Description
Product Description: This is a rare and desirable U-Boat crewman overseas cap, that shows honest wear and use. The exterior of this appealing Kriegsmarine enlisted issue overseas cap is made of blue wool. There is one small hole on the rear side of the cap. All of the surface nap on the wool is gone, evidence that this cap was worn daily. The machine embroidered Kriegsmarine cap eagle is originally hand applied, and shows wear and light soiling perfectly matching the rest of the cap. The Bevo machine woven KM cockade is also originally hand applied. There is a ship made U-Boat emblem for the 2nd U-Boat Flotilla hand sewn to the side of the cap. Of all of the KM caps I have seen, this is one of the very few that I believe to have an original emblem still attached to the cap. The emblem is made of brass, which has an old mellow patina. There is heavy interaction evident between the cap badge, the application thread, and the fabric of the cap itself. Inside, this U-Boat Crewman Overseas Cap is lined with black cotton twill, with evidence of daily wear and sweat staining. There are no visible markings. This is a choice cap, and an evocative artifact. It has outstanding eye appeal.
Historical Description: The “sidecap” was a part of the uniform worn by nearly all military, paramilitary, political and civil organizations in the Third Reich. It was a narrow hat that could be folded flat and tucked into a belt or haversack. This was, at the time, a very stylish type of uniform cap; in the German Army, it replaced the round “pork pie” style of field cap used in the Great War. The German name for this cap, in most organizations, was “Feldmütze”- field cap. Despite the name, it was often worn as a daily service cap by postal workers and other personnel who would never be deployed to the field. The men and women who wore the sidecap gave it the nickname “Schiffchen,” meaning little boat, due to its shape. The sidecaps were made in the same type of fabric as the uniforms, in the uniform color particular to each organization. The sidecaps were adorned with branch-specific insignia, usually bearing some form of the German eagle and swastika national emblem. Many sidecaps also bore red, white and black national cockades. The insignia were usually embroidered or woven, but metal devices were used on some caps as well. Officer caps generally were distinguished by silver braid along the top edge and/or on the upper part of the flap at the front of the cap and were often custom tailored from fine fabrics. The German military, and many other organizations, had broadly replaced the sidecap with a new, more practical cap featuring a brim, by 1943. But the sidecap continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.
With nearly 30 years of expertise handling, collecting, and studying some of the finest and scarcest military collectibles, Empires Past offers the best prices for your collectibles.
We purchase German, American, and Japanese Military Artifacts.
FROM SINGLE ITEMS TO ENTIRE COLLECTIONS…
WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING!!!
