German M1942 helmet

Hello what do you think about this helmet ?







This post has been edited by Claudiu1988 on September 29, 2005 02:52 pm

Nice piece!
May I ask where did you get it?

Hello Andi I bought this helmet from an military shop in Lihtenstein this summer for 200 EURO. At the shop he had all kind of helmets Waffen SS, Luftwaffe etc, uniforms, medals, military equipment, documents all kind of stuff. The owner of the shop had his own museum.

This post has been edited by Claudiu1988 on September 30, 2005 09:34 am

From what I have seen on the Internet I think it worth the money.
(Especially when I know that it's impossible to make a repro helmet look like that, if you know what I mean)
The market out there is full of good quality and hard to distinguish repros.
I myself would rather buy a helmet in raw condition, even only the rusty( but solid) shell. (actually that's the condition of most of the german helmets sold here, in Roumania, but I know they are not fakes).
ANDI

Hello Andi in Romania the german helmets are very expensive for example I bought my first german helmet 4 years ago from Brasov with 2.500.000 lei. I think it's expensive. It was only the shell. At this shop in Brasov they have a lot of german helmets battlefield relics. Are you from Bucarest? I am from Constanta.

Andi can you tell me what helmets do you have because we can make some exchange. I have russian ssh 40 helmets and romanian M39 helmets.

I am from Bucharest, yes. I know the shop you are talking about in Brasov. I have also seen there some german helmet shells but they were too expensive indeed.
Are you a "veteran" helmet collector? I have only a M73 airforce helmet (painted blue over standard green) and a M39 roumanian helmet with dutch liner and King Carol's cypher on front, in VG condition and some good "theory" about ww1 austro-hungarian, german(+ww2) and roumanian headgear.
But if I am going to get anything else I know "were to call".
Regards,
ANDI

No I'm not a "veternan" colector I started my colection 5 years ago. Here in Constanta we have only one antick shop. If you go sometime at the antick shops in Bucarest please look for Romanian ww2 equipment items: gas masks water bottles etc. What books about helmets do you have and where did you get them?

Best regards Claudiu

This post has been edited by Claudiu1988 on October 01, 2005 08:43 am

Hello Andi I that is my colection. I will put more pictures later with my medals and documents.

Congratulation for the helmet, Claudiu!

It is indeed a M.42 model. I think that it’s original, as the point of rust are very difficult to reproduce. Don’t know about liner and strap, but they look original too.
You must be very careful when purchase 3rd Reich items in Western Europe. There are a lot of copies on the market because there is a great demand of such things. Generally, the copies are in very good condition and the prices are less expensive which make them accessible for younger collectors.

I have seen on different Militaria fairs German helmets, found in former Czechoslovakia or some East European countries (this is the typical story), complete but with shell repainted , for 150 Euros.

In Bucharest antic shops, you have to pay 200 Euros for a rusty shell of a German helmet. I’ve also seen old rusty shells, roughly “restored” with plaster, painted and decorated with side decals, sell for 300 Euros. That is a shame. I wonder if there are clients for this kind of pieces.

Yes there are clients that buy helmets like that. I sow in Lichtenstein original german helmets with facke decals for 150 euro and they had clients. There are people that buy this kind of helmets. Yes I think is a shame because a lot of helmets are " destroyed " like this.

A great place to find German helmets is Bulgaria, their army continued to use these helmets until recently. The helmets are repainted and usually the liners are replaced but they are really cheap.

I reccomend this site: http://bulgariana.com/index.php?cPath=60_7...3ebda67e84ecab3

The prices are as low as USD 12 (plus USD 10 for postage), an affordable price for anybody who wants to own a German helmet. I bought something from this guy some time ago and he is reliable.

Yes, I also bought from Boyan Savov repeatedly and he appears to be O.K.

Gen. Dénes

There is a difference between M.35 German and M.36 Bulgarian (German made) helmets.
At the end of 1930s, as other European countries, Bulgaria was looking for a genuine pattern of helmet, and in 1936 they adopted a new model. This was close in shape with the M.1916 german model, the Bulgarians also used during WW1.
The two models, the M.35 German and the M.36 Bulgarian, are similar as they came from the same background, but there are some differences concerning the shape of shell and the brims. The Bulgarian M.36 model was also carried during the communist era, together with the Soviet M.41 model. It is more easy to find and, consequently, cheaper than the German pattern.
I think the correct advertise for such a helmet should be: “German style and manufactured Bulgarian M.36 helmet”



(www.md.government.bg/.../ znariajenie/z16s-m.jpg)


(www.quanonline.com/.../ volunteer_m35_helmet.jpg)

I don't want to bother anyone, but IMHO the liner appears to be to new to the shell condition. Don't say is not a real one but it appears to be a late adition to the shell. of course i could be wrong. Claudiu please be so kind and tell us what markings are on the helmet and on the metal circles of the liner, i'm curious of the manufacturer of the shell.
Thanks
PS....And Kepi you are perfectly right. there are only 3 tipes of german helmets M 35, M 40, M42. The diference between M 35 and M 40 are the vent holes which in the M 35 is a hollow rivet and in M 40 is a stamped one. Another diference is in the liner, M 35 liner circles are made of aluminium while the other's M 40 & 42 are made of zinc or steel. The M 42 has no rolled in edges of the shell.

The shell is marked "2702" and and the other marking is not so good (the rust eat it) but I think is this firm because you can se a "c" ET (or ckl)
"Eisenhüttenwerke". How can I take the liner off?

This post has been edited by Claudiu1988 on November 10, 2005 10:38 am