Unknown Luftwaffe cap

[merdock]

Hi,
Had this cap a number of years came from a old collection of some good and some bad,the old guy put the wrong badges on a nuber of things so these my not be the original although the eagle looks like its always been there some like it some do not one dealer even offered to buy it but did not know what it was?
is it real or a copy ?

[merdock]

It appears to have had a removerble ribbed band as lines can be seen in the cloth

[merdock]

Linner,

[merdock]

Front of sweat band,

[merdock]

unit markings;
does any body know what they mean?

[david carlson]

I'm certainly not the expert, but there are at least two strikes against it being original Luftwaffe:

1) The Luftwaffe cap band was a black ribbed material 2) The visor itself looks typical Heer with the leather colored underside and the rounded, raised ridge along the brim.

There are others who will know more.

David

[John Hodgin]

A wild guess would be that it is a West German hat with Luft. insignia added.

[mgidhagen]

A Chauffeur's Cap...?

The colour and piping look like a private limousine chauffeur's cap (save that the chin cord usually is black), although with the high saddle shape which was fasionable at that time... The cap looks like a period Schellenberg, and the insignia (and chin cord) have probably been added to make it look military in appearance... Nevertheless, it has a great shape!
Regards,
Mikael G

[DonC]

To my knowledge, the mohair band on LW caps was not removeable - it was sewn to the backing material of the cap band, and there was not a fabric base under it - just the material of the band. This would be one high-ranking Air Ministry doorman!


Don

[merdock]

Hi,
like i said at the beginning of the post i belive the badges have been added the old guy was a dab hand at it,
Don you say air ministry? could it be RLM headquaters,
Any ideas as to the sweat band markings,
As you say it has a heer type visor any posibility of any heer unit,i know early on the capband was the same colour as the top,but not this colour,
Thanks Merdock

[SgtB]

Hi Merdock

Well this is a strange one, isn't it? I agree that these badges
don't look correct on this cap, but the Luftwaffe did have some rather obscure sections. I'd have to guess that if this isn't a wartime cap it must be fairly early post-war. It appears to have
a celluloid sweatshield, a real cork sponge, and a vulcanfibre
visor. These are all wartime components.

I not sure from the pics but it appears that the side panels to the lining may be synthetic? If so it is definitely post-war. The top panel looks ok, maybe artificial silk or satin.

The maker's label doesn't look exactly like any wartime
Schellenbergers I've known, but it could be a variation for a
lesser quality cap. For a quick comparison, view Matteo's
thread on the previous page about a LW flight NCO.

I regret I can't give you any solid answers, in fact, I'm just thinking outloud, but somebody here is liable to recognize
this cap.

[merdock]

Hi ,
Brian just looked at the points you mentioned,i would say the top is silk the side panels are not synthetic but appear to be made out of the same type of material as iron cross ribbons[rayon] i think it is.
Does any body have a clue to the markings,i would expect them to give an insight,because if it was fake the makings would posibly not be relavent,i have thought it was a early cap and as the pipping appears black that would indicate RLM ,later black became pioneer,
Please help as this cap has been a mystery for years.
All the best Merdock

[merdock]

Hi Brian just checked the cap posted by Matteo and his cap has the same material, that is used for the sides of the linner in mine only the top appears the same as well.
Merdock

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Merdock, I have been looking at your cap off and on for the past few days.
Here is my take on it. I would suggest that it is a DLV cap. That would explain the piping. DLV caps were worn by the Luftwaffe in the early days and evolved into the standard familar Luftwaffe caps we all know. The ribbed mohair cap band is missing; you mention that there is evidence of it once being there.
As you say, the old boy who you had the cap from was a devil for playing around with insignia. I would have expected to see an early droop tail eagle, but the original owner could have "up-dated" his old cap and continued wearing it to show his old early Luftwaffe member status. The Officers quality cap cords can be explained too by either; the old guy messing around or the owner being a NCO Officer candidate?
The makers mark is not post war; this company did not survive long after the war, into the very early fifties on paper, and certainly never made caps for the West German Airforce.
Hope that gives you something to think about?
Cheers, Ade.

[merdock]

Hi,
has anybody come up with any ideas as to the unit markings on the sweatband.
Merdock