Go on, post your FJ DAK Helmet!!!

[John Hodgin]

John, very interesting relic .I always wanted to know how similar finds from the area might look..not bad condition I'd say and also very interesting color of camo ...would be very interested to see more pix..

Greetings Sergey,

It would be great if the color you can see on the M38 shell from El Alamein was original camo paint but regrettably this is not the case. The khaki color on the shell is desert sand, am attaching a photo of the interior showing the sand still in the interior and around the bolts. And another photo from the book. Should you want to see more of the helmet, please state views or details and I'll post them. The holes in the shell are from rust IMO, not battle damage.

Best,
John

[eubank]

Another reason to get the book Sergey
chapter 15, the “Staff Ride....” by Gen. Bowra is fascinating in itself !
John Is the m38 still actually quite solid and quite heavy , or very fragile ?

[eubank]

For useful reference here , pictures from an old thread , an m38 picked up by a British soldier in Tunisia ...

[John Hodgin]

Anand, I think I’ve seen that Tunisian helmet before.

The relic helmet from El Alamein is actually quite solid. Of course the metal is thin where the holes are, but it still sound.

[eubank]

It's also in your book
What are your comments as to the variety ( or is there any general consistency ?) of Sturm /FJR5 helmets in Africa John ?

[Sergey K.]

Greetings Sergey,

It would be great if the color you can see on the M38 shell from El Alamein was original camo paint but regrettably this is not the case. The khaki color on the shell is desert sand, am attaching a photo of the interior showing the sand still in the interior and around the bolts. And another photo from the book. Should you want to see more of the helmet, please state views or details and I'll post them. The holes in the shell are from rust IMO, not battle damage.

Best,
John

Thanks, John , this is why I asked for additional pix, agree all holes made by rust but not battledamages.. and I also must say it was already dug up before found by Bowra, it hasn't any remnants of the liner , straps etc..and holes from rust totally covered by sand as well as everything inside, so I guess someone dug up it many years before Bowra and took off remnants of the inner parts, then shell was left there for years till Gen. Bowra found it again.. but even in this case it's in quiet solid condition and I can imagine if the shell was dug up only one time it could be in much better condition and even without so many holes . It always happens when dug up item lefts on surface.. it becomes more worster very fast , probably couple of years enough to lost all paint and rust comes through steel at many points..

[John Hodgin]

Thanks for the insightful and excellent observations Sergey. Always wondered about this and agree. Always wondered how artifacts are affected by the harsh desert climate over time. Pieces in cold climates seem better preserved; would like to learn more from you about this. The Folgore helmet Ken recovered has remnants of the liner band but no leather survived on it either.

[John Hodgin]

It's also in your book
What are your comments as to the variety ( or is there any general consistency ?) of Sturm /FJR5 helmets in Africa John ?

Thought it was the same, the photos show the helmet far better than the ones supplied for the book. Should have gotten the book out and checked Anand.

Regrettably, I don't have enough experience with Rgt. 5 helmets to have specific intel.. Known examples in collections are few, however period photos do suggest variety of painting techniques used.

[eubank]

Thanks John. Yes there are Willi’s and Mikeys as shown in these pages earlier , but there seem to probably be an even wider variety of camo’s in Sturm/FJR5 in Tunisia.
Cheers.

[eubank]

......

[eubank]

This is a well known picture , but here it shows clearly the interesting texture to the helmet of Lt Seemuller ( second from right) of l/ FJR5 ...

[eubank]

And this picture , also in Tunisia , taken 10 March ‘43 , demonstrating one with dabs of green on the tan ....some real variety in Tunisia ....