HELMETS... HELMETS...

[indonesische]

#2 M42 DD WH a bit minty apple green unissued?
- Factory marker: ET64 (Eissenhutten Werke)
- Factory location: Thale, Germany
- Lot number: 22?7
- Shell size: 64
- Liner size: 57
* DD WH = Double Decal Wehrmacht Heer

This one I got from a friend of mine, a German (back in 2009). It was found by his father in a basement of a building in Berlin (amongst many other things) during a renovation a while back. It’s a rather rare piece. Lot number 22?7 indicates early type, by which mostly early DD WH only applied on M35 and M40. So the fact that this one is a model M42 DD WH, indicates a possible field applied decals.









Regards,
Eddie

[labrador]

Wow, that looks really mint! Nice reference for the color as well. Thanks for posting Edie.

[jnmodeller]

wow that's a treasure.

[darktide]

Double decal M-42's are unusual... Not to say they don't exist, as decals were available for private purchase, so a German soldier could have done what he wanted.

On a DD M-40 Heer helmet in my collection the national colors shield isn't even white anymore, it is yellow. Same as on a DD M-40 SS helmet that I have. The white circle around the swastika has also turned yellow. Maybe this was stored in a dark place and hardly ever saw light, which may account for it still being white.

[indonesische]

good observation, rare indeed. definitely field applied. some of them are re-issued. a DD over an SD (helmet started its life as a Single Decal, then applied Double Decal during the course of its life, like this one most likely)

these "bizarre variants" also found on M42 'ckl' and 'hkp' shell with lotnr (lot number) range of 4000 to 4999. but since this M42 with low lot number (early), the fact that it's a DD, makes it a good chance that it was field applied.

BTW, still lookin forward to hearing more story on your M40 SS. it's a good lookin' one, mate!

love to hear more on the heavily lacquered decal.. so far it looks good.

[indonesische]

things soldat do in the field..

check this WH DDDDDDDD ()! LOL

[jnmodeller]

they also have inverted decal, or is it done intentionally
[/IMG]

[darktide]

Aug 21, 2010 16:39:18 GMT 8 jnmodeller said:

they also have inverted decal, or is it done intentionally

[/IMG][/quote]

I could be wrong here, but I think that helmets with the SS runes on the left side side instead of the right were used by non-German SS units or foreign SS volunteers or whatever you call them.

[darktide]

Aug 21, 2010 15:13:03 GMT 8 indonesische said:

good observation, rare indeed. definitely field applied. some of them are re-issued. a DD over an SD (helmet started its life as a Single Decal, then applied Double Decal during the course of its life, like this one most likely)

these "bizarre variants" also found on M42 'ckl' and 'hkp' shell with lotnr (lot number) range of 4000 to 4999. but since this M42 with low lot number (early), the fact that it's a DD, makes it a good chance that it was field applied.

BTW, still lookin forward to hearing more story on your M40 SS. it's a good lookin' one, mate!

love to hear more on the heavily lacquered decal.. so far it looks good.

I got the SS M-40 around 20 years ago (that's when I started collecting helmets) at a show in US. During that time, they weren't cheap but they certainly cost much, much less than they do now. If I remember correctly, SS helmets were going for anywhere from US 250.00-400.00. FJ helmets were something like US 800.00, even at that time. Waaay beyond my budget.

The helmet has a rough finish, so that's probably why the decal looks misshapen, when it was applied over this. Yes, the silver background of the runes has a yellowish gold tinge to it, from the laquer aging.

It is a size 62. The stampings on the inside of the skirt are;

S62
D178

There is a story behind my DD Heer M-40... I saw it in the front of a display window in a gun store in Long Island, NY. It was on the floor of the display, amongst a bunch of other helmets. I walked in and asked the guy behind the counter if it was for sale. He said it wasn't. Disappointed, I walked out of the store and went home.

I was staying at a friend's house in Long Island. When I got home I told my friend about the helmets. As luck would have it, his girlfriend's Dad worked part-time at that same gun store. Of course he knew the Dad. This M-40 ended up being given to me for free, along with a Swedish M-26 helmet.

On this helmet the stampings are covered by a thick layer of paint.

On my M-35 the stampings are;

SE64
4801

[indonesische]

True. Some foreign SS volunteers did have SS runes shield placed on the left side. (I wish I had a sample pic!) I saw one or two posted in helmet collectors forum from time to time, but didn’t bother to copy it to my HD

Judging from the lot number “D178”, your M40 SS is Nikelwerke Schwerte made. Only NS shells have lot number with initial alphabet “D”. Also the decal is a definite 1st pattern (sharp blitzen runes), type usually came with shells made by “EF” (Emaillierwerke Fulda) or “Q” (Quist) factory. Although NS shells usually came with 2nd pattern (Block champagne runes), some are known to bear 1st pattern. Yours is a rare combination indeed. You still have it with you, darktide?

[darktide]

Aug 21, 2010 23:49:23 GMT 8 indonesische said:

True. Some foreign SS volunteers did have SS runes shield placed on the left side. (I wish I had a sample pic!) I saw one or two posted in helmet collectors forum from time to time, but didn’t bother to copy it to my HD

Judging from the lot number “D178”, your M40 SS is Nikelwerke Schwerte made. Only NS shells have lot number with initial alphabet “D”. Also the decal is a definite 1st pattern (sharp blitzen runes), type usually came with shells made by “EF” (Emaillierwerke Fulda) or “Q” (Quist) factory. Although NS shells usually came with 2nd pattern (Block champagne runes), some are known to bear 1st pattern. Yours is a rare combination indeed. You still have it with you, darktide?

Yes, I still have it. :-) I was very active collecting helmets 20 years ago, stopped for several years and then started again 2 years ago. I have never sold or disposed of any of my helmets (so far). At one point I considered selling some, but I changed my mind. Actually, the pics posted here aren't updated... I've gotten some new additions since. Usually post them in my Facebook account.

I miss the days when militaria used to be super cheap... I saw quite a bit of US WW2 gear being sold at good prices when I was in Vietnam recently. I saw 2 grenade and 4 grenade pouches (I think these were used by the marines) as well as Carlisle pouches. These were being sold for US 1.00. They also had loads of WW2 dated US canteens (already have those... what I am looking for/ trying to get is the all-black enamelled canteen used by US troops in WW2). Easy to spot the WW2 stuff as the color is different from "typical" US Vietnam gear.

I don't know if you guys have seen those pics of huge mountains of German helmets used to fill up landfills in England.

I'll be going around Europe in a couple of months, visiting battlefields, military museums, and stuff like that. Of course, I'm going to see what I can scrounge from there.

[darktide]

North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Vietnam War-era sun/ pith helmet with netting/ camo cover.



Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) M-1 pattern steel helmet. The liner suspension system is different from that of the US M-1.

[kalbs]

Cool, Do you have a picture of the M1 liner? I'd like to see the difference

[Pumba]

the liner is green and plastic. thing for the head is set up just about the same. The local liner is really cheap. Something like P150 or so. Just dont show it off hee hee

[Pumba]

Ok seriously...I got myself one of those fiberglass doughboys. How do I make it look rusty and old?