Many members will have seen Major john Howards ox and Bucks lid at the famous bridge museum in normandy clearly painted black or deep deep green with flashes to the sides and a bullet hole through the top !! This has to be for me, the most breath taking helmet Ive ever had the pleasure to see.
That is why I am 100% with old smelly regardining this lid ,
from the photos there has clearly been a second coat of paint applied over the pea green factory finish ,
but it is nowhere near the same as the nasty olive green landrover paint so
commonly found on post war re issues .
These re issues in my experience are always web chin strap 43 /44 dated lids
with a horrible glossy paint finish and have names scribbled all over them.( although they all seem to have been at Arnhem!!!!)
We must remember that soldiers spent years training for the big day prior to June, 6 ,44 and intrestingly the Royal artilery are one of those units like the guards known for their spit / polish and paint Bull( hope this does not offend any guardsmen and gunners amongst us) and as OLD SMELLY pointed out if a unit were to apply decals I am sure the "powers that be" would have got all the lids upto scratch!
when you put it into perspective its only right that an extremely rare example like this is fetching the kind of money it deserves . you can see 30/ 40 or even 50 original german para helmets on the circuit but how many of these have you seen!!!!!!!
I' m glad I got mine for 45 quid years ago
That is why I am 100% with old smelly regardining this lid ,
from the photos there has clearly been a second coat of paint applied over the pea green factory finish ,
but it is nowhere near the same as the nasty olive green landrover paint so
commonly found on post war re issues .
These re issues in my experience are always web chin strap 43 /44 dated lids
with a horrible glossy paint finish and have names scribbled all over them.( although they all seem to have been at Arnhem!!!!)
We must remember that soldiers spent years training for the big day prior to June, 6 ,44 and intrestingly the Royal artilery are one of those units like the guards known for their spit / polish and paint Bull( hope this does not offend any guardsmen and gunners amongst us) and as OLD SMELLY pointed out if a unit were to apply decals I am sure the "powers that be" would have got all the lids upto scratch!
when you put it into perspective its only right that an extremely rare example like this is fetching the kind of money it deserves . you can see 30/ 40 or even 50 original german para helmets on the circuit but how many of these have you seen!!!!!!!
I' m glad I got mine for 45 quid years ago
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