Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a very nice example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Cavalry Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), which unfortunately had the visor partly detach at some point, which was then repaired using what looks to e hot glue. It still has the support ring around the crown to maintain the shape, which gives the cap just a bit of a swept back look. It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "whipcord" weave wool construction, with a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap has matching Goldgelb (Golden Yellow) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Cavalry, as well as reconnaissance and armored reconnaissance units with cavalry traditions.

Around the front of the cap is the correct silver bullion chinstrap, indicating that it is for an officer, retained by the usual silver painted pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. It is decorated with a well detailed aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and an open aluminum oak leaf and acorn wreath surrounding an aluminum tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia still look great, with the original aluminum finish very well retained, showing little to no damage or oxidation. The red felt insert in the cockade is still vibrant, with no moth or other damage.

The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge, and is chocolate brown on the underside. It also has a lovely pattern of crazing and checking on the black enamel finished top, which happens as the material degrades over the decaes. As mentioned previously, the stitching holding the visor pulled or rotted out over the decades, and was unfortunately repaired using hot glue, which was also applied under the sweatband, gluing it down in places.

The cap is lined with orange service cloth type material, which is almost like a light oil cloth. It shows light wear, and there is no major damage or discoloration to the material. The inner crown still retains a fully intact celluloid diamond sweat shield in the crown with all of the stitching, and there is a faded name tag in the slot. There is also a stamped size 56½ under the plastic. The brown leather sweatband is unfortunately quite torn, and as mentioned previously sections were glued down when the visor was reglued. There is still a faint maker marking on the underside of the sweatband, which reads?

Landes-Lief.-Genossenschaft
Kürschner u. Mützenschaft
für Thüringen

This translates to "State Supply Cooperative Furriers and Hatters for Thuringia", and there is a date next to it, which looks to read 193, with the last number torn away.

Overall condition is very good, with the main condition issue being the re-glued visor and the torn sweatband. The exterior has the colors very well retained, and there is just a bit of mothing in areas.

A very nice example of a classic hat worn by German Cavalry Officers 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.