DESCRIPTIONÂ
A vet art painted M40 Q66 Luftwaffe SD helmet that most likely previously served in one of their ground force divisions before being captured by a US veteran of the 29th Infantry Division.
This is one of the best veteran art helmets I have ever come across. Originally sourced directly from the vet's grandson John Ty Amrhein who lives in Mc Gaheysville, VA 22840. He told me that his grandfather died when he was very young and so didn't know him that well. I'm still waiting on original photos and a copy of his grandfather's service record however in this sad case once the seller was paid in full he basically ghosted me and won't email me back on any of my follow up questions. I guess he's too busy to preserve his own family's history? In any event the helmet speaks for itself and is definitely trying to tell us quite a lot.
Breaking It Down
Here's how I have broken it down as best I can. Firstly we look at the helmet model and rear lot number, this is a Quist M40 helmet in a size 66 shell with a rear lot number of 8102. According to Brian Ice's lot data book this places the helmet's factory production year to 1940 to a time when the Germans had just taken over Poland and France and still winning the war. At this time the German would have appeared exactly the same on the inside as it does now having a smooth RAL7016 blue gray enamel paint on the inside and a slightly rough textured paint on the outside with a single Quist Luftwaffe adler (eagle) decal applied to the wearer's lefthand side.
For the next 3-4 years the helmet would have went unchanged and probably served safely behind the front lines on some airfield in France or Belgium. Then ones the tides of war started to turn after the loss at Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht High Command began dismantling unnecessary Luftwaffe crews and flight support workers until a front line fighting force to try to stop the red steam roller Soviets swarming from the East.
At this time in early 1944 the Fuhrer had placed most of his trust in Himmler and wanted him to take over the roll of battle command. Goring was no longer fully trusted since his failure to supply the men at Stalingrad and his ever increasing drug use which had become obvious to most decision makers. As a result the Fuhrer tried to give total control over all Luftwaffe units under Himmler's command to do with them what he wanted. Goring then apparently through a tantrum and told them he would create his own Luftwaffe Ground Force Divisions to battle the Russians and Allies insisting that he oversees his own men in his own way.
In the 1944 those specialized Luftwaffe Ground forces were formed and were often poorly trained middle aged men serving under Goring who had never seen direct combat. These units were hastily trained to sent directly to the Eastern Front as soon as they were ready.
This helmet matches up to one of those units in my opinion since the original blue gray exterior was neatly hand painted over by brush into a dark sage green textured overpaint. At this time I believe the Luftwaffe soldier had access to original LW decals and so placed a new one overtop of his new green paint job. Unfortunately, in my opinion this solider did not seal in the decal via lacquer resin as would have been done at the factory. He just didn't realize that this was an extra step after the decal was applied or didn't have access to the lacquer. As a result this new Luftwaffe eagle
(when I say new I mean applied in 1944) was not fully protected from the elements. Over time this caused the decal to fade a little more quickly than it would have otherwise with the lacquer protection. This is why I believe the decal lacks a touch of detail and appears a little bit faded.
Then in 1944/45 the US vet while moving through German positions would have acquired this helmet and most likely mailed it back home to himself while still in theater. When he got back home this proud veteran of the US 29th Infantry Division would have been someone handy at drawing and painting and so went ahead and used his war trophy to tell his own story.
On the front of the helmet is a proudly painted symbol of the US 29th Infantry fighting division who stormed the beaches of Normandy and went on to liberate the rest of Europe. On the top dome he has clearly hand painted all of the towns and villages he liberated along the way which is fascinating especially if you use this sites to draw a map showing his path across Europe. On the side of the helmet and front he has painted a German symbol on one side and the words "29 Let's Go" on the front . All of the countries he liberated were painted on has flags from left to right showing France, Belgium, Holland and then Germany.
Fantastic piece of WW2 history and a real shelf Queen and conversation piece that's for sure!!
CURRENTLY IN MY PRIVATE COLLECTION FOR NOW BUT AS THE SAYING GOES EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE - EXCEPT MY WIFE- BUT MAYBE EVEN HER ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE GETS EXTRA NAGGY
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 Anywhere Europe/UK: $90 with full tracking numbers.
Shipping to Australia/New Zealand: $100 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
