degraded.

Overall condition is actually very good, with the interior being the main discrepancy. The exterior shows little in the way of fading or major wear. There is a bit of moth damage to the band and piping where the crown hangs over, which is very common.

A very nice service used example of the classic hat worn by German Army Medical Officers in WWII with a great “crushed” shape. 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, issued 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.