Got this recently and think it's austrian? It has the insignia on the left side of the hat kind of like the austrian helmets that have something on the side.
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Questions
Just guessing but is it an officer cap since there's lots of bullion? what branch? what rank? what kind of value dies it have. someone told me they thought it was infantry or artillery. someone else told me it was gendarmerie ? -
It looks like it is an Austrian earlier B-Gendarm border guard officer visor, later they morphed into the post war Austrian army...
Kind of like the Austrian version of the German BGS (Bundes Grenz Schutz).
The flaming grenade was their symbol (Austrian Bundes Gendarmerie).
I will show their uniform! (it was sold to me as stripped German w/Austrian tailoring but I later discovered its B-Gendarm..
so I fixed it to its proper late 40's thru 1955 configuration. They were the seeds of the post war rebuilt Austrian army.
Note old Steyr bolt action rifles!
Btw I could use the visor for my uniform impression if its not something you want to hold on to...For the M43 cap I paid only 25bucks...
few collect this early post war border security "branch" (period image was taken at the post war Austrian Hungarian border.)Last edited by NickG; 06-10-2018, 11:19 AM.Comment
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Some more!
Note US M1 Carbine! They also used left over WW2 German K98 Mauser rifles, here getting instruction on it!
Note K98 bayonet and flaming grenade on M43 caps!Last edited by NickG; 06-10-2018, 11:10 AM.Comment
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The visor is prewar and dated 1936
The visor is prewar and dated 1936 with this stamp inside the sweat band. Also it came back with some other WWII items. 66th division i thinkComment
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Nice Robert!!
GBA no doubt stands for "Gendarmerie Bekleidungs Amt"
The stamp certainly helps dating it! (and its pick up history! Very neat!)
So it is no doubt the prewar version of that gendarme security branch. I guess that explains why it is also fancier made!
They reverted back to that exact same style adopting the same symbols post war! Here the post war Gendarm history!
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...=B-gendarmerie
.Last edited by NickG; 06-10-2018, 11:40 AM.Comment
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Thanks Nick, those pictures are interesting still. Any idea on a value? I imagine there are no specifically Austian gendarmerie collectors out there but there are general Austrian collectors, visor collectors and general police collectors who may prize such a hat. It may be the only one in the country.Comment
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THE THIRD MAN is one of my favorite movies and there's scenes at the end where the police are chasing Harry Lime down into the sewers of vienna wearing M-43 style caps.Comment
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I found this image from the Austrian Gendarmerie museum, showing a late 40's tunic with German helmet and on the left an early tunic (1920's early 30's maybe?) with an early Kepi style cap. Note exact same cockarde as your 1936 visor! Both uniforms with the flaming grenade on the collar...
So their insignia did not change much at all (pre war/pre TR and post war...)
So they went from an old fashioned Kepi to a visor, to a postwar version of that same visor! Yours must be rare and few issued as TR uniforms took over!
(2nd attachment)Last edited by NickG; 06-10-2018, 12:01 PM.Comment
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who knows, maybe the museum would be a candidate for the hat. Tho I would be surprised if a museum in austria would not have one like mine. also museums are often pretty cautious with their money and are used to donations.Comment
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Try the 360 virtual tour. My images are screen shots of the tour. Never been!
http://gendarmeriemuseum.at/
Drop them a line! Their contact page here:
http://gendarmeriemuseum.at/ueber-uns/kontakt/Comment
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