Original Excellent German WWII Rare Civic Protection Police NCO M43 Bergmütze Mountain Cap Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent barely used example of the rare M43 Schutzpolizei (Civic Protection Police) NCO M43 Bergmütze (Mountain cap), taller and heavier in construction than the standard M43 Feldmütze. It is constructed of Polizei blue / green worsted wool cloth, with fold-down panels with scallops to the front and forward sides, covering the entire neck on the sides and rear when in use. When not in use, the panels are raised with their ends resting upon the visor, being joined together by a single painted pebbled button. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching cloth with gray green canvas on the underside, showing just a bit of rippling.

Sewn in place in the front of the cap is a Civic Police Tri-Color machine embroidered cockade with a blue green backing, and under this is the correct BeVo style machine woven white Police Civic Eagle on a black background. The insignia are original to the cap and are sewn to the outer fabric only. The patch is in very clean crisp condition. The interior of the cap is lined with lovely gray green rayon faux silk, which shows minimal use. There is no size marked, but it seems to be about a size 56cm / US 7.

There is no mothing we can see, and almost no signs of use, though there are a few brown spots which look to be possibly cigarette burns, not uncommon on captured German WWII militaria.

Overall, this is a great looking M43 Civic Protection Police mountain cap with just a bit of wear, ready to display!

The M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap) is a variety of “Ski Cap” and was based on the Bergmütze (Mountain Hat) used by Austrian and German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Troops) during WWI. Germany had adopted it in 1915, and after the war it spread throughout the military.

The skirt that surrounds the cap is made in the same wool as the cap, and can be folded down over the ears, though this was rarely done outside of the Mountain troops, which had a double-thickness skirt. The skirt has a small dip in the front quarter with a divide secured by one aluminum button which is covered by an embroidered cockade. The small section in the front quarter was built shorter to show the insignia, and cover the wearer’s chin or mouth, without disturbing breathing by covering the nose. There were also later M43 caps, such as those used by the DAK, that omitted the skirt entirely, as it had little use in the desert heat.