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M34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufacture

Article about: Hi folks, This is an unusual looking M34. The material and general construction look good to me but the Soutache is longer than most other caps I have seen and it has unusual markings. It is

  1. #1

    Default M34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufacture

    Hi folks, This is an unusual looking M34. The material and general construction look good to me but the Soutache is longer than most other caps I have seen and it has unusual markings. It is a size 54 marked A.G. der Österreichischen Fezfabriken Wien. There are additional ink stamps I can't quite decipher including 5?40 and what appears to be BAD RAS. It took a bit of examination under different light sources to get the manufacturer title.
    The company does come up in searches and was registered with the US Armed forces from 1945 under some kind of occupation registry. Input is welcome. NH

    M34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufactureM34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufactureM34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufactureM34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufactureM34 Schiffchen - Austrian manufacture

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  3. #2

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    Some kind of strange Frankenstein, one of the strangest I've seen. Unsure what soldier would have wanted that on his head....looks very poorly made. The front of the cap looks well over 4" tall....look at the material top and bottom of the rosette and the long, non reg, spindley soutache, also how the eagle is sandwiched in....just plain odd.

  4. #3

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    It is pretty ugly!....

  5. #4

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    Hello,
    All insignia looks reapplied including the soutache...
    IMO markings are 5..40 for May 1940 and RAD BAS for Reichsarbeitsdienst Bekleidungsamt S... (town with a name starting with the letter S like Stuttgart, Stettin etc....). According to the markings, it was produced in January 1940 and accepted in the RAD in May of the same year...
    Thanks


    The sacrifice of life is a huge sacrifice, there is only one that is more terrible, the sacrifice of honor

    In Memoriam :
    Laurent Huart (1964-2008)

  6. #5

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    I agree - an odd looking cap. It would make far more sense to see this example with an RAD Spaten patch on the front. I think it is a reworked RAD cap. The grommets are enameled - not painted. The Heer insignia looks authentic to me and I can see where it was applied by hand stitching using the same green thread all around for the Adler, cockade and soutache. I don't know if this was done post war or period. The ink stamp indicates it was manufactured in April 1940 - not January. Thank you all for the input. NH

  7. #6

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    Jphillip, You were spot on with the ink stamp ID on R.A.D. B.A.S. S is for Salzburg according to a German web site that includes a list of Bekleidungsamt ID numbers for war time. This makes sense since the cap was manufactured in Vienna. Your post helped me find that info. Thanks again. Should this be moved to the RAD section? NH

  8. #7

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    Certainly couldn't be considered a valid RAD side cap....totally wrong. Stamps look irrelevant or incongruous to the cap.....RAD, Fez maker, Vienna, basically gobbledygook. IMO.....just a poorly executed fake using a hodge-podge of confusing materials. Put it in the dust bin and find a better example suitable for your art'y NCO tunic....just a thought.

  9. #8

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    Hello,
    I agree that this item is not very collectable, but to me it's not related to its Feldgrau colour. I have already seen and handled gneuine "Heer" Feldblusen and pants with RAD stamps...nothing unusual here...
    Thanks


    The sacrifice of life is a huge sacrifice, there is only one that is more terrible, the sacrifice of honor

    In Memoriam :
    Laurent Huart (1964-2008)

  10. #9

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    Jphillip and Nigel thanks so much. I agree this is an ugly Frankenstein but I do think the components are salvageable. I found another RAD cap that matches this one for markings - only without the Heer insignia. I may just deep six this one in my collection and look for a new cap as Nigel suggested. Fortunately, it was not much of a monetary loss. NH

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