Heer Heer Cap Cloth Eagle - ID Please

[AlecH]

Hello Gentlemen,

Last week purchased a mainly cloth convolute, one piece is this cloth Cap Badge shown. Trying to pin it down, I believe its from a Army Cap Badge, but have not been able to find which branch. Do members have any ideas.

Best Wishes

[Spasm]

AlecH

It looks like one of these. Its a breast eagle from 1935, worn by enlisted men and NCOs. The backing was "badge-cloth" abzeichentuch, a close-woven velvetish fabric; this was originally grey, but in late 1935 the renamed Wehrmacht Heer changed the color to a dark blue-green called flaschengrun (bottle-green).

Spaz

[AlecH]

Hi Spaz,

Thanks for your post and information. I though the thread had bombed as its been up since May without a single reply. I put the post up on a more military uniform orientated site. One member thought it was a m39 for the overseas cap for the Heer. Here's a picture of the back, perhaps it might help - what do you think ?

Regards

[Spasm]

AlecH

I believe its an M36 Breast Eagle like this one - front. Count the secondary feathers in mid wing - 4 rather than the 5.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Spasm

[Spasm]

And the back - notice the "thick" thread and the way it steps. Yep, I believe its a Heer Enlisted man and NCO M36 Breast Eagle.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Spasm

[Spasm]

Would've ended up like this on the uniform

[AlecH]

Hello Spaz,

The second eagle you show - M36 seems the proper match with my eagle first posted. Are you sure its a breast eagle ? I always thought cap badge eagles were soft which mine is and had the excess material tucked behind when it was stichted on the cap. Where as the breast eagles were semi - stiff and had very little excess material or have I not quite got everything in proper focus ?

Regards

[Spasm]

AlecH

I don't think the stiffness makes any difference - some were made from wool and some made with wire thread. I believe its the size that makes the difference. Some cap eagles had a sewn in cockade so they are easy. Have a look at this and see the difference in size. The breast eagles wingspans vary from 85mm to 95mm but all seem just over 45mm high (well, the ones I have - and I don't have many) with the cap eagles smaller by some way.

The breast eagles are the two at the top. I have no idea why I thought yours was a big one........ooops

Could be wrong but it makes sense.......

Cheers

Spaz

Edited August 29, 2011 by Spasm

[AlecH]

Spaz,

I'm on holiday at the moment - no chance to measure the eagle patch. However this afternoon I've spent a couple of hours looking through Helmet Weitze's miltary site - he has three pages of Breast Eagles on offer - I didn't find one, anywhere close to mine. He also has three pages of cap eagles some of them came close. Here's some pictures of the cap eagles. The first Weitze describes as "Cap Eagle for soldier" about 1942

Regards

Edited August 30, 2011 by AlecH

[AlecH]

More cap eagles

[Spasm]

AlecH

Looking again at yours and comparing it to the breast eagles, notice how yours has a vertical patch running from the wings 'armpits' to the outside of the swastika roundel. The cap badges all have this in the pictures above - just like yours. All the breast eagles have no vertical line, they have the stitching running round the roundel to the eagle's 'ankles'. So, yours is a cap eagle and I was completely wrong Sorry.

So, to start over then.

AlecH, what you have there is a nice unused Heer M36 Cap Eagle.

Spaz