SS Officers "Alter Art" Style Cap

[phild]

A cap that has a leather screen/visor, a flexible pasteboard and a low profile/floppy crown with very little or no internal padding is a Feldmütze alter Art.

A cap that has a leather screen/visor, a flexible or rigid pasteboard and a high profile saddle shaped crown with internal padding is a Dienstmütze or Führermütze mit Lederschirm.

BenVK

I am in your court with the explanation above.

I would add that I have seen combinations between the 2 types you describe as well. There were for sure a lot of variations.

[derek]

"I am not sure that there was even an official SS officers version in the regs"

Phild,
In May 1936, the SS-Hauptamtes issued regulations for uniforms of the SS-VT and SS-TV. Under the section 'Dienstmuetze' it states:

"With the service uniform the officers of the SS-Verfuegungstruppe wear a field grey cap with black velvet band with aluminium cords. They can also wear a field grey field cap with black velvet band, aluminium cords and a field grey, soft fabric peak."

[stonemint]

Ben, you never cease to amaze me with your woodwork scores.....

[SgtB]

That Italian eagle looks kind of cheesy from the obverse. Can we see a picture of the backside?

[phild]

"I am not sure that there was even an official SS officers version in the regs"

Phild,
In May 1936, the SS-Hauptamtes issued regulations for uniforms of the SS-VT and SS-TV. Under the section 'Dienstmuetze' it states:

"With the service uniform the officers of the SS-Verfuegungstruppe wear a field grey cap with black velvet band with aluminium cords. They can also wear a field grey field cap with black velvet band, aluminium cords and a field grey, soft fabric peak."

derek,

Thanks for the information. As I kick the cobwebs in my head I may recall having seen that Order (translated) a while back. I think that I have seen one cloth billed SS officer's old style posted on this forum as well.....those have to be crazy rare....I think what no one can find is an order authorizing leather billed velvet band SS officer old style field caps......they certainly had them and some period photos are clear and close enough to say 100% that the bands were the velvet type material and not just badge cloth EM old styles being worn.

[derek]

phild,
I don't think there would have an order for a leather billed field cap for officers.
From 1940 onwards the official feldmuetze for an officer of the SS was the overseas cap in the Luftwaffe pattern, so all the references to a field cap I have seen in documents from that date on relate to that model of hat.
After the introduction of this new style overseas cap the term "alter Art", if used, would arguably have referred to any field cap with a peak as Ben has pointed out earlier (although technically speaking it referred to the cloth peaked model).

[phild]

phild,
I don't think there would have an order for a leather billed field cap for officers.
From 1940 onwards the official feldmuetze for an officer of the SS was the overseas cap in the Luftwaffe pattern, so all the references to a field cap I have seen in documents from that date on relate to that model of hat.
After the introduction of this new style overseas cap the term "alter Art", if used, would arguably have referred to any field cap with a peak as Ben has pointed out earlier (although technically speaking it referred to the cloth peaked model).

So these leather visored caps with velvet bands were un-official? Was there a cloth covered visored field cap with the velvet band that was official?

Going back 50 years when reference books first appeared on German uniforms these SS officer "crushers" have been explained many ways as well as not at all. It seems that the cloth visored EM cap was replaced by a leather visored version in the very late 30s and then both were replaced with the OS style cap in 1940....but I have never been able to say that officers mirrored that progression with their own version of either of the two types of visored field caps.


Some of written that SS officers wore the EM/NCO old style field cap and that is true but photos are clear that velvet banded versions were worn as well.

I also have to think that these caps were still being made well into the war even mid war based on the number junior NCOs and officers that can be seen in photos wearing these into 1945.

In some divisions during some timeframes of the war one could almost say that these alter art field caps were the typical officer and NCO headdress when helmets were not worn......but try to find one today that is real!

[stonemint]

Maybe I am missing the point here, but this is not an RZM visor--it is a hat with the extra-cost option of a leather visor. Many makers offered leather visors, even during wartime. The reason they are rare is because many officers did not want to pay the extra cost of same, and went with standard vulkanfiber instead.

[Max Wünsche]

What a transformation after a steam and proper insignia in place...

Great find Ben....

[phild]

Maybe I am missing the point here, but this is not an RZM visor--it is a hat with the extra-cost option of a leather visor. Many makers offered leather visors, even during wartime. The reason they are rare is because many officers did not want to pay the extra cost of same, and went with standard vulkanfiber instead.

I think that some of the terms used have been mis-understood. All of my references above to "visors" have been intended to name the bill on an old style field cap....or "crusher" not a schirmutz or "peak cap". I am aware that some of those (peak caps) can be found with leather rather than vulkan fibre visors.

My bigger question was; is there a regulation known that introduced the leather visored/velvet banded field cap for SS officer use?

I did find in the Beaver/Shea book the regulation that authorized the cloth covered visor field cap for EM/NCO and Officers (with velvet band) in 1934.

I am almost ready to assume that there was another order that changed the visor on these from cloth covered to leather probably in the later 1930s and that one has not been found.

[all1knew]

this is an awesome story Ben! Congrats.

William Kramer

[BenVK]

Thanks for all the kind comments, much appreciated!

That Italian eagle looks kind of cheesy from the obverse. Can we see a picture of the backside?

The Italian eagle was deemed a fake.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=846935

I'm on the fence about it because I don't think anyone else has seen an aluminium one before.

Here's an interesting statement from a 1934 period publication regarding SS Dienstmützen!

The price of the leader’s visor hats has changed.
We point out that our cap suppliers were obliged by us to produce SS service caps solely in the future by our production standards whereby the guarantee for consistent handling and uniform appearance is given.
The services of the SS will soon receive an order by R.F.S.S. (Heinrich Himmler), according to which the incorporated cap spring wire to stiffen the cap and conserve the cap’s shaping should not be removed. The SS members are to be informed upon purchase of SS uniform hats that the wire in the cap must remain.