Thanks to Mark Twiname
Preface
This article can in no way be exhaustive due to the scarcity of the subject matter. Therefore I will simply describe several original caps, including New Zealand & Australian veteran souvenired examples from the North African and Italian campaigns. This will, hopefully, go some way to give an overview of the many differing types of issued tropical caps seen in German service in World War II.
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The most distinguishable issue item of the WWII German soldier in North Africa & Mediterranean theatre of Operations was his field cap. This was simply termed Afrikamutze by the troops, but in todays collecting terminology it is the m40 Tropical Field Cap.
Along with his tropical issue service uniform and specially designed fieldgear, this simple but useful item set him aside from his Continental comrades and added to the mystique of his image as a serving member of the famous Deutches Afrika Korps (DAK). The caps distinctly modern silouette and ‘rakish’ appearance lent an air of adventure to those who wore it by connection to the army they served in, and ultimately it’s commander, General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel, who’s professionalism, charisma and personality drew almost universal admiration from civilian and soldier alike – including those in the opposing forces.
A posting to North Africa was seen as an adventure – a chance to see exotic desert lands filled with rolling sand dunes, hot sunny days, camel trains, palm trees & oasis. Even though the reality was very different, the conduct and shared hardships for those involved while serving in that foreign land earned them a reputation and respect that has remained to this day.
The collecting of the tropical field cap reflects the admiration that today’s generation maintains for those far distant times and individuals.
In the field soldiers replaced their equipment, uniforms and vehicles when they could, scrounging clothing and transport from their rivals when supplies failed to materialize – which at times was a commonplace problem due to Allied interference along the long Axis supply route. But one item was retained – carefully repaired or altered to the very end while in field service or in POW camps, or taken back home on repatriation – the Afrikamutze.
Pride was placed in this soldiers constant companion. The cap was the outward show of a soldiers ‘veteran’ status – or not. A brand new, dark olive cap in stiff condition was the sign of a fresh faced new addition to a unit. To counter this the new member would often take pains to artificially age his cap as soon as possible to both blend in, and add prestige to his appearance by chemically bleaching the cap in disolved anti-gas tablets (Losantin).
The instant effect was to evenly whiten the whole cap, quite a drastic contrast to their newly issued uniform – which often received the same treatment. Many period photos commonly show caps with a nearly all white appearance. These are clearly chemically bleached, whereas naturally sunfaded caps retained a more worn, darker look quite dicernable even in black and white photographs. A true sunfaded cap was prized for the service time it took to achieve it’s naturally worn, faded finish.
Today, few sun-faded m40 caps exist in collections world-wide and they generally represent the surviving examples of early manufactured and issued pieces. Most caps were worn-out in field service, or in POW camps, so they are valued for their rarity. Later manufactured caps (post 1943) are comparitively more common, and can be found in worn-out to completely un-issued condition. BUT – all m40 caps should be considered as rare and historically valuable items to be cherished and cared for.
The initial design for the tropical issue cap took shape in conjunction with the service uniform at The Tropical Institute of the University of Hamburg in mid-1940 as soon as it became apparent that German involvement in North Africa to help it’s Italian allies was unavoidable.
The caps design was practical, initially utilizing the same cotton twill as used to fabricate the tropical service tunic. The shape was loosely based on the Austro/Hungarian woollen mountain jagers cap which had seen use since WWI. The visors length was extended compared to it’s Austrian cousin, and bore a similarity to the American baseball cap of the period. The visor was shaped over a stiff cardboard form, the size of which did a good job of shielding the wearer’s eyes from harsh direct sunlight. The caps outer shell was made up from five separate panels in addition to the visor’s two. These consisted of top, upper side left/right, false turn-up, left and right. The false turn-up was again reminicent of the jagers cap turn down, with a pleasing scallop accentuating the caps front. The top panel was crimped into the lining layer lengthwise and sewn in a crease to add a small measure of stiffness which maintained the caps attractive silhouette. This panel appears to be made up from two parts, but it is in fact one piece.
Due to variations in twill supplies used by manufacturers, early caps were produced in colours that ranged from olive brown through to a reed green, which over time faded from near bone white to subtle tans and olive greens – depending on how often a cap was washed, (and in what) or how much sunlight it was exposed to. Caps produced during 1941 began to show a more consistant base colour, as cotton mills collectively dyed their twill a more uniform olive/green.
Heer caps were lined with a much more loosely woven red material. This was based on the research at the Tropical Institute which found that the heat from the head required, logically, to pass up through a loose woven lining, while the sun’s UV rays were deflected more effectively by the colour red, after passing through the outer cotton twill shell. The heat build-up in the area between the scalp and lining was vented out by two 9mm grommets placed on either side of the cap, allowing that space to ‘breath’. These grommets had a brown enamel baked onto the outer face, while retaining a raw inner surface. Over time and wear the enamel would eventually chip and flake off, exposing the alloy underneath. If a cap grommet shows abrasion wear down to the surface without chipping to the paint, it should be viewed with extreme caution. There are several types of split-washers used to secure the two part grommets, so a study of period cap types should be undertaken as reproduction and replaced grommets are signs that a cap is suspect.
The insignia were generally applied before the visor and lining were sewn in place. The application of insignia after a lining was added has, however, been noted occasionally on completely original caps. This would tend to indicate a mis-step in the production line process, and not a standard procedure of that manufacturer. Depending on who made the cap, insignia could be all machine sewn, all hand sewn, or a combination of both. Knowing what style of insignia application was used by which maker (and when) is most important in determining if the insignia has been re-attached to a stripped cap.
The insignia consisted of the national eagle. (Hoheitszeichen) which was basically a scaled down version of the tunic’s pattern eagle in sky-blue detail on a ochre/tan backing measuring aproximately 65mm x 30mm. The other main difference was in the number of ‘feathers’ used to construct the wings. The first eagles were machine woven in cotton. Later examples were woven in rayon, the sheen and colour tones between both being quite different when placed side by side for comparison.
Below the eagle was placed the national colours of red, white and black in circular form, (rondel) again on an ochre/tan backing cut and sewn in a diamond form measuring approximately 25mm square.
Framing the rondel was the waffenfarbe, or arm of service colour in the form of an inverted ‘V’ soutache of 3mm wide braided cotton. Manufacturers sewed this in place (by hand or machine) before the visor was attached to the body of the cap, hiding the ends of the braid by tucking them up and under the seam join. Others inserted the ends into a small hole cut into the caps outer shell to hide the ends.
A brief outline of the waffenfarbe colour system at this point is worth a description due to the colour variations that can be found on caps manufactured up until mid/late 1942.
Pink (rosa) Armour (Panzer)
Pink (rosa) Anti Tank (Panzerjager)
Light Green (hellgrun) Rifle Regiments – 1940 (Schutzenregimenter)
& Lime Green (resedagrun) then Panzer Grenadiers – 1942 (Panzergrenadiere)
grass Green (weisengrun)
Grass Green (weisengrun) Motorcycle Battalions – 1941 (Kraftradschutzen Bat.)
( The light green used by rifle regiments early on in 1941 was superceded by lime green later that year and remained the colour for all Panzergrenadiere for the remainder of the war.)
Copper brown (kupfer-braun) Motorcycle Battalions 1941/42
White (weiss) Army Anti-Aircraft Battalions (Heeres-Fla Bat.)
Light Green (hellgrun) Machine Gun Battalions – 1941 (Maschinengewehr-Bat.)
White (weiss) Infantry Regiments (Infanterie-Regimenter)
Gold-Yellow (goldgelb) Reconnaissance Units – 1941 (Aufklarungs Abteilungen)
Copper-brown (kupfer-braun) Reconnaissance Units 1941/42
( Aufklarungs-Abteilungen 33, 15th Panzer Div. retained gold-yellow waffenfarbe as a proud reminder of their original formation, Cavalry Regiment 6.)
Light Green (hellgrun) Alpine Regiments (Gebirgsjager-Reg.)
Bright Red (hochrot) Artillery Regiments (Artillerie-Reg.)
Black (schwarz) Engineer Battalions (Pionier-Bat.)
Lemon Yellow (zitronengelb) Signals Units (Nachrichten-Abt.)
Light Blue (hellblau) Motorized Supply & Transport (Fahr-und Kraftfahr-Abt.)
Dark Blue (kornblumenblau) Medical Units (Sanitats-Abt.)
Bordeaux Red (bordorot) Smoke Units (Nebel.Abt.)
Orange Red (orangerot) Field Police (Feldgendarmerie)
Carmine (karmesin) Vetinary Service (Veterinareinheiten)
Violet (violett) Field Chaplains (Heeresgeistlichen)
Bright Red (hochrot) General (rank) Officers (Generale)
Light Grey (hellgrau) Propaganda Troops (Propagandatruppe)
Grey Blue (grau-blau) Specialist Officers (Sonderfuhrer)
Dark Green (dunkelgrun) Army Administration Officers (Wehrmachtbeamten)
To differentiate between enlisted-men’s and officer’s caps, a 3mm silver cord was added at factory level to the top-edge seamline running round the cap, and the front scallop. Officers of General rank used gold wire instead of silver. The ratio of officers caps produced to enlisted men’s appears to have been around 1 in 90 – but this is supposition. Over time and wear the wire would tarnish and become a grey colour as it lost it’s sheen, as well as unravelling due to abbrasion. In the field caps were up-graded to officer status with the addition of locally aquired materials, and sewn in place with varying degrees of skill. Another alteration seen on officers caps was the removal of the factory applied eagle and replacement with a continental wool version. The effect was to instantly advertise the soldier as that of officer rank due to the much more prominent insignia – an affectation usually not seen on frontline officers who usually tried to remain as inconspicious as possible due to survival instincts. As the proportion of officers to enlisted men’s caps are now so low, original examples are naturally even harder to find on today’s market than enlisted-men’s caps.
M40 caps produced up until April 1942 did not leave the factory with sweatbands. In the field, modifications by the servicemen saw panels of leather or cloth sewn in place to reduce the moisture built-up in the cloth about the forehead due to perspiration, which tended to rot the cotton, trap dust which was more than a little uncomfortable, and worst of all, attract flies. The necessity of a sweatband forced manufacturers to develope, firstly, a basic cloth band that ran about the base of the cap. This was superceded by the ersatz leather and oilcloth version that is predominantly seen in todays collections, as far more caps of this type were produced than any other, and due to the fact that more survived the war due to their later manufacture. Caps may be found with the sewing lines for the sweatband passing over the cockade and soutache, again showing that the insignia was applied before the caps body was constructed, and the sweatband sewn in place.
From July of 1942 it was ordered that caps should no longer be produced with soutache. This was due simply to the problem of supplying the appropriate coloured soutached caps to specific troop units in the field. It had been found that troops were having to use caps that had the wrong waffenfarbe because, due to supply shortages and re-allocation of troops between units, incorrectly soutached caps were all they could get in some cases – if supplies arrived at all. Some removed the factory soutache and sewed the appropriate colour in place using scrounged materials – and in a not too pretty fashion either, at times. So, logic came to the rescue at the administrative level and caps were then more easily obtained by the troops who then only had to concern themselves with finding a cap with the correct fit. In some cases caps were found to be too small, so the individual had to make the slight alteration of opening out the rear seam and sewing a small triangle of material in place. Period photos show this was not an uncommon occurance, and in some cases soldiers just left the split rear seam open.
The July/August order to remove the soutache from their caps was seemingly ignored on a large scale,as period photos show troops even as late as 1944 with heavily worn soutached caps in Italy. Of course, supplies of pre-existing stocks were issued with soutache to the appropriate units until stocks were used up – but on issue the waffenfarbe was still supposed to be removed.
From 1943 onwards m40 caps can be found with the eagle sewn in it’s usual position on a triangular backing, machine sewn in place, so as to speed up the manfacturing process. This has a less attractive appearance than the earlier trimmed style of application, and seems less popular with collectors because of the workmanlike finish.
A very little known, but documented variation exists of the Heer m40. This exceptionally rare cap differed from the standard model due to the complete lack of false turn-up. The cotton drill which the outer shell was made from is of a slightly lighter weight from earlier produced caps. It was made with a cloth sweatband, initially not using ersatz leather/oilcloth in any way, but later caps had an added leatherette band running about the lower edge. No soutache was ever applied, so conjecture for a time of manufacture is 1942. One example is known to the author which is stamped with the maker mark of Ernst Kern. Due to almost identical manufacturing details it is assumed at this point that the cap used in this article was also made by that same maker.
The next most predominant item of heer tropical soft headgear was the model fundamentaly based on the m38 overeas cap, nicknamed in German army slang as Schiffchen, or literally ‘little ship’ as it resembled an up-turned row-boat. It lacked a peak or visor, and was made in the same cotton as the m40 cap. The production of these also started in 1940, but never had a sweatband added at a later date as did the m40 Afrikamutze. The schiffchen had one eyelet per side as opposed to two, but utilized the same brown enamelled stock as the m40.
Just like the wool version, the tropical overseas cap had turn-down sides, but these could not be folded down to cover the ears for cold weather protection.
The cap was also lined with red cotton, the sides being the last to be sewn in place. The insignia was also sewn to the shell before the lining was added, and used exactly the same eagle, rondel and soutache as the m40. From 1943 onwards, as with the m40 billed cap, the eagle can be seen to be sewn on some examples on a triangular backing, This was a simple measure to speed up production, although it tended to lend the cap with a less atrractive appearance.
The overseas cap was reportedly popular with armoured vehicle crews due to the lack of a visor, which would get in the way of using optical equipment and continual banging against hatches and be obstructive in confined work spaces.
Due to their very utilitarian and somewhat unflattering appearance the overseas cap never gained the affection that the m40 evoked from those who wore them. Even today in collecting circles the schiffchen has a lower sale value in respect to it’s more popular m40 cousin, which is a pity as these have an important place in any tropical collection.
Luftwaffe Cloth Headgear
The Luftwaffe developed it’s own tropical uniform and headgear independantly from the Heer and Kriegsmarine. This was simply another simptom of the mentality of seperatism in Germany’s armed forces, which saw a lack of cohesian between the three armed services in regards to design of their respective uniforms.
Whereas the Army designed their uniform using an olive based colour, the Luftwaffe utilized a light sandy brown/tan colour. It would appear that contractors began producing LW caps early in 1941, as to date the author has not observed 1940 dated LW caps of any type, (though 1940 dated LW tropical tunics are known). In fact the first LW ground forces in North Africa were forced to use Army uniforms and caps to cover their own lack of product in the field. This could consist of an m40 Heer cap with the eagle removed, and a LW eagle in it’s place (either continental wool or a visored caps metal version pinned in place) or the Heer version left in place with no alteration at all, and LW insignia applied to the tunic. This has been especially noted on FlaK unit uniforms in period photos.
Most commonly encountered is the LW overseas cap in tan cotton. These were popular souvenirs as they took up literally no space at all in an Allied servicemans kit-bag.
The overseas cap was constructed from a light tan/brown cotton twill outer shell, while the lining was a finer linen that allowed the head to ‘breath’. Unlike the army version, the LW sidecap had no air vent grommets to allow trapped excess heat to escape. The cap was constructed with a turn-up flap, but this was a decorative feature as it then restricted the vision once folded down.
The insignia for the sidecap was positioned in the same places as the continental wool cap – but the eagle was embroidered on tropical ribbed twill backing to match the cap, as was the rondel. It would appear that in most cases the insignia was applied by hand stitching, but machine sewn eagles are also common. Officers caps were distinguished by a 3mm silver cord sewn along the top leading edge of the turn-up. Field added cording was reugular occurance due to field promotion, and non-regulation cording can be observed in varying conditions and thicknesses
The shape of the cap was pleasing, and had a very fashionable, fitted appearance when worn at a cocked angle. Although it had no facility at all for shading the wearer’s eyes due to a lack of a visor it seems to have been popular with the servicemen who were issued with it, judging by period photographs. The flip-side to this point is that the majority of LW men serving in tropical areas were hardly issued anything else…
. Completely field-made side caps are not common, but original examples do appear on the collectors market periodically. These must be viewed with extreme caution, as they are easy to fake and without rock-hard provinance are a huge risk in investment, especially when the time comes to re-sell.
A LW version of the Heer m40 was manufactured in 1941, but details on how common it was are sketchy at best. It was constructed in the same manner as the m40, including false turn-up, but in the basic tan/brown cotton twill. Insignia consisted of a tropical LW eagle with it’s backing material trimmed and folded under to accentuate it’s shape, and embroidered cockade placed in the same positions as the Heer m40.
As with the Army model, the LW used silver cord for officer differentiation, and gold for officers of General rank. The cording was positioned in along the top seam about the crown and along the front scallop seam.
The lining was a light tan linen and included a factory sweatband of tan cloth and ersatz leather. Two air-vent grommets on either temple were standard on factory made caps. These would have been enamelled in the same manner as Heer m40’s.
This cap was extremely popular with the LW troops but it appears that issued caps were in very short supply, so field made visored caps were made in large numbers, and with varying degrees of skill by company tailors, and Italian seamstresses on the mainland when the the troops passed through Italy either in transit or on leave.
Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of this type of cap, none was found to examine for this article.
The other notable issue LW tropical cap was the Visored Cap with Neck Protector (Tropenschirmutze mit Nackenschutz). It would appear that the design for this cap was based heavily on the Kreigsmarine visored cap, as the silhouette is distinctly similar. This type of cap appeared in the field in early 1942. These unpopular caps were nicknamed “Hermann Meyer” by the LW troops in a caustic reference to Riechsmarschall Goering’s boast that if a single enemy’s bomb ever fell on Germany “you can call me Hermann Meyer!” Collectors world-wide have continued this popular tradition. The cap was made of tan/brown cotton twill, with a cardboard former for the bill. The top of the cap was quite baggy, but a thin celluloid panel layered between the lining and outer shell halped retain some measure of shape, as well as stopping the accumulated sweat from the head to stain the exterior material. Celluloid of a thicker grade was also used to stiffen the head band, running in a strip all the way about the circumference, again placed in between the lining and outer layer. This synthetic plastic has a tendency to perish and become extremely dry and brittle over time, breaking into smaller sections at points of stress. Two large mesh covered air grommets were placed centrally on either side of the cap, allowing heat build-up to vent away while stopping access to the ever present flies that plagued troops stationed in hot climates. Later in 1942 manufacturer’s switched to the standard open-holed enamelled grommet type used on m40’s.
The lining was of smooth quality tan, red or green linen. Manufacturers stampings took several forms, from full names to simple sizing stamps and RBn (Reichbetriebs Nummer (state manufacturing number). The colour of the stamps is usually black, but can be a very dark blue/purple, but as with other issued caps, markings can be washed out , even on moderately used caps.
The cap was supplied with a neck-flap or shade cloth which attached to the cap’s lower band rim by three buttons – two place on either side and one at the rear. These can be found made of tan glass, black plastic and dished metal. The flap itself was made from the same cloth as used to construct the cap, was single layered,hemmed for re-enforcement along all for edges, and possibly the first item to be thrown away on issue! The continual distraction of movement and awareness of something behind the head and sound obstruction outweighed the usefullness of the shade the flap offered, along with a very unflattering appearance.
Also part of the set was a chinstrap which attached to the two side buttons at the point where the peak ended at the headband. The leather was blackened on it’s outer face and left natural tan on the inside, but it was a popular move to turn the strap inside-out to leave the natural tan colour in view for aesthetic reasons. The strap had an adjustment slide buckle, and the black face was detailed with a fine cross-hatched pattern.
The insignia on early eaxamples was that of the overseas cap – an embroidered tropical eagle with cockade centred below it on the head-band, hand sewn in place. This was superceded by a sythentic woven pattern based on the visored cockade with oakleaves and wings under a rayon eagle on a tan triangular backing. These can be found machine sewn in place before the lining was added, or cockade machine sewn while the eagle applied by hand. The cockade can be seen in some cases as simply sewn on in panel form or trimmed to shape and then applied.
Reasonably detailed reproductions of this type of cap have flooded the market over the last twenty years, mostly for the re-enactor market, but in some cases attempts have been made to raise the quality to the point of deceiving collectors due to the prices these caps now command. Serious research into the small details found on originals must be done so as to avoid falling into the trap of buying a fake as an original.
Kriegsmarine Tropical Caps
Like the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine developed a tropical uniform to suit it’s own requirements for use in warm climates. These caps followed a similar design to the Heer m40 and overseas cap, and although the Navy already used their white cotton version that had been in use since 1939, they still had a tan example made to match the new tan cotton uniform.
The KM billed cap was a match to the Heer m40, but the Navy, as did the LW, used a tan/brown cotton twill to construct the cap’s body. The actual construction was identical to the m40 as well, with the same false turn-up sewn in by either inlaying a cord between the shell and lining and pinching the material to give the illusion of a seamline, or using the traditional method of sewing two panels of twill in place.
As a generalization, the lining colour for KM billed caps was blue/green, but red lined caps are known to exist. Issue KM caps are marked with the boxed BAW or BAK stamp (BekleidungsAmpts for Wilhelmshaven or Kiel), but again, markings may easily have washed out over time.
The insignia used was the eagle (Hoheitszeichen) woven in gold/yellow on a copper brown base, while the cockade was the usual red/white/black discs, also on a copper brown base. These were placed in the familiar positions – centrally above the bill for the cockade and above that, the eagle. Just as with the Army insignia, these can be found sewn by machine or by hand,utilizing zig-zag stitching or straight machine sewing
Two air vent grommets were placed on either side above the false turn-up, and these can be found with baked on brown or tan enamel.
1940 Dated m40 cap by Carl Halfar (see image above)
A beautiful cap, with, unfortunately, re-applied original insignia. Despite this sad fact, this cap is an excellent example of colour variation of the cotton twill – which in this case is sage/green, for the very first manufactured caps for the AFRIKAKORPS by this maker. The twill is of a heavy grade, and has withstood the years well. Originally soutached with hellgrun for a member of a Rifle Regiment, the soutache would appear to have been carefully removed in 1942 as per regulations. The fading contrast between where the soutache was originally applied and protected the underlying twill compared to the surrounding area is quite distinct.
1940 Carl Halfar Overseas cap for a member of a Panzer unit. (see image above)
A completely untouched example of the first tropical overseas caps made in 1940 by Carl Halfar, this one being soutached for a member of a Panzer unit. The twill is of very good, heavy quality, with originally machine sewn eagle and cockade, while the rosa soutache is factory applied by hand. This cap came back to New Zealand as a souvenir by a Kiwi soldier who served in North Africa.
1942 Dated m40 by Carl Halfar (see image above)
This m40 is a New Zealand soldier’s souvenir from North Africa, in untouched condition. The twill is of a heavy weight olive that has faded evenly from sun exposure to a warm olive/tan colour. The insignia is machine sewn in place with the usual Halfar zig-zag method, using the same thread as that used to construct the cap. The soutache has been removed, (as per the July regulations of 1942), by the soldier himself. Both ends where the soutache entered the material have been carefully closed with tiny stitches, leaving no trace of what colour the soutache may have been. The cap is of a very large size – 60cm, and dated 1942 below the usual Carl Halfar stamping. The lining is quite dirty with ingrained sweat and shows considerable wear. The grommets have, in some cases, lost their brown enamel coating, leaving the non-magnetic exterior exposed.
1942 m40 by Carl Halfar (see image above)
Another example from Carl Halfar of an m40, and again a souvenir of a New Zealand veteran. This cap was brought back in a small satchel that at some point was covered in a heavy oil which has soaked through and impregnated the twill of the cap. This could be removed quite easily, but it is viewed as a part of the caps history and therefore has been left in this condition. All insignia is original to the cap, but of note is the lack of any evidence of soutache application at factory level. This shows that the caps was made post-July, of 1942, as explained previously. The spots of paint are typical of a great many items found in collections today, where souvenirs were stored in garages, or frequently used while labouring as practical work items. In this case it appears this cap was used while someone painted their house!
Un-issued side cap made by Hans Brandt, August 1942.
A typical example from a hoard of sidecaps found in the 1980’s in un-issued condition with varying dates. The construction is exactly the same as earlier examples, but the material weight is of a lighter grade. The date stamps of this maker are unique in that the size is so much larger than any other manufacturer’s. The month (8: August) precedes the year (1942), and differing month examples are commonly seen, but all caps so far encountered are dated 42.
m40/42 Variant. (see image above)
Exceptionally rare does not come close to accurately describing how uncommon this type of Heer tropical cap is. To date, only four examples are known to have either been, or are in, collections world-wide by the author. This includes one found in the 1970’s that had been covered in field-art embroidery, said to have been traded by a soldier in a POW camp in Tunisia in 1943. The obvious difference between this cap and standard m40’s is the complete lack of a false turn-up. It has been surmised that this was either a prototype cap field tested with the view to replace the m40, (so manufactured in limited numbers), a last ditch late war version, or an example made by a cap maker used to manufacturing the SS tropical cap who simply switched to making a Heer version on a limited basis to fulfill a contract.
The Tunisian story points to an early date of issue, as does the lack of oil-cloth sweatband, which became the standard type by the end of 1942. The full makers name stamping of ‘Ernst Kern’ on another known example pre-dates the Reichbetriebs Nummer (state manufacturing number) system introduced in late 1942 to hide makers from the Allies, who had begun strategic bombing of war material suppliers in Germany. At this point, nothing is certain.
The cap’s body is fabricated from a hard wearing cotton twill, and has been constructed to a very high standard of workmanship. The insignia consists of the usual National Eagle (Hoheitszeichen) and colours in their standard positions. The eagle has been machine or hand sewn across the top of the wings, flipped down then hand sewn in place, while the cockade is all machine sewn. Both pieces of insignia were applied before the lining and peak, as is evidenced by the lining stitching running over the cockade. The lining itself is of red linen, while the sweatband is a fine tan material over the usual re-enforcing materials. The cap has been issued , with wear to the sweatband rim, and also has the name ‘ORAM’ hand written on the liner.
m40 (see image above)
A typical example of an issued later model enlisted man’s m40 cap with no soutache and ersatz leather sweatband. This cap has had the sweatband cut by the servicman who was issued it to suit his own requirements – possibly to make a more comfortable fit, while leaving the band in place above the brow to catch perspiration. The eagle has been hand sewn, while the cockade is machine sewn. In this case the cockade has been sewn completely through the lining as well. This is not a post-war addition as the thread is that used to construct the cap, and the sweat and grime has stained the high points about the sewing on the liner. It is possible that the manufacturer had to apply the cockade out of sequence due to a late shipment of insignia from the supplier.
Officers m40 – Field Upgraded. (see image above)
It is rare to find a factory produced officers cap – even more rare to find an enlisted man’s cap that has been field upgraded to that status. This cap came from the Bologna – Modena area of Italy. The cap had seen a huge amount of wear before being taken as a souvenir, starting life as a simple enlisted man’s cap before the addition of white cording about the crown seam and front scallop to bring it’s appearance up to officer grade standards. This cap saw a great deal of frontline service, and is a true veteran of the Italian campaign.
The twill has faded to a light olive, but is much darker in places from ingrained perspiration and dirt. The liner has also absorbed a great deal of moisture and shows typical wear. Though faded, the stampings are still readable, consisting of an RB number over ‘M43’ over the cap’s size stamp, in this case ‘58’.
The insignia is all original to the tunic and sewn in an off-grey colour thread. The officer cording is sewn through the lining with an off white thread that is seen passing through the red lining in several places.
The grommets have all lost their enameled finish, leaving the bare alloy surface that has slightly oxidized over time.
Enlisted Man’s m40 dated 1943 (see image above)
This standard service m40 has been customized by the soldier who was issued it to enlarge the size. Although stamped (size) 57cm, even with the enlargement it still only fits a size 55cm head. This is a well known field alteration which commonly occurred due to soldiers having to make do with what supplies they received at the front-line areas. In this case the soldier has simply opened out the rear seam and sewn in a triangle of breech material.
The cap is in excellent used condition, showing a great amount of sun-fading, the colour now being a shade of light sandy/olive. There are several red/brown marks on the cap which would appear to be aged blood stains. All insignia is original to the cap, which is very well constructed of a strong, hard-wearing cotton twill. The sweatband is made up from three distinct layers – the ersatz leather closest to the cap’s shell to break any transference of perspiration, the central layer of moisture absorbant ‘bias’ type material, and the inner layer of a smooth cotton which stops the wearer’s skin chaffing against the more course inner layer.
The lining is the usual red linen, with a nice set of maker/depot stamps which, interestingly, show the maker’s name as well as RBn (Reichbetriebs Nummer – state manufacturing number). This would seem to place the caps manufacture at the beginning of 1943 during the transitional period between the introduction of the RBn system, and the old form of full makers name stamps.
The grommets have typically lost all their exterior enamel, and show signs of oxidation.
1943 Overseas cap LAGO manufactured. (see image above)
This cap was made by a Co-operative group of small firms in the area of Hessen in 1943. LAGO (“Landeslierungsgenossenschaft” or National Supply Co-operative) were groups of small manufacturers who combined their skills to bid for Government contracts to compete with larger firms.
The obvious difference from the earlier examples is the eagle application, which has been simply sewn on with no trimmed backing material in the form of a triangle. Though not as attractive as a trimmed eagle, this speed up the production, and required less training for those on the assembly line. As can be seen, this is a near mint, un-issued example.
1941 Luftwaffe Overseas cap (see image above)
A very clean example of a New Zealand soldiers souvenir. Luftwaffe caps were common items brought back to New Zealand by returning servicemen, and two are shown here. Both are 1941 dated and made by the firm Berolina of Berlin. The first example is in near mint example, with little colour fading and no sign of wear to the internal lining, which has been inked with the reference “Mersa Matruh Nov 1942” by the New Zealand soldier underneath the factory ink stamping. The isignia consists of the woven tropical version of the Luftwaffe Service Eagle on a tan twill backing, while the embroidered cockade is sewn to the front of the cap’s turn-down. The lining is of a smooth linen which made the cap comfortable to wear.
The second cap has seen more service life and was brought home and in 1943 given to a young lad of six, who later in life used it while painting and wallpapering! The insignia has never been removed, and is applied in the same manner as the first cap.
1942 Luftwaffe “Hermann Meyer” Cap (see image above)
This cap is another New Zealand soldier’s souvenir, and was found together with the Panzer soutached overseas cap (shown earlier) in a suitcase in my own home-town. This example is dated 1942, and is of a later manufacture for that year as the ventilation grommets are of the standard pattern commonly seen on other tropical headwear of all arms-of service. The condition is very well used and has several period field repairs, indicating a long service life. The insignia is machine sewn in place, and consists of a rayon woven eagle on a triangular backing while the machine woven cockade is sewn in a strip along the front of the headband above the peak. The lining is red linen with a makers stamp, now almost indistinct, above a size stamp (57). The celluloid band which is sewn into the head-band has perished over time and has broken into several sections. The result is damage to the band itself as the sharp edges of these sections slowly wear through. A true veteran cap in un-altered condition.
1942 Kriegsmarine m40. (see image above)
A salty veteran, with originally hand sewn insignia. The twill is sun faded and stained with small rust spots, commonly seen in items poorly stored in damp conditions. The lining is typically a green/blue twill seen on KM tropical caps. The markings are almost faded to the point of illegability, but the BAW stamping for “BekleidungsAmpts Wilhelmshaven”. The makers stamp is only partially legible, but the date stamp of 1942 is just visible, but almost impossible to photograph. The grommets retain their original tan enamel, while oxidizing badly on the interior. A cap with a lot of character!
Kreigsmarine m40 (see image above)
Another KM cap, this one in better condition, with much of the original tan/brown twill colour remaining. The eagle in this case is machine sewn to the cap in a tight zig-zag pattern while the cockade is straight sewn. The grommets are again enamelled a tan colour, while the lining is of the typical green/blue colour. Though there is a stamping on the lining, it is totally illegible.
Kriegsmarine m40 (see image above)
Another KM tropical cap, this one in a slightly tired condition, but showing another variation of insignia application. The eagle and cockade have been hand sewn in a loose fashion, but on a slight angle using a pale yellow thread slightly different in shade to the thread used to construct the cap. The grommets have lost their enamel finish leaving the exposed surface to slowly rust. The lining is the typical green/blue colour linen, with the remaining maker’s stamping partially legible. The cap is dated 1943.