M38 ET68 EARLY WAR FALLSCHIRMJAGER SD HELMET(P-O1)

This is a recent acquisition out of the great state of North Carolina out of a collector's estate sale and represents and great early war example of an untouched all original M38 single decal LW.  The leather liner is a beautifully aged vintage reproduction however the helmet's original foam pad was left in place as were all 4 original spanner bolts.  The chinstrap is original but not to the helmet and was recently added by myself as I was lucky enough to source one out.  So all in all the helmet is as original as could be hoped for given what I started out with.  The outside paint has an almost smooth to the touch hard enamel blue grau finish and base on it's low lot number strongly suggest a production year of early 1940 when they were first beginning to transition away from double decal helmets to single decal versions.  However, the flat textured paint finish was not being actively employed until deep into 1940/41 and so this represents that transitional time period when the paint still had a bit of a shine to it and not much if any texture was being added.  The decal rates about 65% and remarkably the outside and inside paint shows no rust bleeding, dents or cracks of any kind.  This helmet was definitely well cared for when it was taken from the capture pile back in 1945.  It was left high and dry since the end of the war in my view which is why the paint is still relatively fresh.  So many of these rare M38 beauties were left like any other helmet in damp basements, moldy barns and back sheds which is why so many of them have been rusty through and not fared well over time.  This is a great survivor helmet and is most likely exactly the same condition it was when last worn by it's original German paratrooper.  These helmets tend to be beaten up and well worn because they were always front line and always actively fighting through out the entire war.

$3500 SOLD- P. SMALL

Facebook Twitter
This entry was posted in LUFTWAFFE, Original, Sold. Bookmark the permalink.