WWII German Heer M34 Overseas Side Cap Feldmütze with hand embroidered eagle – Artillery

WWII German Heer (army) M34 Overseas Side Cap Feldmütze with hand embroidered eagle – Artillery, nice large size 60.  Red “Russia braid” branch (artillery) piping soutache, as used before mid-1942.  Field grey wool, maker marked by Robert Lubstein EREL, all the authentic tailoring and features of the originals.

The caps were made from woolen uniform cloth, with interiors made with a wide variety of cotton and rayon linings. Made in the millions, numerous minor variations can be found among original caps. Examples can be found in nearly every color and type of uniform cloth, thread color and lining vary widely, as well as number (1 or 2) and type of buttons to secure the flaps.

Our caps are made using wool that is the same weight and weave as WWII fabric. It fits and forms very well to one’s head. Lining is red cotton twill.

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.