Original German WWII Army Heer Artillery Officers Schirmmütze Visor Cap by Franz Spangemacher Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a wonderful lightly used example of a named German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Artillery Officer’s Schirmmütze (visor cap), and it really looks the business. It still has the original crown stiffener installed, so the sides have not sunken down over the years. It features lovel feldgrau (field gray) “doeskin” weave wool construction with a forest green “badge cloth” band and a traditional high forward crown. The also has matching Hochrot (Deep Red) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. This piping is a bit faded to orange around the crown, but under the rear and chin strap it is less faded. It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a well detailed silver plated eagle insignia on the peak and and an open cast aluminum oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding an metal tri-color cockade on the band. The silver wash on the eagle is well retained, with just a bit of light oxidation, and the cockade and wreath are still fully bright and shiny. The red felt insert inside the cockade is present, however like the piping it has faded a bit towards orange. The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting minimal wear along the edge and is beige on the underside. The top has a lovely pattern of crazing and fine checking, except where it was protected by the chinstrap.

The inside of the cap is lined with cream sheer fabric, most likely rayon, that shows some staining and tearing around the edge. The top plastic shield is fully present, though there is a crack in it. The maker logo is still partly present, but by looking in the light we think we can read the entire thing:

Uniformen
Franz Spangemacher
GMBH
Oldenburg i/O.

The tan leather sweatband is in good condition, showing wear and staining, and is still supple, without any tearing. It has two small metal stickers reading E and Z, most likely the initials of the owner. On the underside of the sweatband it is marked Geprüft 1. / Bb. 22, indicating it was “tested” by that person.

Condition is very good, with just a few areas of light mothing on the crown area. The colors are mostly well retained, though the cap does show long term light exposure, which has lightened the piping. Red dyes are unfortunately much less stable in the light than other colors. The metal insignia and chinstrap are in fantastic shape, with a great look. From what we can tell, this cap is about a size 58cm / US 7 1/4.

A great example of a classic hat worn by German Army Artillery 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.