Grey visor cap Real or Fake?

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thank you. Very nice, indeed and much more rare than the equivalent in the Wehrmacht. But I do wonder whether your artillery is not Felix Derzhinsky, i.e. the MfS Leibstandarte? The Waffenfarbe looks very Bordo or Bordeuax or wine red to me. German uniforms are the poetry of the greens, the yellows and the reds, surely.

These early nVA uniforms are a great rarity and only for people with a more refined understanding of the history of arms in Germany.

I do take somewhat strong exception to the website with the claim that the NVA was "...the last German army..." which is sentimental, if you care about coal scuttle helmets, and Honecker's imitation of Preussens Gloria, but such a statement is pretty blinkered.

And I can say this based on a lot, and I mean a lot of first hand experience, actually.

Thank you Mr. Chris Stonemint for the little Panoptikum.

Once more, something more interesting than fake SS cap badges or fake SS collar patches.

Happy regalia. Happy Bordorot.

[stonemint]

F-B: I am pretty sure that one is Artillery. This is an MfS (Stasi) M-56 Visor:

[stonemint]

Better shot of an Artillery (next to Pioneer):

[stonemint]

DDR Forstdienst with the Staatswappen:

[stonemint]

DDR Border Guard (dated 1967)--non-military services continued to use the bullion wreath after the military stopped in 1965. This hat is high-peaked and heavily padded. It was made by VEB 1856, the old Erel company.

[stonemint]

Volksmarine Visor (1965). All-bullion embroidery:

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Dear Mr. C Stonemint, thank you for the nice photo essay. Very rare and interesting items. .

And this early cap with the MfS piping is also an exceptional piece. Was this color piping introduced in 1951 or 1967?

Many thanks for all the interesting things, indeed.

[S.Vestae]

nice post war caps Stone
I like the panzer model rare to find...

Sebastien.

[stonemint]

Dear Mr. C Stonemint, thank you for the nice photo essay. Very rare and interesting items. .

And this early cap with the MfS piping is also an exceptional piece. Was this color piping introduced in 1951 or 1967?

Many thanks for all the interesting things, indeed.

F-B: I am a little rusty in my recall, but I believe branch-piped visors were only used by the NVA 1956-1959, which is why they are so rare and expensive (I think the last mint Pz visor I saw went for 1000 Euros).
From 1960-1989, the NVA took a cue from Himmler and went with white waffenfarbe for all branches as far as visors are concerned (but not shoulderboards.)

I have not studied the visors of the the 1946-55 period that closely in terms of requlations, but the early ones were modelled after the Soviet style. During that period, the visors were for the Police and Fire services--ie, the Kasernierten Polizei; Volkspolizei; VP der See; Trapo, Feurwehr, etc.

Unfortunately, the definitive book on DDR headgear in English still has yet to be written....

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thanks. I do own several books in German on all of this, and I shall look for you, if you are interested. There was a good east German book published at the turn of the decade after 1989, and there is now a book solely on caps also in German, but I cannot find it in the labyrinth here. Motorbuch Verlag also has an interesting book on uniforms, too, of more recent vintage. There is also an excellent new work on the "Felikse" that is, the members of the Wachregiment of the MfS.

Early Bundeswehr uniforms are interesting, too, in fact, and there is an excellent new book out on them, as well.

I once had a chance to buy the very first pattern Bw general's uniform, i.e. the Affenjacke of the years 1955-6, and failed to do so. It would be quite rare in today's world, but that was in 1974 when my mind was only on field grey and black things.

Thanks and happy head wear