Germany, Heer. A Smoke Troops Em/Nco’s Tropical Overseas Cap, By Karl Kubach

(Heer Nebeltruppe Schiffchen). An extremely well-preserved Heer Smoke Troops EM/NCO’s overseas cap, constructed of olive-grab cotton twill. The cap is fully surrounded by fold-down side paneling, held in place by two pieces of stitching at the front. It is flanked on each side by ventilation holes reinforced by brown-painted zink eyelets. Stitched into the peak of the cap is an insignia in the form of a silver-grey cotton threaded Wehrmacht eagle clutching a wreath mobile swastika on a light brown backer, measuring 70 mm (w) x 28 mm (h).

Beneath the eagle is a purple soutache, affixed to the cap by stitching on the exterior and looped through holes visible on the reverse of the paneling. The soutache surrounds a tri-colour embroidered cotton cockade, similarly on a light brown background and measuring 38 mm (w) x 34 mm (h). The interior of the cap features a complete red cotton liner secured in place with multiple rows of machine stitching. The crown is stamped with a black ink maker’s mark reading “KARL KUBACH, MÜTZEN-FABRIK, MAINZ-KASTEL”, with a size of “56” and a manufacture year of “42”. The cap measures approximately 285 mm (l) x 110 mm (h). Minor material fatigue is evident, but it is in an overall extremely fine condition.