Some of you might know me from the edged weapons forum, as I am primarily a dagger-guy. However, last falI I came across my first helmet.

It´s funny how sometimes the stuff we collect just seem to turn up when you talk to people about your hobby. I came across a guy whos father used to steal ammunition and helmets from german bunkers as a kid. Naturally I asked if he still had these things. He replied that he had one helmet, but he doubted that it would be something I would be interested in. He told me not to get my expectations up as it was old and rusty.
To be honest, as a dagger guy with, at the time, limited knowledge about helmets, I thought the same when he pulled it out from his garage.

However I still bought it because I liked the fact that it was a local woodwork find. He also signed a letter telling the story of where his father stole the helmet. Second hand story, I know, but still better than no provenance. I took a picture of the helmet and letter outside the house when I picked it up as «proof».

Sad thing though, he told me he had thrown two other helmets on the landfill a couple of months earlier when cleaning out his late fathers house(!). They were the same with the net on top. I drove to the landfill and asked every single worker there if they had found them, but it was hopeless.

Here are my thoughts on the helmet:

M35 DD Luftwaffe drop tail eagle.
Reinforced aluminium liner marked D.R.P Schuberth-Werk K - G Braunschweig 1938.
Makermark is ET 66, lot number 3768.
Leather stamped size 58.
Green camo paint and old fish net.
Possible old white camo under?
Domestamp: "Fliegerhorst-Kom(or Komp)”. Probably for Kommandantur or Kompanie.
FP-number: L12790
Please note the white letters IS/IC right next to the lot number. I guess its part of a name or something.
Newspaper under the liner leather.
Chinstrap is shortened.

A few thoughts on the net. I understand they are highly debated and that it is hard to know when they were applied. I have asked an old colleague who is very much into fishing. He is certain that this is the kind of net they used to trap large groups of fish. I believe so too. Fishing was a huge industry here on the west coast of Norway those days. Combined with the helmets history I personally have no doubt it was applied during the war. I have applied some photos that shows the interaction between the paint and the net.

As you can see on the one picture there is a newspaper under the liner. The leather is very dry and I´m afraid to damage the leather if I try to bend it any more.
I think I will leave the newspaper where it is.

Even though I thought this helmet initially was old crap I have since realized that I did quite well on my first helmet.

All the best
MrMiler