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

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice lightly 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 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 is decorated with a very nice stamped aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silver bullion embroidered wreath surrounding a metal tri-color cockade on the band. The red felt insert on the cockade is still present, and the bullion wreath shows just a bit of fraying, but no oxidation or major deterioration. 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 brown on the underside.

The cap is lined with lovely cream rayon faux silk, which now shows moderate staining and soiling from use. The top plastic sweat shield is partly intact, with cracks and about 40% missing. Most of the stitching is intact, and there is some of the original maker logo visible, with a standard mark below, however we have not been able to identify the maker. The sweatband is made from beige finished pressed paper faux leather, which is still in very good condition, though a bit stiff. We often see these quite torn and deteriorated, but this example is still solid, with the stitching almost fully intact.

The cap looks to have seen moderate service during the war, and shows staining and soiling on the interior and the bottom edge. There are some moth nips on the band and crown, very common on the “doeskin” and badge cloth types of felt. The cap also overall has had the colors fade a bit, possibly from being on display for a long period of time.

A very nice lightly used example of the classic hat worn by German Army Infantry Officers in WWII. Ready to research and 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.