Luftwaffe M43 cap question

[BowlofRice]

I went to the surplus store today, and I've wanted an M43 cap for a while so I bought one. I think it looks better than a baseball cap and I collect German uniforms anyway lol. It's dated 1978 and is size 61 (I'm a size 59 or 60 but when it comes to Bundeswehr caps It is usually recommended to take one siZe larger). It is Luftwaffe blue, with the fake ear flaps, two black buttons on the front, and the West German tricolor cockade. The hat is unpiped.

My question is: Was this hat worn with the tunic, shirt and tie? And by what ranks? I was wondering because I have a Bundesluftwaffe tunic with shoulderboards and collar tabs for a Flieger. I have an overseas cap with it but I would like to wear the visor hat and M43 hat with it, too.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

[uscob]

I went to the surplus store today, and I've wanted an M43 cap for a while so I bought one. I think it looks better than a baseball cap and I collect German uniforms anyway lol. It's dated 1978 and is size 61 (I'm a size 59 or 60 but when it comes to Bundeswehr caps It is usually recommended to take one siZe larger). It is Luftwaffe blue, with the fake ear flaps, two black buttons on the front, and the West German tricolor cockade. The hat is unpiped.

My question is: Was this hat worn with the tunic, shirt and tie? And by what ranks? I was wondering because I have a Bundesluftwaffe tunic with shoulderboards and collar tabs for a Flieger. I have an overseas cap with it but I would like to wear the visor hat and M43 hat with it, too.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

No Wings on top?

[Asbjoern]

The date indicates that it may be a cap made from blue cotton (moleskin) fabric... so its not a classic "M56" to be worn with the dress uniform in the early 50ies but a cap ment to be worn with a blue coverall while working as a mechanic...

Regards,

Jens

[RJKG]

Going back to the start of this thread, and without wishing to be pedantic, the term 'Bundesluftwaffe' is not correct usage; it's simply Die / the Luftwaffe. Never heard it referred to as 'Bundesluftwaffe'. By the same token this would mean the army would be called the Bundesheer, which would risk confusing it with the Austrian Armed Forces.

[speedytop]

Hi RJKG,

"... the term 'Bundesluftwaffe' is not correct usage"

This is not correct. To say and write Bundesluftwaffe was and is usual.
Please enter in "Suchbegriff" the word Bundesluftwaffe, and you will find 29 hits:

http://www.luftwaffe.de/portal/a/luftwaffe

Using google.de you will find more than 50,000 hits.

It is the same with Bundesmarine (320,000 hits).


"By the same token this would mean the army would be called the Bundesheer, which would risk confusing it with the Austrian Armed Forces."

But this is correct! That was and is not usual. Bundesheer stands for the Austrian armed forces.

Uwe

[BowlofRice]

Uhh...This is a picture of me...and the hat...and a cookie...Any comments? Is this really a mechanic's cap? Feedback is appreciated.

[speedytop]

I cannot see a picture.

Uwe

[SprogCollector]

I don't see the photo, either. Shows as a broken link.

If you're looking for the modern, wool equivalent of the WW2 M-43 cap then you'll be looking for an M-56 -- as already mentioned. These ceased being issued in the early 1960s with the exception of the grey Heer cap still used by Gebirgsjäger.

[DAK Fan]

I have the same type of cap also. The cap is actually Bundesmarine(West German Navy) and not Luftwaffe. The color of the cap is actually navy blue. The Bundesmarine wore that style of cap until the early 1990's, I think(I have one that is dated 1987), It may have been worn aboard ship as well as being worn ashore or it may have only been worn ashore but I have not seen any photographs of it being worn.

[p-59a]

What kind of cookie?

[SprogCollector]

The cap you're describing sounds more like this one