Kriegsmarine Helferin Female Auxiliary Cap

Product Description: This Kriegsmarine Helferin Female Auxiliary Cap is an extremely nice example of a scarce and desirable piece of headgear. This pattern of cap was worn by Helferinnen, female auxiliaries in the wartime German Navy. This issue type cap is constructed of a dark navy blue wool and rayon blend material. Around the edge of the turn-down flap is ribbed golden piping. The front center of the cap features a Bevo machine woven Kriegsmarine pattern eagle and swastika emblem, with a gold eagle on a blue background. The eagle is neatly machine stitched to the cap and is undoubtedly an original factory application. There is no cockade, which is correct for these female caps. The interior lining of the cap is a rayon and cotton blend, in a deep grey color. It is marked with a white circular stamping indicating manufacture by the “Chapeliere Parisienne Paris” and the size marking “58.” This gorgeous Kriegsmarine Helferin Female Auxiliary Cap is in nearly mint unissued condition with absolutely no mothing, snags or tears. It does not appear to have ever been worn. This appealing wartime French made cap displays extremely well, and would likely be impossible to upgrade.

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.

We are the leading team of military antique specialists. We have specialized in military antiques for over 25 years.

Epic Artifacts offers free evaluations and the highest prices available for your collectibles.

We purchase single items, entire collections, or family estates.

Click the link here to learn more: Free Evaluation or Inquiries 

or feel free to email us directly: info@epicartifacts.com