Para Helmet

[Gran Sasso]

This is probably an artificially aged Chinese import.

Steve

That was my 1st impression, too.

[Reibert-Austria]

I believe this to be an early Fallschirmjäger helmet, comments very welcome.

Hi, mates !

Received this pot yesterday.
Is it an legit one ?

Thx. in advance,
R.

[Reibert-Austria]

2.):

[Reibert-Austria]

3.):

[Reibert-Austria]

4.):

[Collectinsteve]

I never did receive your pictures and then I went on the road for a week. However, I can confirm you have a genuine BW FJ helmet! And a beautiful one too. Size 60 makes it even better!

The features to note here are:

1. Crimped on reinforcement for the rim
2. Bolts for special tool, not flat head screwdriver
3. All leather liner with two large holes at the front and two at the back and 4 medium sized holes between
4. Shell color (though that can be modified)
5. BW gray colored straps

There are other differences with the WW2 type, I'm sure, but the things listed above are all indicators of a BW helmet and not anything else.

Steve

[STUG III]

BW FJ study of liners

Here a 4 of my 5 BW FJ liners, the 5th is in storage will take later shots. The top left lines shell is a olive drab with flat bolts attached. The other 3 are the gray type with flush style spanners. All have gray blue style chin straps. They all have size stamp as well, same font.
Look forward to comments.
Dave.

[STUG III]

Bw fj 2

top 2

[STUG III]

Bw fj 3

bottom 2

[Collectinsteve]

Look forward to comments.

Why on Earth do you have so many?
Why can't I be so $%(ing lucky?
Where do you live and when do you usually go on vacation?

I can keep this up all day

Seriously, big congrats to you on your good fortune! Obviously you have had some amazing opportunities to acquire so many in such great shape. You know as well as any of us that these things don't grow on trees.

Do you notice any minor production differences between your various examples? From your pics I would say that there is distinctly different runs of leather liners and variations on the size stamps. I'm guessing there's no differences with the shells? How about with the chin straps?

Steve

[STUG III]

BW FJ study of liners

Why thank you very much Steve. To start, 1. the chin straps all seem to be about the same with a difference of 2 end snaps, one pebbled one smooth. All are the blue gray type. 2. There differences with some of the spanner bolts, if you like I can post photos. 3. 4 are painted gray blue, ( the fifth just pulled out of storage), and one is brownish green. 5 liners feel like calf skin, very soft. In this Photo 3 have this type of spanner.
Again thank you Steve, and I rarely go on vacation!
Dave

[STUG III]

Spanner

1 with this type of spanner.

[STUG III]

Spanner

The brownish green has this type

[Gordon Craig]

STUG III,

Thanks for posting the pictures of the bolts in your helmets. I have a blue/grey helmet with the spanner type bolts as used by the Wehrmacht. I also have a brown helmet, with a sand finish, that was originally painted blue/grey. It also has spanner type bolts but the dimples in the bolts are so shallow that they would not be usable. The Lunftlande troops wore both colours during the trial period. As for the slotted bolts, pictures in Baer's Volume 2-(1919-1994) of "Vom Stahlhelm zum Gefechtshelm" seem to indicate that the slotted bolts were used in the very early test runs of these helmets. Particularly on helmets made by Schubert.

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

Thanks for the follow ups. Hmm... this is a little odd. Two things seem to be very consistent for the WW2 M38 type Bundeswehr helmets:

1. Spanners which have one central hole and two small holes (first picture you posted) and are recessed

2. Pebble grain snaps made by PRYM

The other two types of spanners you posted are seen on other types of FJ and the GSG helmets for sure, but their shells and liners are totally different. I don't know what to make of their presence on your helmets. Maybe at some point there were some replacements from the factory originals?

Steve