Germany, Luftwaffe. An Officer’s M43 Field Cap

(Luftwaffe Schirmmütze M43 für Offizier). An extremely well-preserved Luftwaffe Officer’s M43 field cap, constructed of dark blue-grey wool. The cap is fully surrounded by fold-down side panels, scalloped at the front, providing optional ear and neck protection to the wearer. When not in use, the panels are rolled up and secured in place at the front with two pebbled and grey-painted zink buttons emanating from the right flap and meeting an equal number of reinforced buttonholes on the left flap. The outer edge of the crown is trimmed with a length of silver aluminum wire piping, while the cap is also flanked on each side by a ventilation hole reinforced with a grey-painted magnetic metal grommet. Stitched onto the peak of the cap is an insignia consisting of a dark blue-grey wool trapezoid bearing a machine-embroidered silver-grey Luftwaffe eagle clutching a mobile swastika, just above a tri-colour cockade. The peak insignia measures 68 mm (w) x 50 mm (h) overall. Completing the exterior features is a protruding cardboard-reinforced visor, fully lined in identical wool. Affixed to the visor with factory original zig-zag stitching is a brown leather sweatband which lines the forehead, while a multi-piece blue-grey rayon liner encompasses the interior. It is unmarked, with the sole exception of a black ink size mark of “58” on the crown. The cap measures approximately 210 mm (w) x 260 mm (l) x 125 mm (h). Slight soiling consistent with light wear is evident to the interior liner, but the cap is in an overall extremely fine condition.