West German Helmets

[Brian Ice]

3.

[Brian Ice]

rear stamp: Q64 DN541

[Gordon Craig]

Brian,

Thanks for posting these great pictures of early BGS helmets. Much better reference than the black and white ones in Baer's Vol. 2.

Regards,

Gordon

[Guardian 5]

BGS Re-work with quasi-U.S. liner

Brian - Nice selection of BGS helmets!

Some years back the pictured BGS helmet was offered on Manion's - I lost! The liner is very similar to one of the helmets you posted. I'm intrigued by the RZM mark on the chin strap of your helmet and wonder if this was standard on TR civic models.

The Manion's helmet was an M-42 shell painted olive drab. The liner was stamped 54-57. Like yours, the liner was a German-U.S. hybrid. The chin strap was attached to a fixed bale welded to the inside of the shell. There was a label glued to the inside with the following caption:

Krause Hans

Hpt. Mt. i. BGS.

Stuetzpunkt (Support base?)

I wonder if these helmets were locally manufactured using the materials at hand before production of the M35/53?

TJ

[Guardian 5]

BGS M-42 shell

Here is a picture of the BGS M42 shell.

[Guardian 5]

Liner stamp and label

Liner stamp and label

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Another BGS ventless

Gents - Attached is another BGS ventless M35/53. It has the distinctive "LS" mongram of Firma Linnemann & Schnetzer stamped in the rear of the lid along with the numeral "66". The liner is stamped 57-61. Someone has also written "21 - VI" in black marker on the rear of the shell.

Since the shell size and liner size do not correspond, collectors such as Bruno Murgia and others suggest that the number stamped on the shell could represent the year of manufacture. Burgia also reports owning a BGS model with 49 stamped on the rim, possibly in contradiction of the year of manufacture theory. Unlike Brian's example, mine is painted in a smooth glossy finish.

Conventional wisdom contends that the Bundeswehr was compelled to adopt an American style helmet and discontinue use of the Model 1956 Splitter Pattern battle dress to avoid any unpleasant associations with the Third Reich. Yet the BGS, with a highly visible border security mission, wore the
M35/53 until 1990 when it was replaced with a riot control helmet. It also employed the Werhmacht inspired marsh pattern camo well into the 1980s, with nary a peep of protest from its supposedly sensitive neighbors!

Michael Gallagher, writing in a thread on the DDR's M56 helmet's lineage to the TR's Type B/II, has suggested that it was economics and not politics at play in the equipping of the BW. The BW had to expand rapidly, its goal upon founding was an army of 500,000 men. Perhaps Roemer and Linneman & Schnetzer, the main producers of the M35/53, were not tooled up to produce such a large number of helmets. Maybe, as Gallagher has suggested, it was easier to make use of the many U.S M-1 style helmets available in great quantity in the aftermath of the Korean War. Many of these helmets were produced by Belgium. What better way to quell the bad feelings of World War II than to award your neighbor with a huge defense contract? The same has been said of the BW's Model 1956 battle dress. It was slow and difficult to produce and manufacturers could not hope to keep up with demand.

The BGS never numbered more than 16,000 and would never serve outside of Germany. Why not use the remaining stocks of M35s & M42s supplemented by newly produced examples to equip a small border protection force in need of a distinctly German uniform?

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know of the root source (NATO, USAREUR, Allied Powers, Bundestag directives?) forbidding the BW to adopt the M35/53?
I've seen this reasoning used many times but am unaware of the source documentation.

That's it for now, I look forward to reading your comments.

Thanks - TJ

[Guardian 5]

Interior of smooth finish M35/53

Interior of smooth finish M35/53.

Bruno Murgia reports that the first M35/53s were produced by Roemer with air vents for export to Finland. The helmets made for the BGS were initially ventless. Murgia also contends that the vents were reintroduced after trooper complaints that the ventless model became extremely uncomfortable after extended wear in hot weather. Roemer produced vented M35/53s by firing up the line used to produce the Finnish export model. BW helmets never sported vents, though I'm positive soldiers would wear their helmets longer and more often than the border guards.

TJ

[Guardian 5]

M35/53 with net

M35/53 with standard BGS net.

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M35/53 with BGS Cover

The same helmet sporting an early BGS splinter pattern cover.

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BGS Honor Guard

This BGS Honor Guard appears to be wearing a re-worked M35.

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Close-up of re-worked M35

Close-up of re-worked M35.

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Oops - Some close-up!

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BGS Trooper wearing M35/53 with net

This BGS trooper was wearing what appears to be a ventless M35/53 with a net while undergoing basic training in 1963.

[Guardian 5]

Same trooper, same helmet without net.