Quick question-ss visor caps coloured piping

[Sonderkommando]

Hi,
Just a quick question-

Were all the SS visor caps with coloured piping private purchase or were they issue caps?

Thanks,
Brett

[Bobwirtz]

Private Purchase. The fledgling SS-BW nor SS clothing contractors did not manufacture branch colored piped visor caps for the rank and file. Since officers were provided with a uniform allowance to buy their uniforms, branch piped visor caps are predominantly officer. NCO/Other Ranks caps with branch piping are much more rare because it required these men to pay out of their salaries to private purchase these caps. Additionally, the authorized period was April to November 1940, with overseas cap soutaches also being eliminated with the rescinding order on the branch colored visors. Although some were still made after that date, I believe that they would have had to be special ordered because the tailors and cap manufacturers pretty much obeyed the regulations because they were out to make a living and making caps against regulations doesn't make fiscal sense (or cents!). We've covered this ground many times in many threads on this forum -- use the search function to find more.

Bob

[Sonderkommando]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for the detailed reply. You have answered a question that was on my mind in regards to a certain KZ piped visor cap that is of very poor quality for a private purchase item!

Regards,
Brett

[Bobwirtz]

Brett,

KZ items are very tough to come across and there's a lot of fakes around. Many people claim that these caps were made by the KZ inmates while they were stationed at a camp. Maybe this is true but the SS-BW didn't make service caps as far as I'm aware. These were contract made, as well as most other headgear. About the only 100% cap I'm sure of is the late-war black panzer field cap with the embroidered trapezoid and the unfinished underside of the bill. Then again, these were found at the Dachau Depot and that doesn't necessarily mean that they were manufactured in the KZ. They too were probably contract made and stored at the depot, which was close to the SS training grounds. The SS placed KZs, Depots, Training Facilities all in the same geographic area for ease of transport. I'm sure that there are people who will dispute what I say here because they own a KZ cap and want to believe it's the real thing. I'm sure there are a few originals out there, but far and few in between.

Bob