What the 'ell is this thing?

[Wesley's Dad]

I picked this cap up in a lot of GI equipment at an antique mall about 13 years ago when a dealer was shutting down his booth. Don't worry, I'm not about to toot a horn regarding my bargain SS hat find. I suspect this is an early reenator repro or possibly an old film prop of some sort maybe. I was hoping some one here could pin it down for me.

The hat is constructed similarly to an SS camo hat, but the enormous bill is more the flavor of a tropical field cap. But there are no false turndowns like on the trops. The camo pattern, while similiar to the oakleafs in some regard, is not a match for any shown in Beaver's book. There is a top seam, a front seam and integral sweat band, but no vent grommets. Also, the material is non-reversible. The brown splotches shown in the interior shot are simply bleed through from the darker spots on the exterior. This make up of this hat is 100% cotton across all components and thread. The bill is stiffened with a very heavy burlap or hessian cloth material.

Comments appreciated
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[Wesley's Dad]

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[Ian Hulley]

Hi,are the colours on the screen an accurate reflection of what's in your hand ? The inside appears to be a badly faded out Italian cammo material,this was seized in quantity by the Germans when the Italians jacked it in as a bad job.They made a number of items from the material,lined parkas,jackets and trousers etc etc,some say just for the W-SS but in fact Heer units had it too.The outer of the cap isn't a 'normal' pattern and the construction (with the internal sweatband) doesn't look (or attempt to look) field-made,it doesn't appear to have the ventilation grommets which a factory piece would have either.So,in my opinion you're probably right....a re-enactors piece or just a bad fantasy reproduction.

Just my opinion,seeing as no-one else seems interested.

Cheers,Ian.

[Wesley's Dad]

Ian,

The hat is as faded as it appears in the photos. The interior is as I described initially. It is not a pattern at all, but only bleed through of the darkest brown shown on the exterior. I was wondering this might be a postwar hat from some other European army that took German influence on it's own camo. This thing has always perplexed me as to just what it is.

Thanks

[Gary Wood]

Michael,
The inside does not look like bleed though to me it looks like Italian camouflage while the outside looks like oakleaf, are you sure that they have not used 2 pieces of cloth sandwiched together? try pinching the cloth to see if there is 2 pieces,
cheers,
Gary

[Wesley's Dad]

Gary,

The hat is only a single layer of material, and the interior colors are absolutly bleed through from printing. For each of the brown spots you see on the interior, there is a corresponding dark brown spot on the exterior that is exactly the same shape. None of my exterior photos show this too well.

When I say a single layer of material, I am talking about the crown and body of the hat. The bill is two layers with the hessian cloth between. I will try to shoot a couple of shots that demonstrate what I am describing as bleed through