"Franken" Crusher

[fudge_brownie]

Or "What is the difference between an officer's visor hat and an enlisted man's hat?" I can see the obvious difference in the hat insignia and the officer's hat has the mohair braid. There are, however, a number of EM hats that have the braid.

It appears the EM hats are often in better condition and usually seemed to sell for less.

What might be other differences? I see the same hat manufacturers appearing in both. Wire reinforcement is present, can it be removed?

What would be the implications of taking an EM hat with the braid and adding a hat insignia from an officers hat? Thus the "franken" crusher.

 

[Sgt Brown]

Just a few factoids:

Ofc service caps were private purchase. Enlisted service caps were issue - mainly pre/early war. Later in the war EM were mainly issued overseas caps in lieu of the more expensive service caps.

Some EM did privately purchase service caps. Those are often the ones you see that are of higher quality. (Some well-to-do EM even had fully tailored uniforms made.) TRUE crusher caps (semantics), whether Ofc or EM, were all private purchase.

Don't have the dye designations in front of me but enlisted and officer service caps were of totally different colors.

The wire can pretty much be removed from any service cap to allow the crown to droop. (That does not make it a true crusher, which is a matter of construction, not modification.)

Might some EM who was promoted switch emblems as a temporary measure? Possible. However, service caps were basically rear area items worn with dress uniforms. (Remember, most pilots in the ETO flew from areas that were well behind the front lines.) As such, there were sources available for newly promoted officers to obtain proper uniform items.

Tom

P.S. Please note the log of my being wrong is 2" thick and I am on Volume #4.[huh]

 

[BellyTank]

A "Crusher" is neither an officer's visor hat, or an enlisted man's hat.
It looks similar but is a purpose-built, crush-able cap.

Enlisted visor caps were made of wool similar to the enlisted uniforms,
Officer caps were nicer in cloth, materials and finish.


B
T

 

[KilroyCD]

Enlisted man's visor caps did not have the mohair band. I have seen a number of officer's caps (in private hands) with the enlisted cap device. This is generally because the owners of said caps didn't know that it was an enlisted cap device.
Here's a typical EM cap. Notice the lack of a mohair band.

Here's an Officer's cap, with mohair band.

Many service caps eventually wore a "50-mission crush" due to the removal of the stiffener, while a true crusher was designed to be rolled up and stuffed in a pocket if necessary. They had soft, pliable visors. Eastman offers a good example of a repro crusher:
http://www.shopcreator.com/mall/eastmanleather/products/product-739164.stm

 

[Phantomfixer]

repop crusher THE best

Here is a web site for the best reproduction crusher out there. A true crusher not a service cap.
http://www.diamondcapco.com/

I have seen enlisted crushers. I owned one in the early 80's. Picked it up from a flea market in Germany. It had no braid and was officers grade gaberdine. Soft short bill with enlisted badge. Awesome, a crusher all the way. Traded it for something or another.

 

[fudge_brownie]

Now I understand the differences in crusher, visor, 50 mission crush, officer's and EM hats. The term crusher is certainly misused. I can understand the quality in construction and materials though the Quartermaster hats would certainly be of quality.

I still am uncertain about colors, this is something so difficult to determine in a photo. And what about a warrant officer hat? Different metal insignia and the ones I have seen do not have the mohair braid. Color is OD, what version of OD I cannot tell.

I have seen EM hats with the mohair braid, obviously a private purchase. If this is the case wouldn't the color have to be the same as an officer's hat. I can't envision a hatter carrying a Bancroft in both colors. Still trying to find the definitive color for each version.

What about the cloth material used in the visor hat? In some cases it seems really thick. In such a case I would not think it would look as good in a 50 mission crush. Is this a photo issue or were there substational differences? Am I seeing the difference between felt models and elastique models? Is one preferred over the other for a 50 mission crush?

 

[Phantomfixer]

I have never seen a crusher in felt only gaberdine/elastique. Colors could be dark green or tan. The mohair braid can range in colors. Yes I should have said shades of green or tan depending on winter or summer cap

 

[KilroyCD]

With many manufacturers making service caps and / or crushers there will be variations in color, especially in the Olive Drab. I doubt anyone can truly say there is a definitive color, or should I say a definitive shade of OD.
A good book to peruse is "Silver Wings, Pinks and Greens" by Jon Maguire. It wil show a number of variations, and might help you decide which color and/or style suits you best. It's a fairly pricey book, but in my opinion it is well worth the money. It's available on eBay as well as on Amazon.com.

 

[Stearmen]

Shades of Green

With many manufacturers making service caps and / or crushers there will be variations in color, especially in the Olive Drab. I doubt anyone can truly say there is a definitive color, or should I say a definitive shade of OD.
A good book to peruse is "Silver Wings, Pinks and Greens" by Jon Maguire. It wil show a number of variations, and might help you decide which color and/or style suits you best. It's a fairly pricey book, but in my opinion it is well worth the money. It's available on eBay as well as on Amazon.com.

I remember back in the early 90s when I was flying, we put 6 or 7 WWII Army dress jackets side by side, and every one was a different shade! They ranged from a green to an almost brown shade. The hats are even worse! The only way to find a match was when the officer had his custom tailored from the hat to the trousers. Many did, I had lables from London, Chicago, San Francisco, and even from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

[fudge_brownie]

Silver Wings Book

I have ordered the book from Amazon, $40 with free shipping. There is now a second edition that is expanded. One reader did a review and was slightly critical of the colors in the photos in the book. Particularly on the color of "pinks". After reading a recent Fedora Lounge discussion on "pinks" and the above post on OD colors it's no wonder.

 

[fudge_brownie]

"Cossack Hat"

There are certainly variations in hat fabrics. Probably due to the numerous manufacturers and possiblity due to the requests of customers. I have now seen several hats I classify as "Cossack Hats" due to the thick material used as fabric. One was a Berkshire Deluxe described as felt, a second one actually used the word fur in the label.

Was it common for an officer who maybe stationed in a cold climate to order such a hat? There were certainly hats designated "tropical", would there have been ones designated "fur"?

 

[KilroyCD]

There are certainly variations in hat fabrics. Probably due to the numerous manufacturers and possiblity due to the requests of customers. I have now seen several hats I classify as "Cossack Hats" due to the thick material used as fabric. One was a Berkshire Deluxe described as felt, a second one actually used the word fur in the label.

Was it common for an officer who maybe stationed in a cold climate to order such a hat? There were certainly hats designated "tropical", would there have been ones designated "fur"?

The fur felt would only have been found in custom-made service caps, and not standard issue. In fact, the Knox officer's cap shown in post #4 in this thread is indeed a fur felt cap. It really has little if anything to do with the warmth, but everything to do with quality. Just as in fedoras, fur felt is typically higher quality than wool felt.