my small but growing BW collection

[Gunny Hartmann]

Some great items on here mate i really like the steppentarn helmet cover, i've got a pair of trousers in the same camo. One of the best desert type patterns IMO!...

[James C]

Some great items on here mate i really like the steppentarn helmet cover, i've got a pair of trousers in the same camo. One of the best desert type patterns IMO!...

many thanks paul ,i agree also ,its a great cammo and im really fond of it ,much better the the earlier us choc chip pattern ,cheers james

[oradour]

Hi James, apologies for delay in replying (lost keyboard facility!) fixed now......that's a nice pre 1970 Officers cap you have ! this style of cap was made between 1960, when the cloth covered and embroidered peak was introduced, prior to that it had been shiny plastic/composite material as other ranks cap.... and 1970, when a version in a lighter grey and with a non ribbed centre band was adopted (I show the two together) ....Officers caps are rarely dated......the embroidered leading edge of the peak shows junior rank from senior rank, see diagram.....yours is for leutnant through to Hauptman. The triangular badges are as you say, for M43 style fatigue caps and the panzer hard hat and beret (see attached photo). Nice additions to your collection ! Thanks for showing......
Prost ! Steve.

[James C]

many thanks for the superb referance guide steve and the identification of my cap i also see you a have a really nice pair of caps yourself ,can i ask if the cap on the right is luftwaffe issue judging by the light blue colour ,your bundeswehr panzer schutzmutze beret looks in superb condition ive seen referance pictures of this style beret in use with crews aboard us m48 medium tanks ,now is the loose beret along side to be fitted on top of another inner protective bump cap or is it just worn as a beret ,sorry for all the questions ,on a side note i have a little addition of my own ive purchased for my bw collection , i collect from post office tommorow so will add pictures as soon as ,cheers james

[oradour]

James....the reason for the standardisation of the BW Heer (Army) uniform colour was the varying shades of light grey through to nearly back worn by many Officers & men in the 1957 ( introduction of the 4 pocket tunic & different shades for the LW & Heer, blue and grey respectively) to 1969 time period ! The caps are both Heer and the colour difference highlights the shade problem, also in the very early days of the BW 1955-1956 both the Luftwaffe & Heer wore the same colour uniforms (Affenjackes) confusing for collectors when a stripped tunic is obtained ! see attached guides on early 1955-1956 uniforms and later 1957-1970....
The Panzer hard hat is for wearing in the vehicle, and indeed does have a removable top, for cleaning...it is not lined and could not be worn on its own as a beret......The Panzer beret was lined with a sweatband and was worn outside the vehicle, it did not fit the hard hat component of the inside hard hat.
Prost ! Steve.

[James C]

many thanks steve for the uniform guide and distinguishing between the two berets i have got it into my thick head now ,one thing i notice on your exposed hard cap is a dry light brown residue ,i notice this also in my cap if i can describe its almost like a sort of foam that has perished to become dry and fall out of the cap in small flakes ,my M1 A1 also has this residue discharge when handled , i like the way the panzer beret can be dismantled into 3 seperate pieces ,thanks for the extra photograph of it ,it displays very well

[James C]

here's my latest pickup very much the same as steve's example a 1963 dated Panzerschutzmütze beret in superb condition considering its nearly 50 years old and not that easy to come by in complete form ,it can be split down into 3 parts the hard cap underneath the beret is covered in a layer of matching felt and it has rubber air hole grommits around the circumferance i may add removing the beret was easy ,refitting was a different matter ,but i can tell you its a very tight fit ,inside the cap was a dry dust of which i mentioned in an earlier post ,i can only deduct it originally had a thin layer of foam padding maybe for comfort reasons .enjoy james

[oradour]

Great addition to your collection !...a favourite of mine ! Now you can see how the beret top section could not be worn on its own...Love the photo of the Panzer man in his Patton tank ! You need the Panzer one piece overall to go with it ! Here's my 1959 dated one.......
Prost ! Steve.

[James C]

thanks steve ,now i have the beret in hand i understand why as you say ,it can't be worn separately, now to find the elusive soft beret worn when dismounted from vehicle ,im glad you like the period referance picture ,its not the best as it was off the internet but i also have the same picture in a book i own ,so here's the more clearer picture ,it mentions his title as panzer gefreiter very nice tank overall ,one thing i notice is the rank insignia on the sleeves very similar to the slides on my jacket ,thanks again james

[James C]

well another little addition to the collection and quite hard to track down ,a soft panzer beret my question is how to date this example i just cant see any year on the ink stamp ,i can only guess some time between 1960 and 70 ,it seems to be made of the same materials as the hard beret ,well here you go enjoy james