Dal McGuirk’s observations about M40 cap oddities and exceptions

[Mike Davis]

In addition to the discussion about the Schlesische Mützenfabrik Frankenstein M40 cap, Dal McGuirk has kindly offered additional comments about other M40 cap features and anomalies. His unedited commentary and illustrations may be found below.

[Mike Davis]

A historical snapshot:

There was an element of official haste behind of the manufacture of the first tropical field caps for the German Army. Starting in September 1940 there was the rush to equip a Panzer Division for service in North Africa in the event that Mussolini requested help from his German ally. This situation led to a high speed operation by the German Army to set in place the design and manufacture of tropical uniform and equipment. That it was done, and the uniform was put in full production in 1940, says a lot about the efficient operation of the German Army. Only days after the first units of 5th Light Division arrived in Libya Hitler ordered a Panzer Division, the 15th, should deployed to Libya as reinforcement for Rommel. Although the 15th Panzer Division did not begin to arrive in any strength until mid--late-April it was another significant achievement to equip and transport another full division from bases in Germany to arrive ready for combat in Libya in such a short time.

From what I have seen in comparing 1940 and 1941 dated caps I observe that caps manufactured in 1941 fall into two separate categories. On the one hand there are caps manufactured by the six original firms that are almost indistinguishable from caps made in 1940. Most have the same ‘early’ type cockades and ‘early’ olive green grommets and only a minority having the newer olive brown painted grommets or a later style of the cockade. I assume from this overlap of firms making same looking caps dated 1940 and 1941 that in its rush to order an extra quantity of uniform to equip the 15th Panzer Division early in 1941 the Army went back to the original six firms who had supplied the uniforms that outfitted the 5th Light Division. It would have wasted time to draw up contracts with a new list of manufacturers, to explain specifications and to arrange supply of khaki-olive cotton fabric etc. to those factories. The original six firms were well able to supply a second batch of tropical field caps large enough to equip a second Panzer division when called on to do so, as they had done in 1940.

The 1941 dated Gustav Thomas field cap with lime green soutache I photographed from the reserve collection in the Auckland War Memorial Museum is a perfect example of this. To my eye this 1941 dated cap is indistinguishable from any 1940 dated cap made by this firm.

Caps made later in 1941 show that a larger number of manufacturers and from different parts of Germany were supplying the Army with the Afrikamütze. These later 1941 dated caps showed a few differences when compared to the earlier 1941 made caps, for example a new type of lighter cotton/synthetic material being used by a small number of firms.

The very first uniform items, caps and tunics/breeches/trousers/shorts, were to my knowledge all manufactured within the geographical areas covered by Wehrkreis III (Berlin/Brandenburg) and Wehrkreis VIII (Silesia) already referred to above. The close proximity of the location of unit base depots and the location of factories making tropical uniforms would indicate surely that it was faster and more efficient to process all uniform by the central issuing depot(s) in Berlin, drawing uniform items manufactured in close range and not going across the boundaries that separated one Wehrkreis from another. We can see by looking at the firms making the early field caps that the factories were located within the borders of the two Wehrkreise. I have yet to see a 1940 dated tunic or other main uniform part (breeches, trousers and shorts) that was not stamped with a “B40” that would indicate manufacture within the area serviced by the Army central clothing depots in Berlin. This to my mind helps to explain the high number of 1941 dated uniforms that carry the “B41” stamp, showing manufacture in the areas of Wehrkreis III and Wehrkreis VIII, feeding material to the Berlin clothing depots(s). I believe the Army would have simply reactivated the contracts it had put in place back in late 1940 for the manufacture of tropical uniform for the 3rd Panzer Division by placing new orders with these same firms. In early 1941 it was another Panzer Division that had be to outfitted with tropical uniform, the 15th Panzer Division. However tropical uniforms made later in 1941 show a variety of other main issuing depot stamps as manufacture expanded and involved more firms located across other parts of Germany.

I know there is a belief held by a number of advanced collectors that one other firm manufactured the tropical field cap in 1940, a factory located in another Wehrkreis, not one of the six firms I have listed. If this was so it would be the only example of cotton tropical uniform made in 1940 by a factory not located within Wehrkreis III or Wehrkreis VIII. (I am not including items such as tropical boots and pith helmets we know were not manufactured solely in these areas.) Why would the Army give a contract to one firm sending its material first to a main issuing depot in another city thus making for double handling and logistical problems in transferring the caps from one Wehrkreis administrative centre to another. It makes no sense to believe caps attributed to just one firm alone were made outside the areas served by the Berlin Army clothing depot(s). For this reason, and based on other critical and objective criteria, I do not believe these other caps were made in 1940.

Grommets
I have yet to see a cap manufactured in 1940 fitted with the brown tropical version of the metal ventilation grommet or eyelet. All 1940 manufactured caps I know of were fitted with the olive green colour grommet or eyelet one sees in the O/R woolen M34 field caps and early Gebirgsjäger caps. This says to me that in 1940 the factories did not have supplies of the special tropical olive brown grommets or eyelets, which may even have been an afterthought by the designers. It is not uncommon to see these olive green grommets or eyelets on caps made in 1941 or even later, and appearing on caps by a variety of makers.

The use of metal grommets in the tropical field cap was the one weakness in what was otherwise an excellent design. It is not uncommon to see a cap that has lost one or even two of the metal ventilation grommets or eyelets. Washing a cap involving vigorous rubbing with soap the cotton material that was dirty and sweat stained. This action loosened the grommets and in time they often fell out. The sharp edges cut into the cloth around the circumference of the grommet. I have seen period photos from North Africa that clearly show a grommet is missing from a cap. A better design would have had machine stitched reinforced circular ventilation vents.

Dates shown in cap
Of the six firms that supplied the German Army with tropical field caps in 1940 three did not show the year of manufacture in their caps, well not initially. This little known fact has teased the interest of those collectors who are aware of this situation. Given that three firms did show the date (1940) and three did not I would guess that the original specifications omitted the direction to include a date with the manufacturer’s name and size number. The three firms that did include the year of manufacture probably did so because it was customary to do so, and so they continued what had been their practice filling other orders for field caps to stamp the year of manufacture. The Frankenstein firm produced some caps in 1940 that did not show the date while others did have a date. The original six firms continued to produce the Afrikamütze in 1941 and all caps produced in 1941 showed the year stamped in the lining.

Variation National Insignia (Eagle with Swastika).
One early manufacturer of the tropical woven cap eagle had their own unique variation, using a design that cut into the border that ran around the eagle in to make an indentation just above the circular wreath enclosing the swastika held in the eagle’s talons. I have only seen this style of eagle on caps made in 1940 (which is not to say they may have been placed on later made caps by a factory using up old left over stock of the insignia). There was a great variety in shades of colour seen in the blue of the eagles, and in the brownish background. These differences were often accentuated by sun fading, washing and chemical bleaching. It is also apparent from studying black and white period photos that some eagles on faded out caps held their original colour much more than other eagles that had faded out along with the cap. This would seem to indicate the eagles were made by a number of manufacturers using a variety of color dyes in the threads used in weaving the insignia.

Sizes of the M40 Tropical Field Cap:
Based on my years of interest in the subject of the M40 tropical field cap I can state most caps would fall in the size range 54 to 57. However I have seen one cap a very large size 64 and a couple of smaller size 53. I have heard of an even smaller cap that was sized 52 but I have not personally seen it and cannot confirm it. In period photos it is easy to pick these extreme sizes out. The smaller caps have an out of proportion size larger looking peak or visor while the larger sizes have a noticeably smaller looking peak or visor, not at all what we are used to seeing with the intermediate and normal looking size caps.

Karl-Heinz Böttger as the Assistant to the Divisional Commander’s Adjutant in 15th Panzer Division arrived in Africa in May 1941 wearing an officer field cap with pink piping. He had an unusually large head and wore a size 62 cap. During the retreat from Cyrenaica at the end of 1941 he lost this cap. There was no officer cap with pink piping and the right size in stores to replace it with and he was issued instead with a size 62 officer field cap that had green piping. Just after the DAK reached the El Alamein position in July 1942 his friend the Quartermaster for the 15th Panzer Division told Karl Heinz jokingly that if he lost the cap he was wearing he would have to go capless as there was not one size 62 cap of any type in their stores. In realty of course Karl Heinz would have been issued with a smaller size cap that had been enlarged by one of the division’s tailors. This was usually achieved by opening the rear vertical seam and inserting “V” shaped piece of cloth to enlarge the circumference of the cap’s lower edge.

Appearance:
It is common to see caps that have had a lot of wear and washing with their soutaches frayed and the threads separating. There was a simple reason for this. Heavy perspiration saturated the area of the lining lying across the forehead of the wearer and it attracted body grime and dirt mixed in with the fine desert dust that was easily picked up. The best way to dislodge this accumulation of sweaty grime was to rub it inside and outside with soap and water and any other liquid able to loosen the dirt. The act of friction rubbing against the soutache braid soon loosened the weave and it started to come apart.

Not all caps that had seen hard service in the desert had faded out to the fashionable bone white colour that was so liked by the DAK soldiers and is just as popular with collectors today. There were a number of types of cloth that were almost fade resistant. These colors had strong fast dye colours able to withstand even the effects of harsh chemical liquids soldiers subjected their caps to in an attempt to bleach them. It is I think an over simplification by collectors today to assume only bleached out white looking uniform items represent the genuine veteran caps and tunics with desert service.

[Mike Davis]

3189 Undated example, internal view

3200 Undated example, front view

[Mike Davis]

3190 1940 internal view (Alan Culhane)

3196 1940 front vew (Alan Culhane)

[Mike Davis]

3176 Comparison two eagles, variation and standard examples

3226 LAGO Berlin 1940 cap with variation eagle

[Mike Davis]

3227 Close up, variation eagle

[NZMark]

This thread requires pinning in my opinion.
Superior.
Mark
NZ

[jacquesf]

Well I have learned a lot, not that I know much about the subject anyway. J

[pablo10]

a very interesting read,
Dal is a nice guy with an incredible knowledge.

[Willi Z.]

A very impressive analysis! Such a pleasure to read such an informed, well-reasoned, and logical presentation!

[John Hodgin]

Dal is one of the two wisest collectors I have had the pleasure to know and learn from. His experience is vast, often directly from veterans of both sides who fought in Africa. It was a treat to read, and learn from, his drafts of this commentary as he fine tuned it. Thanks Dal!

[BenVK]

I failed to notice this excellent thread the first time around.
Kudos to Dal McGuirk for such interesting information and thanks to Mike for posting it.

I'd like to continue the discussion if I may.

Firstly, I think it's fair to say that most of us presume that these early tropical uniforms, 1940/41, were all destined to be used in Africa. But what about the campaigns in Greece and the Mediterranean? Plans for operations in this theatre were conceived as early as November 1940. Were trop uniforms issued to any troops involved at the beginning of these campaigns? I've not yet found evidence that suggest that they were in any significant numbers. (but I'm very curious to know when the attached photo was taken, we'll probably never know however.)

Secondly, when was the peak of tropical uniform manufacture, caps in particular?
In collecting terms, early caps are much more valued than later ones but do we know the approx numbers made each year or can we make an educated guess? For example, a 41 dated cap seems to be approx 3 times the price of a 42 dated one, even though there might only be a few months difference in the actual dates of manufacture. Were there 3 times more caps made in 42 than in 41?

[Andy C.]

Well I have learned a lot, not that I know much about the subject anyway. J

Super thread, thanks for posting.

[Tim O'Keefe]

I failed to notice this excellent thread the first time around.
Kudos to Dal McGuirk for such interesting information and thanks to Mike for posting it.

I'd like to continue the discussion if I may.

Firstly, I think it's fair to say that most of us presume that these early tropical uniforms, 1940/41, were all destined to be used in Africa. But what about the campaigns in Greece and the Mediterranean? Plans for operations in this theatre were conceived as early as November 1940. Were trop uniforms issued to any troops involved at the beginning of these campaigns? I've not yet found evidence that suggest that they were in any significant numbers. (but I'm very curious to know when the attached photo was taken, we'll probably never know however.)

Secondly, when was the peak of tropical uniform manufacture, caps in particular?
In collecting terms, early caps are much more valued than later ones but do we know the approx numbers made each year or can we make an educated guess? For example, a 41 dated cap seems to be approx 3 times the price of a 42 dated one, even though there might only be a few months difference in the actual dates of manufacture. Were there 3 times more caps made in 42 than in 41?

Hi Ben

As far as i know the 2nd Pz Div wore grey/black in Greece in early '41. Sometime in '42 they were in tropical kit. & the numbers of Germans in Afrika increased by 3:1 from 1941 to '42 so the increase in caps made would be significant. Based on the beehive caps would say production peaked around Alamein mid/late '42.

I too would like to thank Dal for this excellent article and Mike for posting it

[BenVK]

Thanks Tim, I spent a few hours today reading many old threads about tropical caps and your contributions are always spot on and very insightful.

What I really want to talk about is the market value we place upon trop caps and what likely is going to happen in the future but I don't want to hijack this thread so I'll start another.

Oh and before I forget, here's another thread with more of Dal's excellent research.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=759198