Need Help with Two Luft Overseas Caps

[Tom Kibler]

Recently I acquired a nice SD Heer Trop camo and these two Luft caps from a vets estate. The family, present at the auction, did not even know of their existance. I know the vet served in Italy, but that's all.

The first is a black HBT cap that is pre-war and appears to be a garrison type cap, stamped to a FLAK unit (and dated 1937).

The other is a faded blue cotton material that is almost lavender in color. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Please - any help would be appreciated. Is this faded blue one an early tropical?? Thanks in advance.

Black HBT Garrison Cap 1937

[Tom Kibler]

.

[Tom Kibler]

Eagle

[Tom Kibler]

Inside w/ stamps

[Tom Kibler]

Faded Blue Cotton Cap 1941

[Tom Kibler]

Note the fading

[Tom Kibler]

Top

[Tom Kibler]

Insignia 1

[Tom Kibler]

Insignia 2

[Tom Kibler]

(Last photo)

Inside Stamps

[Glenn McInnes]

The black one is a HBT Luft mechanic,the other looks to be lightweight.




Glenn

[90th Light]

The black one is a HBT Luft mechanic,the other looks to be a lightweight.

Glenn

The other is no Lightweight Glen by any stretch of the imagination and certainly not made out of the Italian twill like the LW M43 so called "summer" version. That sidecap is 100% German and intended for purpose.

Only the rarest LW cap that there is out there. Very, very few of these are to be found in any collections any where in the world.

Nice condition and as rare as and if no one believes me then ask John Hodgin's who shows one exactly like it in his book,

Chris

[Bond]

If it is an original grey/blue luft trop cap, it is very rare, I cant comment with any real experience of these, but it does look right, IMO.

There is an example on p190 of Kurtz's Afrikakorps book, which is said to be stamped P41, same as this example.

Jerry

[BenVK]

A few more months in the sun and it would have looked my once blue tunic.

[John Hodgin]

[quote=90th Light;4197999Very, very few of these are to be found in any collections any where in the world.
Chris[/quote]

Very true Chris!

Congratulations Tom, great score! If memory serves, it is marked exactly like the one in the Kurtz DAK book, which is the very same cap shown in my book, thanks to David Bunch.