Original German WWII Panzer Armored Corps Officer Schirmmütze Visor Crush Cap by EREL Extra - Double Marked

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army Panzer Armored Corps Officer's Schirmmütze (visor cap), made by the legendary EREL company. It is marked on both the inside of the crown and the sweatband, making it a VERY desirable DOUBLE MARKED example! 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. It also has matching rose-pink (rosa) piping along the top edge and flanking either side of the band. This is the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) for the Panzertruppen (Armored Forces), as well as Kraftfahrkampftruppe - Kraftfahrtruppen (Motor Vehicle Combat Troops). It has the correct silver bullion chin strap, indicating that it is for an officer.

It is decorated with a well detailed stamped zinc eagle insignia on the peak and and an open stamped zinc wreath surrounding a metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia have a great aged look, and were most likely silver washed originally, but now all display a dull oxidized zinc patina. The red mesh in the center of the cockade still retains the original color well. The chin strap is attached with the standard silvered pebbled buttons on either side of the cap. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting some wear along the edge, and is checkered light brown on the underside. It also has a lovely pattern of light crazing and checking on the black enamel finished top, with some minor cracking.

The inside of the cap is lined with light blue sheer fabric, most likely rayon, which shows fading and some staining from use. The top celluloid sweat shield diamond in great shape, with only a small crack on the end of the name tag slot, and the stitching holding it in place is retained at 100%. Though partial, the inside of the crown still bears the EREL trademark logo in silver:

OFFIZIER
KLEID[ERKA]SSE
[BERLIN]
EREL
SonderKlasse
Extra

The cap also has an embossed stamp over the left ear on the sweatband: EREL PATENT / STIRNSCHUTZ, which refers to the "Forehead Protection" of the sweatband design. This means that the sweatband was never replaced, making this a "double marked" example. There is no size marking we can see, but it seems to be about a 58cm. The gray finished leather sweatband is in very good condition, still soft with no tears or major damage. We looked underneath, but were not able to find any unit or name information. The stitching is fully intact, and the brown "piping" around the sweatband is fully intact.

Overall condition is very good, with the exterior showing just a bit of fading from age and use. The color on the piping is still vibrant, which is quite rare for pink, as the dyes used at the time were very light sensitive. There is not any moth damage we can see, and this really is probably the best Panzer officer visor cap that we have ever had the pleasure of offering.

A great example of a classic hat worn by German Panzer Officers in WWII with a fantastic "crushed" shape, double marked by the legendary EREL company. 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.