Technical Troops (Feldgrau): Artillery, Pioneer & Verkehrstruppen Visors
This thread is for field-gray visors with a black band and red piping.
These hats were worn by "technical troops" which consisted of the following: Artillerie (Artillery), Pioniere (Engineers) and Verkehrstruppen (Transportation Troops). These included all Eisenbahn (Railway), Telegraphen (Telegraph), Flieger (Flying), Luftschiffer (Balloon and Zeppelin).
From my cross-town friend:
"A few years ago, I obtained this war time private purchase war time visor from a German collector. The cap fabric is heavy ribbed corduroy (probably suit or leggings material), has a pressed paper visor, zinc cocardes, oil cloth sweatband, but a real silk liner – whatever materials the maker had to work with, with war time shortages. The exact mate to this cap (with optional chin strap), is in the permanent Ingolstadt collection. If you look at the first photo, you’ll note that the fabric under the black band is different from the ribbed top fabric. War time shortages often necessitated that scrap fabric was used on caps, in smaller areas.
The owner’s name, “Goedecke” and Feld Artillery Regt. 10 (Scharnhorst) were inked under the visor. I was curious if “Goedecke” could be identified. From experience, It is almost impossible to find a WWI or WWII enlisted soldier, without a date of birth. The other, more chancy solution, was to find the post WWI printed history of the regiment. Recently, I found this history, printed in Germany in 1930.
In the page after page of the 1914-1918 dead of this regiment, there is a listing for a Kanonier Goedecke, who was KIA on 30.3.1918, along with three other Kanioner’s on the same day. The book refers to one of the guns of the 7 battery being hit by counter battery fine on the Somme front, at Tilloloy. Four artillerymen serving the gun were killed, & five severely wounded. The regimental history shows a photo of an artillery piece, in an well entrenched bunker, that was hit by counter battery fire and destroyed. The caption does not identify the battery or crew.
It’s not just the cap, but the story if you can uncover it."
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