BACKGROUND: Land based Navy personnel, primarily Coastal Artillery members, were originally issued field-grey uniforms and headgear as early as 1921. The use of the field-grey garments continued through-out the Weimar Reichsmarine era, (Circa 1919-1933), and on into the Third Reich period. On September 19TH 1935 the Kriegsmarine officially introduced the field-grey overseas cap for wear by all Coastal Artillery EM/NCO’s. Originally the overseas caps, were outfitted with a golden yellow soutache until regulations of October 13TH 1942 abolished the use of the soutache and instructed it to be removed from the caps, although the directive was not strictly adhered to. The army’s M34 pattern overseas cap was also issued to Kriegsmarine personnel on a limited basis. Regulations of March 29TH 1939 introduced a field-grey overseas cap for Officers and senior NCO’s that was almost identical to the EM/NCO’s version with minor variations. Regulations of July 12TH 1940 introduced gilt piping, for Officers holding the ranks of Leutnant zur See up to and including Grossadmiral ranks, (Silver piping for Administrative Officials), to be applied around the forward edge of the flaps of the overseas caps to distinguish them from EM/NCO’s ranks. Officers and certain senior NCO ranks were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms and headgear and as a result were allotted a clothing allowance through the OKK, Offizier Kleiderkasse der Kriegsmarine, (Officer’s Clothing Account of the Navy). Although enlisted personnel were issued their uniforms and headgear from government supplies they were also permitted to purchase privately tailored items although the price may have been restrictive. Generally speaking officers bought nice quality, private purchase, uniform items but they could also choose to buy their uniforms directly from the military clothing depots. Of Note: The Chapeliere Parisienne cap manufacturing firm in Paris produced caps for the Germans during the occupation of France and in an act of covert defiance they manufactured a number of caps in inordinately small sizes rendering them useless and resulting in them having to be altered to suitable dimensions. This cap is a re-sized example. See J. Halcomb’s and W. P. B. R. Saris’s book, Headgear of Hitler’s Germany, volume 1, page 214 for a photographic example of a re-sized, French manufactured cap.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Re-sized, slightly mottled, field-grey wool/rayon blend construction, overseas cap features fold down side and back panels with gently sloping, downward scallops to the front and forward sides. As is typical the fold down panels are handstitched in the upright position at the front center of the cap. The rear section of the cap has had the professional addition of a field-grey wool/rayon material after its original manufacture to make the cap larger. The front center of the cap has a machine woven national eagle with out-stretched wings, clutching a wreathed, canted swastika in it’s talons, in golden yellow rayon threads, mounted on a cut-out, woven field-grey rayon base. The eagle is neatly handstitched to the cap. The front center of the fold down panels has a machine woven, national tri-color cockade, in black white and red rayon threads on a woven, dark blue/green rayon, diamond shaped, base. The cockade is machine stitched to the cap. The interior of the cap is fully lined in light-weight off-white linen with a grey rayon lining to the altered rear section. Size marked 56.

GRADE ****                             PRICE $495.00