This outstanding reproduction of the prewar black service cap has a gaberdine wool crown, velvet band, vulcanized fiber visor (Vulkanfiber) and white piping around crown and band. Inside, it has the celluloid sweatshield, gold rayon lining, and it even sports an RZM tag. The insignia and cap cords are included. It's not made by Lost Battalions, it's imported, but it is still a very well done piece that may fool your friends. Just the thing to fill a hole in your collection (if you're short the $5,000+ you'll need to pick up an original) or use in your next stage production of The Sound of Music.

The SS hijacked the "death's head" insignia and black uniforms of the old Napoleanic-era Black Brunswicker regiments as a way to add an air of military legitimacy to their appearance, and to tap into an instant, undeserved war record. The death's head or "Totenkopf," once used as a cap device by many different military units in many different European countries, is now forever linked with the SS and its mass murder machine, the Totenkopfverbände.

This cap, along with its accompanying uniform, was dropped by the SS in 1938 when the SS switched to field gray with the adoption of the new M37 uniform. The black uniform was then relegated to special occasion parade and ceremonial wear before quickly fading into complete disuse after the outbreak of war. However, the uniform's sinister appearance was appropriate to the criminal nature of the SS and the black suit saw extensive service in Hollywood long after it was dropped from the SS wardrobe.

This item is made in Germany