LW tropical billed field cap

[Ralph Heinz]

Gentlemen,

There has been a lot of well thought-out input about the tropical army billed field cap made without the false side panels that NZMark had posted and the wartime photo to prove it's authenticity.

In all the response, there was a lot of input about SS tropical caps that are somewhat similar and their relationship to LW and army tropical caps. Several years ago, I posted photos of a LW tropical billed field cap and I think it might be good to review it once more as it may help with some of the conclusions that may be drawn about Mark's cap and those SS tropical caps as well.

The first photo shows the cap overall and you will note that it has the LW tropical cap eagle finely zig-zag stitched to the front. There are no false side panels at all. The cockade is the "pillow" embroidered type and is hand sewn to the cap. The ventilation grommets are a zinc alloy and never had any enameled finish to them at all. They are similar to those found on army caps by Schlesische -- rather poor quality metal. The washers on the inside of the cap are the slightly convex type and each grommet split into six prongs when set.

The top has a center seam and most importantly to this discussion, the fabric of the cap is LW tropical cloth -- the same as that found in tunics. It isn't the looser weave seen in some of those SS tropical caps.

[Ralph Heinz]

Interior of cap

Inside the cap is the ink stamp of the G. A. Hoffmann firm in two lines: BEROLINA BERLIN 1941. Below that is a faded stamp '58' for the size. That manufacturer's stamp is important as it establishes that the cap is German made by one of the most famous LW tropical cap makers and it dates earlier than most collectors would think these billed field caps were being made.

The interior cloth is a different weave (more like that used in shirts) and lighter weight fabric than the tunic cloth used for the exterior and it's tan in color. There are two rows of stitching on the cap's bill.

These caps are rare and with good reason. Several LW veterans of N. Africa I corresponded with years ago stated that in their units they were never issued one and only wore the tropical Fliegermutze. One former FJ Pak gunner who stayed with us two summers ago, said that in his unit in Tunisia in 1943, only NCOs and officers wore such caps and he thought they had been privately purchased.

There are wartime photos taken in N. Africa showing LW personnel wearing these billed LW field caps but it's awfully difficult to tell if they were made with or without the false turn up side pieces. A previously published opinion that all such caps seen worn by LW personnel were simply army caps with LW insignia substituted has been discredited with the evidence of caps like the one shown here and others that have come to light in our Internet age of rapid correspondence. The LW certainly did wear a lot of army tropical caps -- most notably in the first LW FLAK troops assigned to N. Africa and who were outfitted entirely in army tropical tunics, breeches, boots and caps but at some time, the LW did supply limited numbers of caps made specifically for the LW and this is one of those rare birds.

I have photographed an SS tropical cap in a friend's collection in Seattle though my photos of it are not in my possession right now. It was German made by Paul Wagenmann Inh. W. Hehner in Schorndorf which is just east of Stuttgart, Germany. It was made of tan tropical cloth of German manufacture.

[Ralph Heinz]

Cap insignia

I found a photo of the tropical LW cap eagle and cockade on the front of the cap and this should show the detail of the embroidered eagle and the zig-zag stitching nicely.

[Ralph Heinz]

Italian made LW billed field cap

Here is another tropical billed field cap made for the LW. This one was made of LW tropical tan tunic weight cloth on the exterior and has a red tropical cloth interior like that found in army tropical caps. it may very well have been a private purchase item though we have no way of knowing for certain as it may just as well have been contracted for by the LW in Naples. I have an Italian Sahariana tunic for a flight branch Leutnant with an "L.B.A. VI 1942" ink stamp inside so the LW obviously procured some items locally in Italy and issued them.

It was obviously a copy of the army tropical cap since it is identical in style and cut and it is stamped by the maker ECONOMATA (in) MUNICIPIO di NAPOLI (Naples). It dated 1942. An officer's cap by this same maker and with the same ink stamp is in another collection. It is nearly white in color and has a continental gray embroidered eagle on a blue/gray wool base and a continental cockade with a gray base. It has a round silver color braid sewn into the top seam and the seam of the front scallop but I don't have permission to use a photo of it.

The cap shown here has zinc grommets with convex zinc washers on the inside of the cap but the ends of the grommet tube split very crudely with rough edges proving once again that not every cap maker was using the very same materials and that there are endless variations.

Perhaps the best feature of the cap shown here is the fact that is is heavily sweat stained and no well-meaning collector has tried to wash it and "restore it" to a better condition. I borrowed it from another LW collector to photograph some years ago.

[BenVK]

Ralph, it's always a pleasure to read your posts. I learn something new everytime.
At the risk of sounding like a bore, I've always found the fact that the Luftwaffe in Africa had to use Army kit and attach their own insignia very interesting because I own such an example and so far, it's the only one I've ever seen. Was the lack of LW items totaly due to manufacture or supply problems I wonder. We all know that the supply route to Afrika suffered from heavy losses.
Also, it never ceases to amaze me that Germany industry was managed along the idea that their fighting men should be provided with such a diverse range of uniforms to identify themselves. By that I mean, the sensible thing to do in providing Afrika bound troops would have been to standardised a tropical unifrom to include jackets, boots, caps etc etc for the LW, Army and KM, would it not?
The fundamental differences between an Army trop cap and a Luft cap for instance are so slight when you really stand back and look at them, it makes you wonder why they bothered at all. It's probably to do with the strange individualism and independance between the branches that heaven forbid, the administration of each could work together and actually decide on a common design of uniform for the Afrika campaign made by only one or two of the major manufactures, therefore enabling them to gear up quickly and efficiently!. That would have been too easy and sensible, something only the Allies would have done!
It's a good thing that they didn't though, let's be honest because collecting these things wouldn't be half as much fun otherwise would it?!
And I haven't even factored in the subject of Italian makers of German items yet, another interesting question. In answer to it, I do believe strongly that although they were going into battle at the end of the day, a lot of soliders, especially the more wealthy ones like certain Officers, might have probably thought of their time in Italy as a kind of pleasant adventure and a chance to get a "private purchase" piece of clothing made by an Italian tailor, almost like a souvineer. Or, prehaps they were only too aware of the lack of suitable clothing available from German sources that they recognised they would have to get what they needed locally made and quick!

[NZMark]

Ben,
You've just hit a lot of nails squarely on their heads.
The plethora of (tropical) WWII German produced items is what captures our imaginations - as well as the always to be asked question WHY the diversity??
Inter-departmental rivalry, added troop deployment - it all comes into play when trying to justify a rational answer.
At least we benefit today from the variations which give our collections such scope to draw from.
Ralph - I'll never get tired of seeing these caps. Mated to the information you provide, it makes for the best thread material possible.
I especially like the Hoffmann's eagle close-up, showing the same thread used to construct the cap was used to apply the insignia.
Does that caps lining material match their tropical overseas caps' lining?
Best Regards,
Mark.

[Tim O'Keefe]

Hello Ralph

Great to see your posts again. Thankyou for starting this very informative thread. These fine LW examples you have shown only implies there are more of these rare birds out there still...concise construction notes too, Thanks.

Agree Ben & Mark its so interesting about the diversity of caps, tunics, Panzers etc. Germany had six main model Pz with many variants, when the Allies built so few different models (except maybe the Commonwealth). Also German High command dismissed the idea for maps of Afrika as late as '38, they were deemed unnecessary. The DAK was ordered to Afrika on very short notice with little preperation. So these things helped contribute to the diversity of tropical cap makers, buts its deeper than this...

Look forward to more from You Ralph.
with deep respect,
Tim

[Ralph Heinz]

Interior cap fabric

NZMark,
I believe the interior fabric does match that used in their (Hoffmann's)tropical sidecaps. I don't have an example anymore to compare them side by side. The problem is that Hoffmann and other cap manufacturers may have changed suppliers from time to time so we can't expect every cap they made over the course of a couple years to be identical to every other one and that goes for fabric and insignia as well. With literally hundreds of companies making insignia for the war effort, we can expect to see differences within the same maker's products.

Rivalry would certainly account for the fact that each different branch of service in the Wehrmacht had easily distinguished uniforms that differed from every other branch and that does indeed make it incredibly fascinating to study and collect. Just think of the differencecs in American uniforms between the Army, Navy and Marine Corps or equivalent branches of service in other countries around the world. Men enlist in the USMC just to wear the dress blue uniform! If I'd had 20/20 vision in 1961, I'd have served in Viet Nam as a platoon leader in 1965 in the USMC instead of in Army camo in 1970.

What makes collecting so interesting is that you simply don't know what unusual and different variations you are going to see next. The problem for many collectors today is that when they see something that is slightly different from something they already have, have seen in a book, or a friend has, they immediately call it a fake. The longer you collect, the more legitimate variations you see and you realize that some changes occurred because Germany was under constant bombardment causing shortages and short-cuts in production. Items were being made in occupied countries and by foreign workers -- many of whom weren't working there willingly. A fabric or insignia supplier may have been bombed out of existence or simply been unable to fill needs on time due to other contract obligations so switches to other suppliers were undoubtedly made. Damage to rail lines was another factor that could cause differences from one year to the next because a supplier could no longer fill orders from a manufacturer because they couldn't ship required items when needed and a lot of that would have occurred in 1942 and from then on. Changes in the manufacture of tropical shoulder straps are another example. Short-cuts were taken by some makers as the war went on. That doesn't make them "fake."

If you truly want to learn something about this -- learn to use a sewing machine, cut up some cloth and try making a reproduction shoulder strap or a pleated tunic pocket. See just how much time it takes to scallop the top edge of the pocket versus cutting and sewing it straight, or to fold and sew a pleat in one -- then compute that extra time over tens of thousands of tunics and you'll realize how much time a company would save by making time-saving changes when under contract obligations to fill huge orders on time.

The same goes for attaching cap eagles -- take a repro BeVo army tropical cap eagle and try to duplicate the way these were sewn to a piece of cloth and you'll soon see why much of this was done outside the factories by women and girls working at home in "cottage industries" then returned to the factory for the rest of the cap to be completed by workers there. Getting all those little cuts and folds just right around the lower wings and wreath takes a lot of time so it can then be sewn by hand and was one of the most time-consuming parts of making a tropical cap. Late 1942-43 army tropical caps often have slopily machine sewn cap eagles -- but it was a time-saving change. By contrast, attaching an embroidered LW cap eagle by machine zig-zag stitching was much faster and could be done on the assembly line.