Original German WWII Luftwaffe Officer Schirmmütze Visor Cap by EREL with Bullion Insignia Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good condition Luftwaffe Officer’s Schirmmütze Visor Cap, made by the very desirable EREL company, a top class maker of headwear during the war. An honest example with a wonderful swept back shape. It has the “crusher cap” saddle appearance, which we all love, with the standard high front.

This Officer’s Schirmmütze Visor Cap is a very high quality manufactured example. Fabricated in Luftwaffe blue gray Fliegerblau (Flier’s Blue) “whipcord” wool, with wide black ribbed wool cap band, plus three rows of fine silver bullion piping around the circumference. It is fronted by a heavy bullion embroidered Luftwaffe insignia pair that includes a silver bullion national eagle on a wool backing above a high relief silver bullion oak leaf wreath with stylized wings and a metal tri color cockade.

The visor on this cap is the standard “vulcanfibre” with black patent faux leather stitched around the edge, and a green underside. Above this is the correct bullion officer’s chin strap, retained by pebbled buttons. The interior is lined with fine blue gray rayon, and has a brown leather sweatband embossed with EREL PATENT / STIRNSCHÜTZ on the left side. There is no size marked, but it seems to be about a size 56cm / US 7. The celluloid diamond crown sweat shield at the top is completely missing, though the stitching is still present. There is no longer any trace of the maker on the top.

Overall the condition is very good, with a lovely “broken in” look that is simply impossible to duplicate. There is some wear to the insignia and piping, but no major deterioration. The top of the crown is a bit faded due to light exposure, while underneath it is more blue. The interior shows staining to the liner from use, and there are some tears all the way through the leather sweatband.

A truly quality Luftwaffe officer cap by EREL of the early-war style with silver bullion embroidered insignia, and a real leather sweatband. 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.