History

The SA (Sturmabteilung, storm detachment) was established in 1921 as a paramilitary protection squad of the NSDAP. The members of the SA were tasked with protecting party leaders at political rallies and meetings from the paramilitary forces of the opposing political factions. The SA was first utilised on November 4, 1921 at a meeting held in Munich’s "Hofbräuhaus" beer hall. The organisation was banned after the failed putsch in 1923 and was reactivated in February 1925.

The earliest form of the SA kepi was first introduced around 1923. It was a brown visored cap in the style of a ski or mountain cap, with a cloth covered visor and two flaps buttoned at the front. Initially, it was worn with a cockade, and sometimes, contrary to regulations, with an NSDAP insignia. Additionally, often other unofficial insignia were added, mostly on the left side. The national eagle emblem replaced all other insignia as of June 1931.

The kepi is stiff and not foldable. It was nicknamed “coffee can” by its wearers. It was made from twill, cloth, or tricot. Around 1934, the colour shifted from light brown to a darker olive-brown. The kepi had a dark brown leather chin strap worn above the visor, held together by one or two brown metal buckles. As of late 1937, the side panels were directly sewn to the cap and no longer detachable.

Leader kepis for Standartenführer (Oberst or colonel equivalent) and up had additional piping along the crown, either in silver or in gold, matching the button colour that was worn. This was introduced on November 11, 1926.
In 1929, a two-colour piping system based on regional colours was introduced.

The following list contains the kepi top colour, followed by the region(s) that used it, as well as the 1926 piping/button colour and the 1929 two-colour piping (if piping was allowed) system in parentheses:

White: Nordbayern, Franken (silver, light blue/white); Ostpreußen, Ostland (gold, black/white); Halle, Merseburg, Magdeburg, Anhalt (silver, white/green); Hannover (gold, white/yellow); Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Nordmark (silver, white/red)
Dark red: Böhmen (silver, dark red/white)
Yellow: Baden (gold, yellow/red); Schlesien (silver, yellow/white); Mecklenburg (gold, yellow/black)
Green: Thüringen (gold, green/black); Sachsen (silver, green/white)
Light blue: Oberbayern, Niederbayern, Schwaben (silver, light blue/white); Hessen (silver, light blue/red); Rhein (gold, light blue/black)
Dark blue: Friesland, Oldenburg, Bremen (silver, dark blue/red)
Black: Württemberg (silver, black/red); Österreich (gold, black/yellow); Berlin, Brandenburg, Ostmark, Pommern (silver, black/white); Ruhr (silver, black/green); Pfalz, Saar, Elsaß-Lothringen (silver, black/blue)

Some of the 1926 top colours were changed in 1929. A few regions were merged with others, and a few new ones were added:

White: Ostpreußen, Ostland; Brandenburg, Ostmark; Danzig
Dark red: Böhmen
Brown: Österreich; Hannover; Friesland
Yellow: Baden; Schlesien; Franken; Halle, Merseburg, Magdeburg, Anhalt
Green: Thüringen; Sachsen; Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Nordmark; Lüneburg; Dithmarschen
Light blue: Oberbayern, Niederbayern, Schwaben
Blue: Pommern; Mecklenburg; Nassau; Oberpfalz
Dark blue: Hessen; Rhein
Black: Württemberg; Berlin; Ruhr; Pfalz, Saar, Elsaß-Lothringen

On September 20, 1932 a new list for leader top and piping colours was created. The top colour is given for the regions, with button colour and piping colour (if piping was allowed) following in parentheses, with sub-group or sub-district specifics, if necessary:

White: Ostland (silver, black/white); Ostmark (silver, white/black for Grenzland, white/red for Lausitz); Berlin-Brandenburg (Brandenburg-Ost and Brandenburg-West) (silver, white/red); Nordsee (Hamburg) (gold, white/green); Westfalen (silver, white/red)
Brown: Nordsee (Weser-Ems) (silver, brown/yellow); Niedersachsen (gold, brown/yellow); Österreich (silver, brown/white)
Yellow: Südwest (Baden and Pfalzsaar) (gold, yellow/red for Baden, gold, black/blue for Pfalzsaar); Franken (gold, yellow/black); Mitte (gold, yellow/green); Schlesien (silver, yellow/white)
Green: Ostsee (Pommern-Ost and Pommern-West) (gold, green/yellow); Nordmark (gold, green/red); Thüringen (gold, green/black); Sachsen (silver, white/green)
Blue: Ostsee (Mecklenburg) (gold, blue/yellow); West (silver, red/white for Hessen-Darmstadt, blue/red for Hessen-Nassau-Süd, blue/yellow for Hessen-Nassau-Nord, blue/black for Koblenz-Trier); Niederrhein (Köln-Aachen) (silver, blue/black); Hochland (silver, white/blue)
Black: Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Ost and Berlin-West) (silver, black/white); Nordsee (Hannover-Ost) (gold, black/yellow); Niederrhein (Essen and Düsseldorf) (silver, black/green); Südwest (Württemberg) (silver, black/red)

The very highest leaders of the organisation wore a red or crimson top. Not all leader ranks or positions necessarily wore a coloured top prior to 1932. Leaders often had either gold or silver piping along the crown and the flap, but this was not necessarily the case for all positions. Also, some positions instead wore the two-colour regional piping that was established in 1926 and adjusted in 1932. In some cases, gold or silver crown piping could be mixed with two-coloured flap piping.

On July 7, 1933, the use of coloured tops was extended to enlisted ranks as well. A list of top colours for regions, with piping (if piping was allowed) and button colours in parentheses after the name of the region follows:

Pink-red: Ostmark (black/white, gold), Kurpfalz (black/white, silver; until May 1934) and Südmark (red/white, silver; established September 1938)
Crimson: Wachstandarte (crimson/white, silver; established October 1934)
Dark wine-red: Ostland (black/white, gold) and Westfalen (black/white, silver)
Red-brown: Österreich (red/white, silver; beginning in May 1934) and Donau (red/white, gold; established September 1938)
Dark brown: Westmark (black/white, silver) and Niedersachsen (black/white, gold)
Orange-yellow: Mitte (black/white, gold) and Südwest (black/orange-yellow, silver)
Yellow: Schlesien (black/white, silver) and Franken (white/blue, gold)
Apple-green: Pommern (black/white, gold) and Thüringen (white/red, silver)
Emerald-green: Sachsen (white/emerald-green, silver) and Nordmark (black/white, gold)
Steel-green: Österreich (red/white, silver; until May 1934), Nordsee (black/white, gold) and Kurpfalz (black/white, silver; beginning in May 1934)
Light blue: Hochland (white/light blue, silver) and Bayerische Ostmark (white/light blue, gold)
Blue-grey: Sudetenland (yellow/red, gold; established November 1938) and Weichsel (silver/brown, silver; established March 1940)
Cornflower blue: Warthe (silver/brown, silver, established March 1940) and Oberrhein (silver/brown, silver, established March 1941)
Navy blue: Hansa (light blue/yellow, gold) and Hessen (light blue/red, silver)
Black: Niederrhein (black/white, gold) and Berlin-Brandenburg (black/white, silver)
Grey: Generalgouvernment (silver/brown, silver; established September 1942)

Therefore, as of July 7, 1933, for the first time, all ranks, enlisted and leader ranks alike, were to wear a top in their respective regional colour.

To make the higher leader ranks more visible, on July 19, 1933 “Tresse” (braids) along the upper edge of the flap was introduced. Wearers had to command a unit in at least the size of a Standarte or hold the position of chief of a department to qualify. In this sense, Tresse was not a symbol for ranks, but rather positions. It was either in gold or silver, depending on the wearer’s button colour.

Chiefs of Staff wore a 2cm wide gold Tresse.
Leaders of Groups and Department Chiefs wore silver piping around the flap and a 2cm wide silver Tresse.
Leaders of a Brigade wore two-coloured piping around the flap and a 1.5cm wide silver Tresse.
Leaders of a Standarte wore two-coloured piping around the flap and a 1cm wide silver Tresse.

As of February 14, 1934, Staff Leaders wore a 1cm wide gold with interwoven red Tresse.
Also, beginning in 1934, wearing of the two-coloured piping around the crown was only allowed for the ranks of Sturmhauptführer, Obersturmführer, and Sturmführer, and wearing around the flap edge was only allowed for the ranks of Standartenführer, Oberführer, and Brigadeführer.

Two-coloured piping was officially discontinued around 1940 and replaced with gold or silver piping, but it was still worn by some well into 1941. All gold piping and gold buttons (except for the Chiefs of Staff, as well as for Marine-SA members) were discontinued in May of 1941 and replaced with silver versions.

In 1933, Ehrenführer (honorary leader) positions were introduced. They were allowed to wear a velvet silver-grey top. In early 1934, this was changed to regular region or staff top colours.

As of April 22, 1931, the very highest medical officials within the SA were allowed to wear a violet cap top. This was changed on July 7, 1933, when a violet top was granted for wear by all medical SA members. Simultaneously, administrative SA members began wearing a blue cap top. Medical members that wore piping began to wear violet piping, and administrative members who had worn the two-coloured piping wore blue crown piping instead. The violet and blue cap tops were discontinued in March of 1934 and replaced with the regular regional cap top colour. The violet and blue piping was also discontinued. Medical and administrative colours on SA caps are extremely rare.