WWII NAZI GERMAN OFFICER'S WAFFEN SS M43 FIELD CAP

Field-gray wool/rayon blend construction cap with a subtle whipcord weave features fold down back and side panels with a scalloped front edge and forward sides and two small pebbled, magnetic sheet metal button retainers. The back and side panels were designed to be folded down to protect the wearers ears and neck and the scalloped front section could be secured with the buttons closed under the wearers chin. The top edge of the crown is trimmed in bright, interwoven, silver/aluminum braiding. The front center of the cap has a late war, single piece SS cap insignia trapezoid as introduced in 1944. The insignia consists of a BeVo woven SS eagle and skull in matte silvery/gray threads on a field-gray woven rayon trapezoid base. The trapezoid has been machine stitched to the cap. The cap has a fabric covered forward visor with an internal cardboard stiffener a small raised lip to the top of the forward edge and a row of reinforcement stitching to the bottom of the forward edge. The interior of the cap is fully lined in gray cotton/rayon blend material. The lining is well size marked "57". Nice original M43. The field-gray M43 field cap was originally introduced in the German army on June 11TH 1943 as a replacement cap for other field caps then in use, and adopted for wear in the Waffen-SS on October 1ST 1943. The design of the M43 field cap was based on the earlier M42 Feldm¸tze, (Overseas cap), and the Mountain Troopers Bergm¸tze, (Mountain Cap), with minor variations. On its introduction a black version was also introduced for wear by Panzer personnel. EM/NCO ranks M43 caps were un-piped while the Officerís version was issued with white piping for the ranks of SS-Untersturmf¸hrer to SS-Standartenf¸hrer and the ranks of SS-Oberf¸hrer to Reichsf¸hrer-SS, utilized silver/aluminum piping. This example is an EM/NCOís M43 field cap that has been upgraded to Officers ranks of SS-Oberf¸hrer and above by the addition of silver/aluminum piping to the crown edge.