Very impressive repainted, named, wired, battle damaged, KIA and researched helmet!

[TK]

Close up of the nameplate of "Schütze Hans Frick"

[peter u]

Thanks TK
P.

[mr slug]

Peter,

Interesting your earlier comment regarding the cleaning of 'shot through' helmets at the time.

I have an American M1c para helmet ( from Belgium) that has a single entry and single exit hole. The liner is complete, and all the webbing intact and as it would be. However, the leather section sewn to the webbing headband has shrunk so much that it has ripped away from the outer suspension. This mystified me, I had never seen it befor. A good friend that works with leather ( he makes reproduction US A2 flight jackets) told me it would be consistant with boiling water being used to 'scald' the inside of the helmet liner, to clean it ! This hobby demand such a wide range of knowledge and experience to answer all the questions, dont you agree ? Thank you for one of the more interesting and thought provoking threads. Kind Regards.

[peter u]

Hello mr slug,

Approaching kia-items and ground-dug items you did not excavated yourself, is difficult. You can not jump to conclusions.
The helmet of captain Montjardin is a very good example. Shot in the head (the bullet an English .303 also did diverge on one of the small copper rivets, can you imagine) not a trace of one spot of blood inside. But the helmet is original! It was in the household of his son, until it found his way in the Belgian collecting society. I have now documented the helmet so it has bullet proof provenance for the future.
But to use this helmet as a precedent to declare all helmets that are shot-through but don't have blood on their liner are all authentic is one major step to far!
The helmet of Hans Frick is an example on the other end of the scale, it is going to be seldom that you are going to find a so well (wartime)documentated helmet again.
The most examples that we see are going to be something in the middle: blood in the helmet but no name, or a name we can't find in any archive,...etc.
Every item needs is own examination to declare it authentic or faked.
To be able to declare a shot through-helmet and/or ground dug helmet not excaveted by yourself to be authentic, you gone need lots of knowledge: helmet originality, battlefield-history,forensic technique's,...etc.
But I never believe the stories told by dealers or other collectors who want to sell me an item. There is to much money involved in most cases! I need facts and logical (and not far fetched) explanations to explain something that doesn't look normal from the first glance, like for example why is there no blood on the liner.

Cheers,
Peter

[Nico C]

Great helmet, Peter

It reminds me to visit your place if I'm in the neighbourhood.
I will inform you then

[Petrus]

I also have a German helmet, grave dig from Estonia, which has a liner and three different shrapnel holes on the right front side. The liner behind the holes are holed but not the other side....so there must have been something stopping them to pass threw the liner... And no visible sign of blood.
A great thread!
Cheers
Petrus

[peter u]

Hello Petrus,

Are you willing to debat your helmet on this forum, if you don't I can understand it also, no problem.
Are you sure their are no traces of blood, sometimes they are very difficultly visible certain when a helmet has been in the ground for example.
Also schrapnell holes are more difficult to fake compared with bullet holls.


Cheers,
Peter

[PEIPER]

Wow

Real history piece ! The best but unfortunately unlucky helmet history i have never seen !

[MauserKar98k]

If Hans had lived, he would have been 88 yesterday.

[skippp]

I live near Lommel,

and every time I visit that cemetery I get cold and shivery...
endless graves, endless misery and sadness...

Nevertheless you did great on this amazing story!

absolutely stunning helmet btw


Skippp

[kuroda]

Very interesting thread.
Thanks for sharing this amazing helmet with us!!!

[randywrap]

stunning sad story ....Sobering post needed to read thanks