opinions on M43 feldmütze

Hello to all

Can anyone please give an opinion on this insignia as well as the cap itself, its a model 43 feldmütze. For the moment I have only these pictures. I will post some more if I can in a few days. The cap itself has a lot of soiling and wear. I bought this cap a few years ago on a show for 100 US dollars. Some opinions would be appreciated.

thx in advance

Jan from Flanders Fields

stitching

interior

[Perry Floyd]

Should the M43 have vent holes? Anyone want to ad to this?

[Patrick Dempsey]

Jan (and Perry),
see my last post.

Patrick.

Perry and Patrick
first of all, thanks for the replies so far.
so... probably this is a non-existent fake feldmütze,the tissue seems to be original - made form original fieldgrey wool - I´m quiet sure about that .Okay, but what about that insignia? , and the fact of having grommets or not? does this counts only for Heer issue einheitsmütze??
Like I said in the beginning, I will post some better pictures that gives an overall view of the cap.

greetings

Jan

[Patrick Dempsey]

Sorry jan.

Hi Jan,
I have an apology to make. In my previous posts i repeated the assertion from Gary Wilkins 'book "The collectors guide to cloth Third Reich military headgear", that issue enlisted mens M43 caps should have no ventilation grommets. Over the weekend i have gone back to primary sources (period photographs) and found that this is not actually the case. If you have a copy of "German army uniforms and insignia" (Brian.L.Davis),and go to page 50 (plate 82) you will see a medical NCO wearing an M43 with...a ventilation grommet. If you also have a copy of the superb photo history of the "Grossdeutschland" Panzergrenadier division "God, Honour, Fatherland" (published by RZM imports), on page 175 a feldgendarme can be seen wearing an M43...with a grommet.
Both these men are Nco's, but if you go to page 183 of the same book, you will find an enlisted man wearing what looks like a STuG wrapper stood next to an officer, and he is wearing an M43 with...you've guessed it..a ventilation grommet.
As you can imagine this puts things in a new light to say the least!
Regarding your cap,i like the wool and the wear to it, the visible stitching looks to be of the correct type, and i've seen that type of insignia in Trapezoidal form...it was just the damn hole that was throwing me due to what i had previously read.
if anyone else has the book by Gary Wilkins, it may be worth making an ammendment to it for the above reasons..i just have.
Sorry again Jan for any confusion and distress, it was not my intent to cause any.
looking forward to the rest of the photo's

All the best,
(An embarrassed) Patrick.

[ReichsHeini]

vent holes

Vent holes are commonly seen in short-billed bergmutzen (single metal grommet style) which were made by numerous manufacturers prior to 1943. There are also many original examples of einheitsfeldmutzen (general issue field cap) with single vent holes. The limited pictures you posted do seem to show an original type cap.

Reichheini thanks for the answer.
Patrick don´t be embarrased, you have been a great help. I checked BrianL. Davis´ book and indeed that picure of the Sani nco shows clearly a ventilation grommet.
The pictures I promised will be post tomorrow evening (GTM).

Now a little bit about the purchase, first of all it came from an east-european ´student´which sold a lot of german stuff ( he needed money). There was a very large choise of caps (LW - HJ - WH,...), all with the same wear and soiling. I think that this is rather a cap made of original tissue ( from greatcoats or rolls) and insignia . Maybe with the new pics everything will become more clear. Today I went to a show here in Belguim and there he was again, with same caps, all very convincing ( yes sire, this cap has been found is basement stock in East-europe?! - I think he meant HIS basement ). Anyway I saw a man buying a HJ cap and a few seconds later there was another one, prices are still around 100 us dollars/piece, as I bought one 3 years ago. The most scary thing is that they are made very convincing, photos will show that, and the smell, feeling, moth-holes,ect...brrr if that is really a repro....where is the limit
again thx for the help so far

greetings

Jan From Flanders Fields

[Perry Floyd]

From my understanding the Burgmutzen should have the vent holes and the M43 should not. More pics would do the trick but I'm amateurish with the M43..

[Steiner]

Don't like the insignia Jan. T-shape ones were used on bergmütze and had dark green backing. The eagle is also strange. From your pics the inside does not show any wear .... just the repair which proves nothing (could be made to convince it's originality)

Mehr sein als scheinen

Hi Steiner

Concerning the ´repair´, in fact the totally of the cap shows more then one tear, a lot of soiling, but like I said yesterday the other photos will give an overall and better view of the mütze. Concerning the T-shape insignia, I don´t like the style either, that´s why I posted it in the first place. Will post them ASAP.

Jan Form Flanders Fields

here are the rest of the pictures...

loops

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