Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is great service worn example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Artillery EM/NCO Schirmmütze visor "crush" cap, with a fantastic saddle form shape. Made with flexible leather visors and no crown reinforcement, these were quite flexible, and easily took on the iconic shape. The wear on this cap gives it a fantastic well broken in look that is impossible to duplicate. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) wool "whipcord weave" gabardine construction with a forest green "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap also has matching Hochrot (Deep Red) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. As this is an EM/NCO cap, this is definitely for an Artillery, Assault Gun, or Heavy Flak soldier.

It is decorated with a well detailed BeVo style silvered aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silver BeVo embroidered wreath surrounding a tri-color cockade on the band. The cap does not have a chin strap, and there is no indication that it was made with one. As the chin straps were not really used, they were omitted sometimes, especially on the EM/NCO versions, which did not need the bullion strap to denote officer rank. The black leather visor is still in good shape and supple, though over time the black finish has checked and degraded, so it now has a fantastic pattern of cracks in the finish. The tan leather sweatband is in very good condition, still supple with no cracks or tears that we can see, and the stitching is fully intact.

The cap is lined with brown "service cloth" type fabric, and originally had a celluloid sweat shield on the top, which is now almost completely missing, along with some of the stitching to hold it in place. There are no maker or size markings that we can see, but it seems to be about a size 58cm / US 7 1/4.

Overall condition is just lovely, with a fantastic "been there" look. There is some fading to the colors, as well as wear on the exterior, but nothing out of line with wear from service. We do not see much in the way of mothing at all, which is definitely rare on a cap of this age that is made from wool.

A great well broken in example of the classic hat worn by German Artillery NCOs in WWII. Very impressive and 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.