Original German WWII Luftwaffe M43 Einheitsmütze Wool Field Cap – size 56cm Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a Luftwaffe M43 Einheitsmütze Wool field cap, with a great lightly worn look. The cap is constructed of  blue/grey Luftwaffe wool, and has the correct “fold down” skirt for colder weather. It features two pebbled aluminum buckles to the front, securing the skirt, and has the correct loops on the underside.

The peak of the cap has a very nice cap eagle with cockade underneath, both machine embroidered to a triangular blue / gray fabric backing. The interior of cap is a gray rayon HBT material, which is standard for this type of cap. It has light sweat stains around the edge, and the top is size stamped 56 in blue ink. Above this there looks to be a German RBNr. marking and a date, but we are not able to make out what they say. The visor is still in good condition, though the cardboard stiffener definitely has some ripples and bends. There is what looks to be a small hole chewed into the side of the visor, showing the stiffener.

The exterior material is a coarser weave than we usually see, and does have some wear and small tears. We cannot tell if these are from use or moth. The interior also has some tears, so this is definitely a cap that did see use. Ready to display!

The M43 Einheitsmütze (Unit 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.