the band and crown were piped in Waffenfarbe. Enlisted men wore the cap with a black leather chinstrap; officers wore a pair of braided silver or aluminum cords (gold for generals). NCOs were authorized to wear the Schirmmütze when the uniform of the day prescribed the field cap. Officers' caps were frequently private-purchase and had covers of higher-quality fabric; these were often interchangeable and included summer white and tropical olive versions as well as feldgrau. Officers' "old style" field cap or "crusher" At the same time the M34 side-cap was introduced for enlisted wear, a folding field cap for officers was authorized. Superficially resembling the Schirmmütze, this cap had a crown of significantly smaller diameter without the wire stiffener, a soft band, and a visor of flexible leather or feldgrau wool. Insignia were jacquard-woven; although no chinstrap was authorized officers often added the Schirmmütze silver cords. This cap was officially replaced by the officers' Schiffchen M38, with a wear-out date of 1 April 1942, but this order was generally ignored and the popular "Knautschmütze" was worn throughout the war, coming to be known as the ältere Art (old style) field cap. Officers and NCOs in the field would sometimes remove the wire stiffener from the Schirmmütze to achieve the "crush" look, especially tank crewmen (to facilitate wearing headphones); this unauthorized but widespread practice should not be confused with the true "crusher." Helmets In 1935 the Wehrmacht adopted a lower, lighter version of the M1916/18 "coal scuttle" helmet; this became the ubiquitous German helmet of World War II, worn by all branches of the Wehrmacht and SS, police, fire brigades and Party organizations. Collectors distinguish slight production variants as the M35, M40 and M42. Heer helmets were originally painted "apple green," a semigloss feldgrau somewhat darker than the uniform color; wartime factory and field painting covered a gamut from very dark black-green to slate-grey to olive-green (and sand-yellow in Africa), increasingly in matte or textured paint to eliminate reflections. The Army began issuing camouflage helmet covers in 1942, first in Splittertarnmuster (splinter-pattern) and then in Sumpftarnmuster (swamp/marsh or "water" pattern); these were never plentiful and individual soldiers frequently improvised helmet covers from splinter-pattern Zeltbahn (tent/poncho) fabric, or less frequently hand-painted their helmets in camouflage patterns. Soldiers would also cover their helmets with netting or chicken wire into which foliage could be inserted. Prewar and early-war Army Stahlhelme had shield-shaped decals on