BACKGROUND
The FJR6 in Normandy: Carentan was defended by two battalions of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 (6th Parachute Regiment), commanded by Oberst Friedrich von der Heydte, and remnants of 91 Air Landing Division's Grenadier-Regiment 1058. Both had escaped from nearby Saint Côme-du-Mont on 8 June when the village was captured by the 101st Airborne. II./FJR6 and III./FJR6 (2nd and 3rd Battalions, 6th Parachute Regiment) were still intact as fighting formations, but III./GR1058 had been nearly destroyed in three days of combat and was no longer effective as a unit. This helmet depicts a helmet used by the famous 6th Parachute Regiment as well as many other helmets from that same location all with the same camo pattern i.e. a medium tan base and light greens with actual sawdust embedded into the paint for added texture and concealment in the field.
DESCRIPTION
Here is one of those vintage paratrooper helmets that normally gets passed around the public auction sites as the real deal and creates a sort of hot potato effect whereby the last guy is always trying to unload it on to the next guy because he overpaid for it. In this case we know what is actually being sold here. A very, very high end museum quality European pressed M38 CKL71 Fallschirmjager helmet rear marked 3892 with the correct stamps, gauge of steel, shape and even the overall weight of roughly 1.55 kg (54.7 oz) for the shell are all spot on to known originals. As mentioned above this is an old vintage reproduction that has that nice musty, old engine odor to it much like grandpa's garage.
If you look at the side profile you will see that nice even angle where the side edge first starts to break upwards toward the front brow with a gentle enough slope that it almost appears to be flat bottomed. The reproduction Chinese junk and recently made better quality expensive UK reproductions fail to get this angle right as the edge break is far too abrupt and the shell height is not accurate. I believe this helmet may have been created by FJ Werkes about 20 years ago or that 1990's Czech company I cannot recall the name of that copied original shells using an authentic modified German helmet press. Both of these European based firms stopped making paratrooper helmets many years ago and most of what they have created has been passed off as the real deal for several decades now. And so they have become a commodity unto themselves much like an out of print book that is still in demand.
The camo pattern was inspired from known originals I have studied online and in books featuring a classic FJ6 Spring camo pattern with a deep yellow tan base layer followed by pneumatic blasts of light green paint accents. The paint was embedded with actual sawdust from pine logs I cut in the fall and mix directly into the paint just like the Germans did. I spent several weeks aging the helmet to give it that battle hardened look and am quite pleased with the overall results achieved. The inside liner was specifically created by a master leather maker out of Castelfranco, Italy who started making German WW2 paratrooper helmets about 10 years ago and only makes that particular model of liner in addition to his handbag line. The leather is goatskin just like the originals with historically accurate size and manufacturer ink stampings on the inside. The stitching is aged and in the correct end over end stitch method and not zigzag pattern like you see with cheap Asian imports. Basically a museum quality replica that was repainted and aged many decades ago in a beautiful Normandy camouflage pattern. Plus it is a wonderfully large size CKL71 with rear lot number 3982 and so large enough to fit most heads of today. The rear lot number 3982 matches up to known originals as a mid war single decal Luftwaffe helmet based on the lot data book by Brian Ice. So everything checks out for that uber detailed oriented German helmet collector.
A superb iconic helmet from a famous German WW2 Paratroop unit. A genuine one in this condition would run into tens of thousands.
$850 SOLD - Jude C.
Please call, text or email me if interested.
Tel/Text: 1-438-502-5052
Email Us: helmetsofwar@gmail.com
HELMETS OF WAR INC.
PO Box 555
Champlain, NY 12919-0555
Shipping to Anywhere USA/Canada: $22 with full tracking numbers.
Shipping to Europe/UK: $65 with full tracking numbers.
Shipping to Australia/New Zealand: $75 with full tracking numbers.
(Please contact us with any special shipping instructions as I am here to serve and facilitate the shipment.)
GERMAN HELMET FACTORY PRODUCTION CODES
(Every original German helmet produced from 1935 to 45 had two factory stampings punched into the side and rear or both in the rear. The alpha numeric number refers to the factory location and the inside metric circumference in centimeters. The rear lot number refers to the production run and was used as a quality control measure. The font styles used at each factory were slightly different but highly consistent throughout the war and so fakes or reproductions will either not have these numbers at all or they will use the wrong font style or letter spacing and so are easily identified as post war made.)
(FS or EF)-Emaillierwerke AG, Fulda, Germany
(ET or ckl)-Eisenhuttenwerke, Thale, Germany
(Q)-Quist, Esslingen, Germany
(NS)-Vereinigte Deutsche Nikelwerke, Schwerte, Germany
(SE or hkp)-Sachsische Emaillier u. Stanzwerke, Lauter, Germany
