Early SA Kepi

[Br. James]

Many thanks for providing the regulation details for SA headgear, Wim; your files and resources are boundless! It is my understanding that the cap referred to in the 1926 regs was the gray military Austrian ski cap with turned-up ear flaps; the standard SA kepi featured here and with which we are more familiar was developed and issued some years later. The detail about the M-1927 eagle and swastika is most interesting, though there is no mention of a gold or silver-colored button.

I have a nearly identical example of this SA kepi in my collection, which I believe dates from circa 1932. By that time this cap's design had been significantly refined, and the material went from winter-weight wool as provided to the Austrian military, to cotton twill, and the ear flaps were only suggested and decorative by this time, as opposed to the functional ear flaps found on the original ski caps.

Br. James

[wilhelm Saris]

The grey and greenish caps were worn earlier and also in use by other organizations.
The late 1926 cap was the brown twill cap as like the brownshirt. SABE 10 Sturmführer:
der Dienstanzug ist das Braunhemd (Halstuch und Mütze). This was repeated with
GRUSA V from June 5, 1927.

The flaps size was changed due to the wearing by all of the colored tops, as far as
I know out-of-heart. I do not have time to go through my documents. The wool caps
were introduced when the tunic was introduced. In 1934 things were largely settled.