Strange Alter Art Feldmuetze

[BenVK]

I've never seen a hat like this before!
Can't work out if it's got field grey piping around the black band or none at all...

[jacquesf]

Looks like the black band was added over the existing cap band at a later stage. J

[wolfslair]

If this was shown here - it would be shot down immediately as being a fake.
Clearly goes to show that regulations in manufacture we’re not followed.
Great photos too 👍
Thanks for showing Ben!

[Paul R.]

Great photo, I agree wolfslair, just goes to show many good and real things get shot down. for one example the late printed sleeve eagle was alway referred to as fake until more photos show them in use.

[revi]

Agree with Jacquesf, a smaller black band added which doesn't totally cover the underlaying cloth. Would this make it a regular Army cloth visor having been transferred to an SS visor or? Stunning visor by the way!

[BenVK]

Interesting theory about a smaller black band over the top but that would mean that the original centre band underneath is the same feldgrau colour as the rest of the cap. It's obviously not dark green as per a Heeres cap and besides, even if it was, they didn't have an Alter Art cap with a cloth visor as far as I'm aware.

[revi]

Exactly what I meant Ben by “regular Army cloth visor having been transferred to SS “or”? I've seen some different early Reichswehr/Heer cloth visors over time both in cotton and wool with the top, side and visor in the same material, but not this model. The title at the start of picture serie reads ….


“Ostfront: Field dentistry, refugee transport, delousing, pingpong; May & June 1943, May 1944”


If that's correct it actually also is rather late in the war, not early anyway. Interesting.

[BenVK]

Thanks for acquiring the title for these series of photographs, that's very interesting!

[OSS]

It's obviously not dark green as per a Heeres cap and besides, even if it was, they didn't have an Alter Art cap with a cloth visor as far as I'm aware.

Really?

[BenVK]

Those soldiers are wearing Reichswehr fieldcaps like this one.

[another ant]

Hot water shrinks clothes.

[Graham G]

Cap looks like a typical SS alte art, minus the strange band. Nothing else stands out as unusual. Perhaps a strange design to allow the black band to be cleaned if needed? About the only thing I could think of logically.

[N.C. Wyeth]

Cap looks like a typical SS alte art, minus the strange band. Nothing else stands out as unusual. Perhaps a strange design to allow the black band to be cleaned if needed? About the only thing I could think of logically.

I once cared for an Officer cap that had a band of contemporary fabric attached OVER the velvet band. One could only wonder why it was done - but the most widely used suggestion was that it had been installed to protect the velvet fabric for some reason . . .

[wilhelm Saris]

Really?

these 1920 field-caps were worn into about 1934 as when it was replaced by the regular field-cap. It was also in use with other organzations for a short period of time.

[wilhelm Saris]

I've never seen a hat like this before!
Can't work out if it's got field grey piping around the black band or none at all...

When I am correct such cap (post 1) was shown in volume 4 from "Headgear of Hitler's Germany" (pages 130 through 132).
It is the Offiziersfeldmütze. This form of cap was introduced February 1938.