Luft. tropical pithhelmet questions.

[Jos L C]

Hi,
About the Luft trop.pithhelmet I know they came in :

Tan
Yellow/Tan
Green
Blue
White ?
and foreign types.

I don't think the Luftwaffe ever had the felt type like the Heer had !?

The blue six-panel one is probably hard to find...

Anyone has a nice picture of the blue one ??

and what will be the average price of a green one and what of the blue version ??

Also does someone has a aluminium pith eagle to show here ?

Jos.

[J Melvin]

Jos, I have seen the following combinations up close:

Heer Green with Green Leather (probably an early Heer converted)
Green with Brown Leather
French Blue Four Panel
Tan with Brown Leather

I've only seen photos of the following:

Blue Six Panel - Ralph Heinz had his hands on this one at one time
White Six Panel - In Angolia's book, I believe (could this be a converted KM?).
Italian Models

The blue and white are next to impossible to come by. There are three greens with brown leather on the market that I am aware of (ranging from a low of $700 to $950). There are no blue six panel models. My guess would put this one at over $2K, if you found it. The four panel blue models run in the $800 - $1000 range. I sold one on ebay a few months back for $995.

[johnrtse]

There are a couple of supposed Luft. Piths on Ebay right now. I wouldn't mind having one- to go along with the eagle emblem I have now

Not meaning to hijack Jos' thread, but how do you tell a Heer or KM pith from a Luftwaffe pith?

[J Melvin]

John, there are certain colors associated with the pith helmet and which branch used them. The tan with brown leather is the one normally attributed to the Luftwaffe (and KM??). The green canvas with green leather is usually considered to be Heer. Those cover the typical versions. Everything else is more or less a variation. If you see a green with green leather, however, do not discount it is a Luft. Early, prior to the development of Luft tropical gear, many items were supplied straight out of Heer stocks. So, you can and will find green canvas with green leather Luft piths.

[Jos L C]

Thanks sofar,guys..!

John,is your emblem a lufteagle and if so can we take a look at it ?

I'm still learning the types of eagles and Jack doesn't mind either seeing another one,not ?

Compared with the tan helmets howmany % was blue in your opinion ,Jack ?
It must be under 5 % I think...!? ... and maybe 2% is maybe too high !?

Jos.

[Jos L C]

Sorry John,

I suddenly remember I saw your eagle,a nice zink example,yep !

But you can post it anyway for Jack if you want..

[J Melvin]

I'm never opposed to seeing another pith helmet eagle! So, bring it on, John.

Jos., the blues are really, really rare. What was issued, I don't know. But, I have yet to see one of the 6 panels offered for sale in the 3 or 4 years that I have looked for one. I keep up with most sites. So, if it is out there, I'll find it sooner or later.

[johnrtse]

Thanks for the info Jack!

Here are a couple pics of my Luft pith eagle. The pics make it look much darker than what it actually is: It is a very light grey/zinc color.




Enjoy!

[atcase]

Hi all,
though not to clear a photo (dropped me camera ) here is a green one.

Ashley

[atcase]

And a blurry tan one.

Ashley