1940 RAD NCO Service Cap, Robin Hood Style, Private Purchase
Price: $650.
BUY / RESERVE THIS ITEMDescription: 2nd pattern Enlisted style service cap with Officers insignia. high quality private purchase, NCO’ Tuchmütze. Formed, doeskin-wool brown cloth construction cap with side panels which gently slope downwards to front. Side panels have darker-brown wool piping to the top edge. Cap has two brown enamel painted metal ventilation grommets to either side just above side panels. Cap has the typical chocolate brown doeskin-wool center band. Officers enameled-tombac RAD insignia, RZM-GesGesch marked and applied with its two-prongs to center darker band at front of cap. Brown-piped cloth covered visor with internal stiffener. Cap has a “U” shaped brown piping mid-way from forward edge. Full gold rayon lining and complete leather sweatband. Nicely maker-marked. Uncommon.
Price: $795
Background: The basis of the Reichsarbeitsdienst, (National Labor Service), dates back, at least, to 1929 with the formation of the AAD, Anhalt Arbeitsdienst, (Anhalt Labor Service), and the FAD-B, Freiwillingen Arbeitsdienst-Bayern, (Volunteer Labor Service Bavaria). Shortly after Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor, (January 1933), the NSDAP consolidated these, and other labor organizations into the NSAD, Nationalsozialist Arbeitsdienst, (National Socialist Labor Service), under the control of Reichsarbeitsführer Konstatin Hierl. In June 1935 the NSAD was re-designated RAD. In April 1934 Hierl developed a uniform including the distinctive “Robin Hood” style service cap. The design of the cap was based on a cross between a traditional style peasant cap and the traditional hunters cap. Originally the caps were issued with rank distinction piping with black piping for the EM/NCO ranks of Arbeitsmann to Truppführer, silver piping for company and field grade Officer’s ranks of Obertruppführer to Oberstarbeitsführer and gold piping for General Officer’s ranks of Generalarbeitsführer to Reichsarbeitsführer. In 1940 the use of the black piping for the EM/NCO ranks was discontinued but the silver and gold Officer’s piping remained in use until the end of the war.
