WWII Crusher Cap
Greetings,
I bought this nice WWII Crusher Cap for enlisted men. I believe it's taken from M1938 per web. The only thing that bothers me is the olive branch on the front shield. It's touching the right wing of the eagle. All other WWII shields on the crusher caps I've seen online are separated from the eagle. See one of my buttons on my cap the olive branch away from the eagle. I believe the crusher is an Army WWII cap.
It is a private purchase cap with the wire cap stiffener removed from the crown and the backstrap that has been associated with having flown 50 missions with what appears to be a stiff bill precluding it from being a real flight crusher.
It is a very nice enlisted cap much harder to find than the standard issue enlisted cap.
The badge just appears to be a variant this is normal with so many companies that made the badges, the hat as mentioned is not a crush visor.
Thank you steve and gel65 for your statements. I'm surprised to hear about the visor. This is my first Crusher cap and don't know to much about the different models. I'm a little confused. steve mentioned it could be a private purchased cap due to the stiff bill (gel65 noticed this too) with 50 flight missions due to the back strap. In general, how can I tell the difference between an enlisted man's air force or Army Crusher cap if there is one.
Greetings Skip,
What you have is a high end private purchase enlisted service cap. During WWII overseas caps (with some exceptions, MPs, some color guards, etc.) were what enlisted personnel were supposed/authorized to wear (not service caps) whilst stationed "overseas." The back-strap is Cavalry trait adopted by other branches personnel too (yes, USAAF personnel), if you wanted to buy the back-strap you could wear it.
A fifty mission crusher is an officer’s service cap. All sorts of makers with all sorts of malleable visors see examples here I think I found a real WWII Crusher Cap - UNIFORMS - U.S. Militaria Forum You can go nuts with what constitutes a 50 mission crusher in the collector world, but there is no such animal as an “enlisted” variant "50 mission crusher." That said, you will find folks who do not know any better attempting to call their enlisted service cap a 50 mission crusher; of course it is all the while being offered for sale.
Do a quick Google search of B-17 or B-24 crews' shots and you will quickly see only the officers (as below) are wearing officer variant service caps. No doubt someone somewhere has a shot of an enlisted man doing the same thing with an enlisted variant, but it was not authorized nor widely done. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Lance
Thank you Lance, you gave me more insight on this cap. Yes it is odd and if it is a 50 mission "Crusher" USAAF, I should have known better that it is an Officers service cap and should have the Officers cut out eagle on the front. I didn't think of it. I was to concentrated on the "enlisted service cap" due to the emblem given. Thank you bunches for your input and time.
Regards
Skip
P.S. I looked at the site you gave me and I do see now the differences between a true Crusher and hard bill
A true "crusher" cap ( such an overused phrase) will be made of ribbed wool twill, not felt, and have a thin leather peak that is easily bendable.
This officer's cap of mine might be called a "semi-crusher", since it can be folded up, but not as easily as a true crusher, and the peak is thicker.
BobS
Never say never,,if you check there is such an animal. an enlisted man's variant 50 mission crusher cap on page 12 dated 6/2/2012 on this thread under US enlisted man's visor cap. Dave Hby militariaone
I wish to thank everyone who participated with my thread. I received well and knowledgeable information from all.
Thank You
Skip
I have been asked to show a true crusher cap...Bancroft Flighter.............Dave H
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