SS Officers Visor Cap

This is a very worn combat visor. It has had the top cap spring removed to give it the "crusher" look that many SS officers desired (see the photo on the far right for a similar example).
The cap body is made from Italian cloth and has a well weathered set of zinc insignia (Deschler skull and an Assmann eagle) that nicely match the outside condition. The chincords are the silver bullion type (as opposed to aluminum) and have toned to a neat gold color and secured with silver washed, pebble finished buttons.

The velvet cap band is the usual type showing some wear in places. The visor is the standard vulkanfiber type, cross hatched underneath and painted tan to match the underside color scheme.
The inside has a smooth rayon lining with a size stamp of "57". It was not issued with a sweatshield. It has a nicely preserved calf skin leather sweatband with the owners name "Wachholtz" inked on the inside.

This a really great example of a combat officers "crush" type cap.

SS Officers Visor Cap

A very similar visor to the one above. This cap is hardly worn and still has the manufacturers ticket stapled to the sweatband.

The cap body is made from a nice grade of Trikot and has a nice set of insignia (Deschler M1/52 skull and a rarer Ferdinand Wagner 475/39 eagle). The chin cords are the silver bullion type (as opposed to aluminum) and are secured with silver washed pebble finished buttons. The velvet cap band is the usual type. The visor is the standard vulkanfiber type, cross hatched underneath and painted tan to match the underside color scheme.

The inside has a smooth rayon lining with a size stamp of "57". It was not issued with a sweatshield. It has a nicely preserved calf skin leather sweatband.

SS Officers Visor Cap

This visor is made from pre war German trikot material with a distinctive green tone to it. I had a textile conservator examine this material to determine its age and origin. It has the correct grass green piping for Gebirgsjäger troops. It has the typical officers black velvet cap band. The insignia consists of a zinc Assmann eagle and a zinc Deschler totenkopf . Both have lost most of their finish as most zinc insignia have over the years.

The pale crème rayon lining is in two parts as it should be and has a small celluloid sweat diamond. There is no makers mark. The underside of the "vulkanfiber" visor has the proper cross hatching and the visor color, sweatband and lining all match up nicely with the pale color scheme.

The small amount of wear on this cap would lead me to believe it was worn only for parade or garrison duty.

SS Officers M43 Cap

This is a rare and controversial cap. It is made from the same material as ski clothing and was likely a private purchase cap by an officer. It was possibly for use by an SS ski or mountain officer due to it's construction.

The insignia, materials, cut and construction all conform to an authentic cap with no signs of reworking. This cap has no "bridles" or "pull downs" under the flaps like most M43 caps.
The cap has all flatwire insignia, is made from Tricotine, officer grade silver-washed buttons with correct RZM marks and makers marks for Assmann und Sohne of Ludenscheid. What makes this a one of a kind cap and highly unusual are the full length calfskin sweatband and two ventilation grommets on each side and finally the bright gold rayon lining.

This cap can be seen in Gary Wilkins book "The Collector's Guide to Cloth Third Reich Military Headgear" It was originally purchased from a Vet by long time collector Mike Horetsky, and went through the hands of Bill Shea and Peter Whamond before I got hold of it.

SS Officers M43 Cap

SS Panzer officer M43 caps are very rare and controversial in the collecting world. However, there are period photos showing a good section of the SS Wiking Panzer Regiment with this type of M43 cap with the single glass button - both officers and enlisted types. See the photo below of two Wiking Panzer officers wearing the single button M43 cap.

This cap has officers silver piping, all flatwire insignia which is neatly hand stitched to the front of the cap. The excess material around the skull is neatly folded under giving the skull the slight "puffy" appearance that a period sewn piece should have.

The lining is a smooth black cotton and a half length leather sweatband is stitched to the forehead area of the cap.

SS Officers M43 Cap

Another variation of an SS Panzer Officers M43 cap.

The insignia, materials, cut and construction all conform to an authentic cap with no signs of reworking. The visor is thicker than normal but no other features are unusual. This has the 2nd type of trapezoid with the single row of teeth from the BeVo Wuppertal firm. The cap is made from a nice grade of doeskin wool, rayon HBT lining and has officer grade silver-washed buttons with correct RZM and makers marks for Gebruder Gloerfeld of Ludenscheid - according to Gary Wilkins book they were Assmann und Sohne's main competition in Ludenscheid.

The silver piping is the standard type found on the majority of SS officers M43 caps and is the correct aluminum, weave and width.

SS Officers M43 Cap

This is a late war SS officers M-43 cap that most likely was made in an SS Labor complex. It is constructed from a medium grade wool, has a smooth cotton type lining, the standard type of aluminum piping on the crown and solid officer type buttons that are painted green.

The insignia consists of a flatwire skull machine sewn to the front and an enlisted type eagle machine sewn on the side. This pattern of flatwire skull is one not very often seen.

SS Officers M40 Cap

A perfect example of an SS Officers M40 side cap. Featuring a flatwire skull and flatwire eagle it is also piped in aluminum braid. The piping is a very tight weave and properly sewn to the cap with two rows of stitching showing on the outside of the flaps. The piping is very neatly joined at the rear seam of the cap. The lining is a pale brown cotton.

When it was introduced, all Officers M40 side caps were piped in silver/aluminum braid until regulations of November 1st 1940 restricted wear of the silver/aluminum braid to Officers holding the rank of SS-Oberführer to Reichsführer-SS. Officers with the ranks of SS-Untersturmführer to SS-Standartenführer utilized the white piping.

SS Officers M40 Cap

A similar style of M40 cap to the one above but piped in white. It also has a flatwire skull and flatwire eagle.. The piping is very neatly joined at the rear seam of the cap. The lining is a pale brown cotton and has a half length sweatband in the front of the cap. It also has a name tag sewn into the lining. It is named to Voller Franz 2./SS "R".

When it was introduced, all Officers M40 side caps were piped in silver/aluminum braid until regulations of November 1st 1940 restricted wear of the silver/aluminum braid to Officers holding the rank of SS-Oberführer to Reichsführer-SS. Officers with the ranks of SS-Untersturmführer to SS-Standartenführer utilized the white piping.

SS Officers M40 Cap

This SS Officers M40 side cap shows almost no wear. It looks brand new and would be considered a fake by certain groups of collectors for that fact alone. However, it's construction conforms exactly to all other original types I have examined.

The cap body is a fine grade of Trikot with a brown/gray cotton lining. The enlisted type Bevo insignia is correctly hand sewn to the cap and the white wool piping is also the correct type and properly sewn to the cap.

SS Panzer Enlisted M40 Cap

An SS other ranks Panzer M40 side cap. It is quite worn and only has the original wool left under the side flaps. It's the typical textbook construction for an M40 sidecap.

The cap body is a standard grade of woolt with a black cotton lining. The enlisted type Bevo insignia is correctly hand sewn to the cap.