DESCRIPTION
This helmet was inspired from original photos and YouTube videos showing Waffen-SS units fighting in the Battle of the Bulge during the Ardennes Offensive in late 1944. These involved the 1st SS Panzer Division (Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler), 2nd SS Panzer (Das Reich) and the 9th SS Panzer (Hohenstaufen) under Sepp Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army spearheading the initial German assault.
These elite units would often hand paint over their helmets in a winter wash paint often made up of gasoline soluble sodium bicarbonate or an equivalent chalk mixture. This would be removed by petrol or hot boiling water in the Spring to get back to it's original feld grau paint color. In most cases the decals would be neatly painted around by way of a 1 inch horse hair brush or simply painted over which as a collector just doesn't look quite as cool compared to still having an exposed decal.
This one of a kind original creation is meant to pay tribute to those camo helmets that are rarely seen in today's marketplace as most were captured or had their white winter camo paint removed before being captured.
The white paint I used is very similar to the bicarbonate mixture the Germans used and can actually be removed with some soap and hot water if the owner so chooses. I went ahead with a green tree branch style pattern imitating the evergreen trees that the Germans would have found themselves concealing behind typical of the French and Belgian terrain.
The entire helmet was given heavy aging and darkening of the white paint to create this rustic tea toning effect. The inside liner is high quality pigskin leather which was widely being used after 1942 as a cost savings alternative. The SS decal is white metallic and has a real luster to it much like the inside of an oyster shell with a dark tea toning suggesting true combat conditions and 80 + years of subsequent aging.
The shell is a CKL66 with a size 59 liner and so well above average in terms of size for the period and will fit most men's heads of today. The rear lot number 2770 suggests a production date of late 1942 to early 1943 according to Brian Ice's lot data book.
I consider my restorations to be a form of historical art and meant to save collectors from having to spend thousands and thousands on an original camo. My hope is that you will enjoy checking out my unique creations and it will inspire you to continue collecting and thereby preserving our shared WW2 history!
$500
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: $90 with full tracking numbers.
Shipping to Australia/New Zealand: $100 with full tracking numbers.
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 mainly 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. A little bit of research and knowledge will pay dividends as you move ahead on your collecting journey.)
(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
