Is this a legit Versuchshelm?

[StevenB3518]

I agree.. other than the strange bolts everything looks the same as the several that I have collected.

[U-96]

Any thoughts about the camo cover btw?

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[peregrinvs]

Going by the example I own, the extra holes in the bolts are only there for cosmetic reasons as the spacing isn’t consistent and a single sized M38 type tool wouldn’t do anything useful. Perhaps the OP has one where - because they aren’t functional - they didn’t bother to add the holes or it got overlooked?

[Gordon Craig]

Going by the example I own, the extra holes in the bolts are only there for cosmetic reasons as the spacing isn’t consistent and a single sized M38 type tool wouldn’t do anything useful. Perhaps the OP has one where - because they aren’t functional - they didn’t bother to add the holes or it got overlooked?

peregrinvs,

I would have to disagree with your comment on the holes in the heads of the bolts. They are not there just for looks. They are functional. To tighten the nut on the inside of the helmet you need to be able to hold the bolt so that it will not turn when the nut is tightened. I have never tried to fit an M38 tool into the post war holes in the bolts so I can not comment on whether they should fit or not.

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

peregrinvs, Gordon is correct. The center hole is for the tool to line up, the smaller side holes are to give the tool torque for tightening the bolts. Without the side holes there is no way to turn or hold the bolt head for tightening. Which is why they look a little loose on this helmet.

As for different spacing, thus requiring different tools, I don't know what to say about that. The physics of how it works, however, is the same.

Here is a link to a reproduction of the tool:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-GERMAN...-/311613574295

This sort of bolt isn't unique to this helmet. A very similar tool is used for barricade safety blinkers. It makes it more difficult to steal them than if they used a standard bolt:



Steve

[Collectinsteve]

Any thoughts about the camo cover btw?

Looks like a more recently made reproduction cover. Bundeswehr didn't use covers on their helmets until Flecktarn was developed. Well, not officially anyway. Soldiers did adapt Splittertarn hoods to fit the US type helmet.

Steve

[U-96]

Thanks for all the help!
Still keeping the helmet

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[peregrinvs]

Here's some pictures of the bolts on my helmet + a comparison with an M38 bolt. The side holes are not consistently positioned or sized, (one particularly so) hence I struggle to believe they were intended to be tightened from the exterior - M38 style - with a standard sized tool. They can be tightened easily enough from the interior by turning the nut with a socket tool.

[Collectinsteve]

Interesting. Well, at least to me it is

I don't know where my untouched BW helmet and some spare strap sets are at the moment, but I do have my repainted SEK BW helmet in front of me. Three of the four bolt heads are correctly and consistently spaced. The fourth is a little off center as shown in picture above.

I looked through my reference folder of collector's helmets and about 8 of them had useful pictures of the bolts. Without tallying them up, I'd say the majority of them were correctly spaced, but a significant number were consistently off center as mine and one of peregrinvs'. I even saw one bolt head that has the hole too close to the edge, again similar to one of peregrinvs' bolt heads.

I think we can rule out the BW bolts' rim holes being there for "aesthetic" purposes. There's no reason why the BW would pay to have them there for looks reasons only. Therefore, they are there for an intended purpose. And that purpose is obviously the same as the M38 type which is to allow for good tightening. Yes they can be tightened from inside, but that is true for the WW2 helmets as well. It's definitely more difficult to do from inside, especially without a ratchet socket set (not real common in the 1950s AFAIK). Regardless, just because there was intention doesn't mean it worked as intended!

For various reasons is not uncommon for rough edges to exist in trials stuff, so it could be that the tooling for these bolts was generally sloppy. That would explain the hole alignment issues as well as the one without any holes at all. Simply put, they didn't have the quality controls in place to assure "mil spec quality" because they had only a small order to fulfill. "You get what you pay for".

Steve

[Peter_Suciu]

I have one of these helmets, with the M38 style bolts. I bought it at a Bill Goodman Gun Show in the Detroit area in January 1983 when I was just a freshman in high school and couldn't afford a WWII M38.

The dealer was an importer of H&K small arms for the commercial market and had a small poster/flyer (wish I had a photo of it) of the West German soldiers wearing the pattern helmet and holding the MP5 SMG. I have searched for years and been unable to find that poster.

I didn't ask at the time why he had the helmet, but his price was $95 and he took $87 for it. Sorry I don't have more information but that is all I can remember about this particular purchase.

[Nachrichten]

This just posted in the Fallschirmjäger Forum:

https://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/for...ooper-portrait

Really curious.

I find all the 'bling' a little odd, but not impossible.

N

[Nachrichten]

Just to facilitate the exercise, I've uploaded the image in question:

N