Original World War Two US Navy Junior Officer’s “Cover” Visor Cap.
Original owners card inside, wicker frame, white cover, and black mohair braided cap band.
By the late 1930's the Navy service visor cap had evolved into the modern design used throughout the WWII era. The Bell Crown design used at the turn of the century went through a series of gradual design changes that eventually resulted in the familiar WWII cap. Over time the crown of the cap was widened considerably, the visor widened and lengthened, the slope of the visor relaxed, and the chinstrap widened. The multitude of changes produced a more relaxed, less rigid looking cap with a modern appearance.
The Navy service cap of the WWII era was alternately referred to as a complete cap or combination cap, with both terms sometimes being used in the same reference material. The combination cap was a versatile design of which the primary component was a frame to which any one of a number of different kinds of covers, bands, and chinstraps could be attached. Both officers and enlisted men utilized the same type of cap frames and covers, but combined them with their own distinctive insignia, cap bands, and chinstraps to form a finished cap. The cover, band, and chinstrap were all held in place on the frame by a pair of screw post buttons that passed through the frame on either side of it.
A circular wicker frame was central to the cap design and served as its foundation. Wicker frames were formed using many different types of weave patterns and densities; some having tight weaves, while others were loosely woven. A linen covering was sewn to the outside of the wicker frame and was folded over the top edge to form a binding. The bottom edge of the frame was finished with a dark blue piece of cloth binding. A leather sweatband was then attached to the inside bottom of the wicker frame. The front of the cap was formed by sewing a leather visor to the bottom of the frame and a riser to the top. A wire stiffener ran through the top of the riser to help provide form to the cover. Both flat wire and bound wire stiffeners were used in order to give the cap a look that Navy regulations described as follows; "flaring throughout its circumference to give the center edge of the cover a rolled or rounded effect". This rounded edge of the cap cover was distinctly different than other types of service caps, such as the Marine Corps enlisted man's cap, which had a cover with a flat, sharp edge due to its thin wire stiffener. A band of oil cloth that served as a sweat protector ran across the top of the frame with one end attached to the riser and the other end to the back of the wire stiffener.
