Original German WWII Army Heer Panzergrenadier Officer Schirmmütze Visor Crush Cap with Replaced Sweatband 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. It looks like in the past the sweatband / liner completely deteriorated, and for use or display this was removed, and a piece of dark gray rayon twill was stitched into place, attached to both the bottom edge and the lining.

The cap has matching Wiesengrün (Meadow Green) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for the Heer Panzergrenadiertruppen (Panzer Grenadier Troops). These were motorized / mechanized infantry troops, and were legendary in the field. Originally called Schützen regiments, they had used the same Pink piping as the Panzer corps. Then in 1942 Infantry Regiments were renamed as Grenadier Regiments by Adolf H as a historical homage to Frederick the Great’s Army, and the Schützen were renamed to Panzergrenadiers.

It is decorated with a very nice stamped aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open stamped aluminum wreath surrounding an integral 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. 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 pattern of very fine crazing and checking on the black finish.

The cap is lined with cream rayon, however it now is quite stained from use and age. The celluloid diamond sweat shield and stitching are completely missing, though the stitch holes can still be seen. There also is a very faded maker logo, which unfortunately we cannot make out. As mentioned previously the sweatband was removed and replaced with a piece of dark gray rayon.

This cap has a fantastic service worn look, showing much use during the war, but it also looks to have been well cared for. There is some wear around the bottom edge, as is usual, and also a some small moth nips on the crown and the cap band.

A very nice used example of the classic hat worn by German Army Panzergrenadier Officers in WWII. 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.