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In 1943 after Italy surrendered to the Allies, German troops seized weapons and equipment of all sorts from the Italian military. Included in this were large quantities of fabrics and raw materials which the Wehrmacht incorporated into their supply system. Thus, during the latter stages of WWII, many German Army and SS troops wore uniforms and caps made from Italian cloth.
This is a reproduction of the Waffen SS field cap, made using Italian wool and gray HBT lining fabric. Our wool was custom made in a typical shade of this cloth in 2010 by Woolrich Mills in Pennsylvania, and the lining was copied from an original swatch we sent overseas. When one encounters original caps made from Italian wool, they typically have this type of lining or a gray wool flannel type.
We opted for the single button variant of SS M43 cap for this production run. This is a typical look for late War SS troops. (One also finds the Italian wool caps made with 2 buttons and trapezoid type insignia.) Our pattern came directly from a disassembled original cap and all of our proportions mimic the WWII caps exactly.
The visors are correctly stiffened with 6 oz. leather, not plastic or cardboard, and the black urea buttons are original WWII. Insignia is zig-zagged stitched on before the cap is assembled to it does not penetrate the lining. (On original caps the patches were hand sewn, zig zag or lock stitched depending on the manufacturer.)
Of note, these caps lack the ear muff loops and binding often sewn under the flaps due to the fact that my original single button SS cap also omitted them. Why is unknown.
The caps are sewn in our factory in Columbia, KY.
Sizing: These are sized like originals using the metric system.
Care: If one must wash them, then only dry clean or by hand in cool water and hand dry.
If it's too big can I shrink it in the dryer? No. They do not shrink appreciably. Washing machines and/ or dryers will cause the wool to pill up and they look awful. Washed caps are not returnable.
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270.384.1965