Original Item; Only One Available. We are pleased to offer this RARE WWII Luftschutz (Air Raid) M43 Feldmütze (Field Cap) for the first time. It is constructed of blue gray 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 two pebbled brass buttons. The visor is reinforced with cardboard, and covered in matching gabardine cloth top and bottom.

The cap features a BeVo-style machine embroidered Luftschutz emblem on the front of the cap in white and blue thread, with a blue-gray background. The original stitching holding it on is in good shape and is easily seen. The brim has a lovely curve to it, and overall the cap has a great service worn look. There is some light mothing in areas, but nothing catastrophic.

The interior lining of the cap seems to be light canvas or oil cloth, and does show wear and fading. The interior did at one point have a celluloid diamond on the top, but it has unfortunately completely fallen off. There are also tears on the front of the lining, which shows the woven plant fiber stiffener.

Overall a very nice example of a hard to find cap! Ready to display!

History of the RLB
The Reichsluftschutzbund (RLB) (National Air Raid Protection League)  was organized by Hermann Göring in 1933 as a voluntary association. Existing volunteer air raid precaution associations were forced to merge with RLB. In 1939 the RLB became a Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization), while in 1944 it became an affiliated organization of the NSDAP Party. It was in charge of educating and training ordinary German men and women in civil defense procedures necessary for the basic level of local self-help of the civil population against air raids. The local level was formed around air raid wardens and operated in small first intervention squads. The training include fire fighting, protection against chemical weapons, communication procedures and preparation of houses and apartments against air raids.

More on the M43 Field Cap:
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.