Dal McGuirk’s observations about M40 cap previously posted for discussion

[Mike Davis]

Late last year I created a thread for discussion of an anomalous M40 cap that I had originally purchased in the late 1970s. I had no doubts whatever that the cap was, in fact, all original based on long-term first hand observation, the circumstances of its purchase, its origin, etc.

However, as sometimes happens even with all original items, its authenticity was questioned. Rather than continue what I viewed as a pointless defense or to question the expertise or motives of the negative parties, I offered to and in fact brought the cap to the Show of Shows for personal inspection by any of the skeptics that might have cared to look it over. To my knowledge, not one of them, in fact, did take the opportunity to actually examine it.

Instead, it was closely inspected by a couple of acknowledged experts in the field, who although reticent when it comes to participation with this forum, had intelligent observations to make in person about the cap’s construction. Over time the topic continued to be discussed privately and eventually came to involve the well-known author Dal McGuirk, writer of two pioneering tomes on the subject of uniforms, headgear and insignia worn by German forces in North Africa, Rommel’s Army in Africa (1987) and Afrikakorps Self Portrait (1992).

My correspondence with Dal on the subject of tropical field caps spilled over into other areas of his knowledge and expertise which I found interesting. Dal has continued to research matters to do with German tropical uniforms worn in North Africa since his books were published. He has contributed primary material to several publications written on the subject of the Wehrmacht in North Africa in WWII and has worked with a number of authors as an expert consultant on other titles.

I am deeply indebted to Dal for taking the time to discuss the cap and to lend his extensive knowledge to help correct mistaken assumptions about the cap.

The original thread may be found here:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...Artillerie+M40

[Mike Davis]

With his express permission, please find below Mr McGuirk’s commentary, cut and pasted in its entirety:


The German Army Tropical Field Cap 1940-1941, and associated topics:

(A postscript to references on this subject published in “Rommel’s Army in Africa”, by Dal McGuirk, September 2014)

My decision to write this this article was prompted by a recent study of a 1941 dated manufactured field cap produced by the firm of Schlesische Mützenfabrik in Frankenstein currently listed for sale on the website of Mike Davis (“Virtual Grenadier”). The cap has a red soutache braid denoting use by artillery regiments.

This manufacturer was the single largest supplier of tropical field caps to the German Army in the period starting in 1940 and going up to 1942. That this cap was manufactured by Schlesische Mützenfabrik is significant in that it is a relatively common type of cap one sees in collections around the world. Therefore it can be said we collectors know a little more about this type of cap because there is a larger sample available for study than with some of the other early manufacturers.

Having said that I must point out how ridiculously small is the number of surviving examples of the German Army Tropical Field Cap (known today as an “M40” by collectors or the “Afrikamütze” as it was called by the German soldiers who wore it in Africa) we collectors use to base our knowledge on. I handled my first "DAK cap" when I was 14 (I am now 73) and in my life I can claim to have physically handled as many as 80+ caps that either had a soutache still attached or once had a soutache that had been removed. (These are essentially the same type of cap.) Thanks to the medium of the internet I can say I have seen good images of approximately another 35-40 such examples of these caps in other collections. Given that I estimate over 100,000 of these caps were manufactured in 1940 and 1941 alone this small number is no real basis for the generalized conclusions we all like to make from time to time.

(I am not writing here on anything to do with the tropical side cap which is a totally different subject, and deserves its own special study.)

Before I go further I should state that I am limiting my observations only to the early caps, made in the period 1940-1941, with the further restriction I refer only to the six original manufacturers who supplied caps made in 1940 and all of whom continued to supply caps into 1941. These six original firms are;

1. Schlesische Mützenfabrik, Frankenstein
2. Robert Lubstein, Berlin
3. Carl Halfar, Berlin
4. Gustav Thomas, Breslau
5. Emil Schebeler, Berlin
6. LAGO Berlin, Berlin

It should be pointed out that the six firms (or consortium supplier in the case of LAGO Berlin) listed here were located within the areas of Wehrkreis III and Wehrkreis VIII, the two military districts that contained the replacement and training depot stations supplying the units that both made up 3rd Panzer-Division (originally selected for possible deployment to Libya) and the 5th Light-Division (which was actually sent to Libya in February-March 1941). I will refer to this point again later.

Although these manufacturers were all working from the same set of official specifications the six firms managed to produce caps with subtle differences that marked one cap apart from the others with a unique set of physical characteristics. Once these unique “markers” are known it is often possible to identify the makers of caps one sees in good clear period photos. This is not always possible of course, and it works only with a minority of photos really. There needs to be a certain view of the cap showing the perspective that illustrates the particular feature differentiating one maker from another- sometimes a clear side view showing the side profile, or a good close up that reveals the precise style of attaching the insignia or the manner of the stitching on the external panels etc.

This observation brings us back to the case of the red-piped cap for sale at the Virtual Grenadier. The firm Schlesische Mützenfabrik made caps that were distinctive in a number of ways- the rather high top point of the front panel holding the eagle and swastika, the way in which the eagle and cockade were hand-stitched and by the manner in which the soutache braid was attached. The lower end of the braid was tucked into small slits that typically were positioned just above or right on the lines of stitching that ran across the ‘forehead’ of the cap attaching the peak or visor to the body of the cap and securing the lining to the outer panels.

In normal circumstances one would expect to see a cap made by the firm Schlesische Mützenfabrik displaying these three typical main features. (There were a couple of other “markers” that set caps made by this firm apart from caps made by other firms but they will not need to be discussed here for what I hope are obvious reasons.) It is a rule of thumb with collectors of DAK caps that these early manufacturers stick rather rigidly to their known characteristics.

However in this article I intend to show that this is not always so. In my collection I have a 1942 dated cap with the stamp of Schlesische Mützenfabrik that does not conform to the usual appearance of caps made by this firm. Originally it had a light blue soutache, for Transport and Supply units. The soutache was neatly cut off right at the point where it disappeared beneath the seam holding the peak or visor in place. The significant thing with this cap is that the ends of soutache braid were folded back beneath the bottom edge of the front panel, where it joined the peak or visor. This method of attaching the soutache was used by two other early manufacturers but not by Schlesische Mützenfabrik. Looking at the side view of this cap it is evident that it does not have the appearance of the normal or typical “Frankenstein” cap with a higher top point at the front end of the cap.

My variant cap is not apparently unique. Daniel Fisher writing in his pictorial book on tropical headwear and uniforms worn by the German Army in North Africa, “Afrika Korps”, states that he has handled at least one cap with the 'Schlesische Mützenfabrik Frankenstein' stamp that also had its soutache fitted with the lower ends stitched in place underneath the seam that crosses the base of the forehead area where it joins the peak or visor. I have not seen pictures of the cap Daniel referred to so I cannot comment on any other features that may set it apart from the normal looking "Frankenstein" caps.

How can this major difference be explained? Here we move into the realms of speculation because there is no hard evidence that can be used to give us any satisfactory answers. It is my belief that these caps were either made up in part or whole by another firm acting as a sub-contractor to the parent Schlesische Mützenfabrik firm. I would think those caps were probably part-completed or assembled by a second firm, and not made entirely from “a” to “z”.

I think it may be significant to stress again this firm in Frankenstein was the major source for the supply of tropical field caps for the German Army, from 1940 to 1942. If any firm may have had problems meeting supply deadlines it would surely have been Schlesische Mützenfabrik with the large scale size of its orders. It has long been standard practice in the clothing industry for one firm to sub-contract part of an order to another manufacturer. Who would Schlesische Mützenfabrik have given their sub-contracted work to? I could speculate that one obvious firm chosen to help out could have been the other firm supplying the “Afrikamütze” located in Silesia, Gustav Thomas, in Breslau. In this context it could be significant that caps made by Gustav Thomas showed a soutache braid applied in the exact same way as the 1942 cap I have described with the stamp of the Schlesische Mützenfabrik firm in Frankenstein. On my cap the eagle and cockade were not applied in the manner one normally sees on a cap made by Gustav Thomas. On a Gustav Thomas cap we see the eagle “flipped and zipped” with the cockade straight line machine-stitched in place. However the manner of application of insignia on my cap tallies exactly with what would expect to see on a typical “Frankenstein” cap, both hand stitched. I therefore further speculate that disassembled caps could have been given to Gustav Thomas, or to another manufacturer, by Schlesische Mützenfabrik partly completed with final trimming and assembly being carried out by the other firm. The eagle and cockade would have been stitched in place in the home factory in Frankenstein with the soutache braid applied by another firm at a different location.

As the German Army would have placed an order for a set number of caps with the Frankenstein factory the caps would have had to be returned by a sub-contractor to the mother factory for final checking and to receive the stamp of Schlesische Mützenfabrik Frankenstein in the lining before delivery. One could speculate that the size number stamp may have been applied by either the sub-contractor or by the parent firm.

This to my mind could explain the anomalies one sees in my cap with a stamp of the Schlesische Mützenfabrik factory that would not on first sight appear to be made by that firm.

To further to extend this area of reference I wish to mention a cap acquired many years ago by a good friend and advanced collector of Afrikakorps material. This cap, an early soutached model manufactured by the firm of Robert Lubstein, showed one minor feature that did not fit in what one would have expected to see in a cap made by this firm. The owner discussed this small variation with me and another close friend who was also a long time collector of Afrikakorps related material. While we could not explain the small but significant difference we did not think the cap could have been a modern reproduction. We were left thinking the explanation may have been that Lubstein had a number of their caps finished by a sub-contractor who employed their own particular variation in finishing the assembly.

On another occasion an advanced collector and close friend discovered that a soutache on a cap made by Robert Lubstein had been replaced in the factory. Beneath the line of soutache braid there were different coloured threads that had obviously been holding in place a soutache of an entirely different colour. In every respect the cap showed it had been properly assembled and finished. Only the few small threads still attached below the soutache showed that a different colour braid had originally been machine stitched there. If that substitution of one soutache by another was done on this occasion by one manufacturer, during production, it is I believe safe to assume it may have been also done by other firms.

I regret I do not have photos of these two instances of caps that had been altered or produced in a slightly different format. These examples however are relevant to the subject of this article and I chose to quote them, without photographic evidence.

I consider that the cap Mike Davis has for sale on his website may well be an example of a cap manufactured by Schlesische Mützenfabrik that had additional work done on it by another firm. What is different in the case of the Virtual Grenadier cap is that while it shows signs of having its original soutache (attached in the usual style) removed the manner in which the replacement soutache was applied would have been time consuming and difficult to do.

There is reliable evidence of caps that had their soutache replaced in the field, presumably by a company tailor with access to a sewing machine. In these instances the original soutache was normally neatly cut away and the replacement soutache was laid on top of both sides of the cockade so the braid could be machine stitched, going right through the lining. This was a relatively simple and efficient way to change a soutache. I believe that some soutaches were changed from cap to cap by the soldiers themselves, by hand stitching, though it would be very difficult to know today if such a thing was done in wartime or postwar.

There is one strange feature in the cap on the Virtual Grenadier site. Around the front of the cap one can see a line of stitching that goes under the soutache braid. It does not show inside the cap and does not go through the lining. It is therefore only sitting on the outer layer of cap material, and presumably attachéd out of sight to a folded edge of red lining material. In my experience of studying these caps I would say that line of stitching should not be there. Normally every line of stitching running across the forehead of the cap would go over the top of the soutache braid. This was because the insignia (eagle, cockade and soutache) was applied to that front panel before it was attached to the peak or visor. Thus the lines of stitching running around the front area were always there, most often on top of the insignia, firstly to hold the lining in place against the outer cloth and secondly to hold the peak or visor in place.

Several advanced collectors have examined this Virtual Grenadier cap in hand and all agree it shows no indication of being interfered with, apart from having a replaced soutache. So it would seem what one sees in the cap was there from the time it left the factory.

If I can speculate a little further, I think it is likely that another firm (possibly Gustav Thomas who used this style of attaching their soutache braid with the ends tucked underneath the seam joining forehead to peak or visor) was given the job of switching soutache colours and for whatever reason opted to do it in a long-winded manner to effect the appearance of the Gustav Thomas caps. To do this the front of the cap had to be opened up, stitching unpicked, the soutache braid there removed, and the new (red) colour braid machine stitched in place. To hold the lining in place while this procedure was being carried out the extra line of stitching was put in running across the front area of the cap, below the soutache, i.e. before it had been applied. That is the only reason I can think of that would explain the presence of this additional line of stitching.

The lines of thread sewn around the base of the ‘head’ of the cap are the same colour and thickness which would indicate they were stitched in the one process in the final assembly, or re-asssembly, of the cap.

This view is speculation, or at best an informed guess, but if offers one possible explanation of what we see in this cap. One cannot ever say anything for certain in these situations and I believe with this cap the reason for being like it is can never be known for certain.

What I can say though is that if the firm of Schlesische Mützenfabrik used another firm as a subcontractor to help fulfill an order in 1942, as is seemingly the case with my 1942 dated cap, then it could just as easily have happened in 1941.

Comments on my 1942 dated atypical looking cap bearing the maker stamp of Schlesische Mützenfabrik:

1. The cap is made from a heavy quality cotton olive khaki twill as seen on early made caps and still used by many makers in 1942 and 1943. A similar type of material has been seen in other 1942 dated "Frankenstein" caps.

2. The eagle and cockade are typical of what would expect to see on a 1940/41 manufactured cap, good early quality and style. Both eagle and cockade have been hand stitched, just as we would expect to see on a cap made by this firm.

3. The metal grommets are externally a drab olive-green colour, similar in appearance to grommets attached to some 1942 dated Kriegsmarine tropical field caps. (The cap could therefore have been part-completed by a firm that manufactured KM field caps in 1942.) The internal view of the grommets shows they have been fitted with an extra degree of force that might not have been necessary. These grommets are made of steel, as confirmed by a simple test with a magnet. It was not usual to see the Afrikamütze fitted with steel grommets.
4. There is one feature that really sets this cap apart from one would call the typical looking field cap produced by Schlesische Mützenfabrik and that is the relative height of the top front point. Notwithstanding the larger head size, giving it a slightly longer elongated look, the top point of this cap is noticeably lower in comparison to what I would call the typical looking “Frankenstein” cap. Look at the side aspect of this cap and compare it with the same side profile of the 1941 dated cap with lemon yellow signals soutache, or the artillery cap on Mike Davis' site. You will see the area of material above the bottom line back and front is markedly different between the 1942 cap and the two 1941 caps.

5. There is a small tuft of blue-grey soutache braid on the right hand side visible along the line where the body of the cap joins the peak or visor. The remaining braid is only visible on the left side if one were to carefully tease up the edge with a pair of tweezers (as I have done). This is the only example I personally know of a cap carrying the Schlesische Mützenfabrik stamp that has had the soutache applied in this manner. I have not sighted photos of the cap Daniel Fisher referred to.

(Many years ago on the WA Forum there was a green piped officer rank field cap bearing the maker stamp Schlesische Mützenfabrik put up for discussion and I think in the light of this information that cap could be revisited, for a second and more critical look.)

[Mike Davis]

3212 3/4 front view Frankenstein

3221 tuft blue-grey braid on seam Frankenstein

[Mike Davis]

3220 Right hand profile Frankenstein

3215 Lining 1942 Frankenstein

[Mike Davis]

3222 Close up, eagle Frankenstein

3223 Close up, cockade Frankenstein

[Mike Davis]

3224 Outside grommet view Frankenstein

3263 Inside grommet view Frankenstein

[Mike Davis]

1518 Front view, 1941 Gustav Thomas (Auckland War Memorial Museum)

1538 3/4 front view Gustav Thomas (Auckland War Memorial Museum)

[Mike Davis]

3179 Front view 1941 Signals

3182 Maker stamp 1941 Signals

Dal McGuirk: "Three views of my 1941 dated Schlesische Mützenfabrik cap with lemon yellow soutache for Signals units. The first shot shows the frontal aspect. The next two views illustrate the manufacturer’s stamp in the lining and a side on profile shot. This cap is a perfect example of what a typical "Frankenstein" cap looks like. The cap still has a layer of a very fine deposit of desert dust along the seam between the peak or visor and the forehead of the cap, visible if you gently tease open the seam, that has been caught and trapped there long ago by damp perspiration that the dust adhered to."

[Mike Davis]

3235 Right hand profile 1941 Signals

[Mike Davis]

2366 Bonus: contemporary photo of Mr McGuirk

[NZMark]

Thanks Mike - and more importantly, Dal.
Regards,
Mark
NZ