Original German WWII M43 NSKK National Socialist Motor Corps Officers Feldmütze Field Cap Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is fantastic “salty” heavily service worn NSKK Officer’s M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap). Very similar to the Heer Army version, it is constructed of wool gabardine cloth, with fold-down panels with squared scallops to the front and forward sides, covering the entire neck on the sides and rear when in use. When not in use, the panels are raised with their ends resting upon the visor, being joined together by pebbled buttons. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching gabardine cloth, and is now a bit deformed and rippled due to wear, and looks to have some cracks/tears as well.

Sewn in place in the front of the cap is a BeVo machine embroidered NSKK eagle insignia, woven from silver thread on a black background. The patch is only stitched to the exterior of the cap, indicating it was attached during production, though the stitching on the top has pulled out. There is a silver bullion braid going around the crown, which designates the wearer to be an officer.

The interior of the cap looks to be an olive cotton / rayon blend twill, which shows wear and staining form use. There are no markings on the interior that we can see, and the size seems to be about a 57-58.

Condition of the cap is definitely “service used”, with wear through the fabric in areas, and some pulling of the stitching. Looking under the fold down side panels, you can see the original color and texture that the cap had before staining from use and exposure.

Overall, this is great “salty” wartime used NSKK Officer’s M43 field cap with LOADS of history! We rarely see period caps with this level of patina. Ready to display!

History of the NSKK
The National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) was a successor organization to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps (NSAK), which had existed since being formed on 1 April 1930. Legends about the actual emergence of the NSKK go back as far as 1922, when the publisher of the Völkischer Beobachter (People’s Observer) and founding member of the German Workers’ Party (DAP), Dietrich Eckart, allegedly purchased trucks so the SA could perform their missions and transport propaganda materials. Martin Bormann founded the NSAK, which itself was the successor to the SA Motor Squadrons (Kraftfahrstaffeln). AH made the NSAK an official NSDAP organization on 1 April 1930. The NSAK was responsible for coordinating the use of donated motor vehicles belonging to party members, and later expanded to training members in automotive skills. Adolf Hühnlein was appointed Korpsführer (Corps Leader) of the NSAK, which was to serve primarily as a motorized corps of the Sturmabteilung (SA). Hühnlein became the organization’s “nucleus”.

The organization’s name was changed to the National Socialist Motor Corps (Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps; NSKK), becoming official on 1 May 1931. It was essentially a paramilitary organization with its own system of paramilitary ranks and the smallest of the NSDAP organizations. Despite its relatively smaller size, when the NSDAP celebrated Braunschweiger SA-day on 18 October 1931, the NSKK had upwards of 5,000 vehicles at its disposal to move men and materials.

The primary aim of the NSKK was to educate its members in motoring skills or what was called “fitness in motoring skills” (Motorische Ertüchtigung), but it also transported NSDAP and SA officials. In the mid-1930s, the NSKK also served as a roadside assistance group, comparable to the modern-day American Automobile Association or the British Automobile Association.

Membership in the NSKK did not require any prior knowledge of automobiles. It was thought that training in the NSKK would make up for any previous lack of knowledge. Under the guidance of the police, numerous NSKK men were stationed at traffic junctions and trained in traffic control.

On 20 July 1934, weeks after the major purge of the SA in what became known as the Night of the Long Knives, the NSKK was separated and promoted into an independent NSDAP organization. From 1935 onward, the NSKK also provided training for Panzer crews and drivers of the Heer (German Army). The NSKK had two sub-branches within the organization known as the Motor-HJ (Motor-HJ Motor-HJ) and Naval NSKK (Marine-NSKK). The Motor-HJ branch was formed by Reichsjugendführer (HJ Leader) Baldur von Schirach after he became a member of the NSKK. It operated 350 of its own vehicles for educational and training purposes. The Naval NSKK trained men in the operation and maintenance of boats.

During the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the NSKK assumed responsibility for a variety of transport tasks, proving themselves effective at political propaganda by transporting foreign visitors around on designated tours. By 1938, NSKK members were undergoing mechanical and operational training for both civilian and military type vehicles. Over time, the training at NSKK schools became primarily focused on military related tasks. For services to the NSKK and due in part to the general success of the NSKK, Hühnlein was promoted to the position of a Reichsleiter of the NSDAP in 1938. Hühnlein was NSKK Korpsführer from 1931 until he died in 1942, when Erwin Kraus took over.

The M43 Feldmütze (Field 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.