BACKGROUND: Visor caps were a standard item for all personnel during the Third Reich period and regulations dictated the form of dress they were to be worn with based on the individuals rank. Officer and certain senior NCO ranks were responsible for purchasing their own caps and could choose to purchase them from the army clothing depots or to privately purchase visor caps of higher quality. Originally the insignia worn on the visor cap consisted of the Weimar Reichsheer pattern oak-leaf wreath and cockade until March 14TH 1933 when the Reichswehr’s oval black, red and gold cockade was replaced with a circular cockade in black, white, and red. On February 17TH 1934 the Third Reich pattern national eagle for the army was officially introduced for wear on the visor cap. In March 1935 a new, more detailed, pattern wreath and cockade and a second, larger pattern national eagle were also introduced for wear and were utilized until the end of the war. The new insignia came in a variety of manufacturing styles to include stamped alloy, hand embroidered and even machine woven in some instances.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Second pattern, (circa March 1935-May 1945), visor cap wreath. The insignia consists of a nicely detailed, stamped, high relief, opened top, silver washed, alloy oak-leaf wreath with six small acorns and a separate highly vaunted, three piece, national tri-color cockade. All pins complete. Nice clean high quality example.