Original German WWII Heer Army Transport and Supply Troop Officers Schirmmütze Visor Crush Cap by Paul Kaps Neisse

Original Item: Only One Available. This cap is a fantastic lightly used used example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Infantry Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), and it really looks the business. The cap has a lovely "Crushed" or "saddle-form" shape that is highly desirable, accomplished by removing the crown support stiffener ring. 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 also has matching Hellblau (Light blue) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Transportation troops (Fahrtruppen) until 1942 and Supply troops (Nachschubtruppen) from 1942 onwards.

It is decorated with a well detailed aluminum eagle insignia on the peak and and an open hand embroidered silver bullion oak leaf and acorn wreath with an attached metal tri-color cockade on the band. The peak eagle is still in great shape, while the wreath shows some fraying and oxidation to the aluminum bullion. The cockade shows some oxidation as well, but the red felt insert in the middle is present and still vibrant. The chin strap is attached with the standard pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. It is in very good condition, but does show some oxidation to the bullion on the lower cord. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting minimal wear along the edge and is black on the underside. The top shows a lovely pattern of very fine checking and crazing to the gloss enamel finish, and there is some wear from the chinstrap.

The inside of the cap is lined with lovely gray rayon, which shows very little staining or wear of any kind. There is an intact celluloid sweat shield diamond on the inside of the crown, which has fully intact stitching, and is maker marked PAUL KAPS NEISSE, a known maker of WW2 Visor caps. The sweatband in this cap is made from genuine leather, which is finished in gray and is still quite supple, without any tearing or other major damage. There is just a bit of staining near the forehead areas, and the stitching is fully intact. The underside of the leather is stamped  with another Paul Kaps marking The size seems to be about a 58cm.

Overall condition is very good, looking to have seen only light use during the war, so the colors are very well retained. There is some staining and dirt on the very bottom edge of the band, one of the first places to see wear, but we did not see any elsewhere. There are no tears or large holes, but there is some mothing to the piping, as well as to the "badge cloth" backing of the band insignia. The softer more open weave of these areas is more prone to moth damage.

A lovely example of a classic hat worn by German Army Supply 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.