M42 Chicken Wire original?

[Perry Floyd]

Here's pics of early chickenwire helmets, pre-41.

[Perry Floyd]

I feel there were 3 sizes of chickenwire, a small (the most common for early biddies) a medium and large.
I myself would pass on the eBay chickenwire helmet...

[Perry Floyd]

3

[Edelweiss]

Just wanted to wish an "Happy birthday !" to Master Willi !
Great lids we partially saw here, but not really surprising after all...
Well, I hope you'll tell us more about your presents !

[Jean-Loup]

For Willy: Yes, of course I agree that certain chicken wires are works of art, that took several hours to make. But pothers, musnt have taken more than a few minutes; the ones that simply have the wire folded over the edge of the helmet. As you can see, my original statement was :" it took 5 minutes (or more for the elaborate ones)", so there is no disagrement between us.

For APC: I am no great specialist myself, so dont be afraid to disagree with me. My opinion is that the vast majority of the chicken wires on E bay are fakes; but many original chicken wires did exist; and you shouldnt consider them as something extremely rare. They are rare on the collector market, because they are so much loved by collectors.
Actually, I have seen surprising numbers of chicken and other types of wire camo helmets being dug up, or coming from vets. Many more than it would be expected after looking at period pics.
JL

[Edelweiss]

JL, I would say thing in a little different way ; original wired helmets ARE rare because :
- it wasn't the majority of the camo job applied to helmets,
- a few survived,
- sometimes the wire was removed to keep the helmet alone (I saw this several times),
- collectors love them I agree, thanks to their "combat" look and... rarity.

My 2 pfennigs...

[Edelweiss]

By the way, the best proof about rarity is this one : let's make a little statistic on the number of wired helmets on this photo, compared to all the others...

[Willi Z.]

Look at all those Luftwaffe helmets!! I see about 8 FJ helmets in there. Check out the one on the far right about the middle.

Andy makes a very interesting observation, one that merits further study as a way to help determine whether wire is original to the helmet. The point that original wire close to paint may "etch" into the paint over the years.

Chicken wire, especially half baskets, are the toughest wire helmets to authenticate. So are, as some mentioned, very quickly and easily added to helmets. Others are more elaborate. Ones where the wire is just bent around the rim are the toughest. Ones where the wire is forced under the liner/band are the most reliable, but that doesn't mean they are not worthy of owning. I once was offered two chicken wire para camos in the same week. I went for the one that had the wire under the liner band (pictured above somewhere), the other (wire bent under the rim) went to a friend of mine. Could only afford one so I went with the one I liked better. Many variations to chicken wire, but as others mentioned, the market is filled with many, many bad ones. The good ones sell for alot of $$$, and this year's Max (based on what I saw) had a few nice ones.

Anyhow, here are some FJs with choice CW with camo helmets pictured in a press release photo I have.

As for B'day presents, wait till I show you what I may have in a few days...

Willi

[darryl-P]

Yes Chris...you may use MY picture of the helmet pile.

[Bob Lusk]

And a great photo it is Darryl!
Do you own the original (photo)?.. just curious.

Willi great pic too

Bob

[darryl-P]

Hi Bob,

Yes, I have the original. I posted parts of it on the 'other' forum a while back. It is a Canadian Army Press Photo (approx 7 by 9 inches) that was taken in May 1945 at Hilversum in Holland. It is a very impressive pile of helmets. As you can see in the small section Chris posted it has remarkable clarity.

[C. Kleijn]

I know someone who went searching on the places where once this pile of helmets was placed. He discovered tens of helmets which where still there after almost sixty years. They didn't make a very accurate job with 'clearing up' these piles directly after the war. Most of the helmets he found where indeed LW but I didn't hear about FJ helmets. Perhaps he found them too.

During the war a replacement unit for the "Hermann Göring" division was placed in the neighbourhood of Hilversum if I recall correctly.

Darryl, you have one of the best photos showing helmet piles. Wasn't there also a photo of a pile somewhere in Tunesia or Sicily? I recall such a photo with some tropical pith helmets entangled in there.

Cees

[Johannes Schoen]

I think I have seen these pictures in a thread, but could not find it. At least they are to be seen at the following webpage. I do not want to advertise, but I am not sure if I may copy the pictures there and show them here:

http://germanhelmetsinc.com/truck%20...s%20100dpi.JPG

http://germanhelmetsinc.com/helmets%2075dpi.JPG


Johannes

[Edelweiss]

Yes Chris...you may use MY picture of the helmet pile.

Sorry Darryl, but I actually have hundreds of pics from here and there, and it's quite impossible for me to remember to who each of them originally belongs...
Moreover, I wasn't aware it was an original photo you owned ; all I can say is that it was already shared on one of the two forums, so I shared it again. I hope you're not too upset for that...

[darryl-P]

Hi Chris,

It's no big deal really. However it would be nice to acknowledge who owns the pic...if you know who that is. These days I now tend to put my name on everything I post. I have noticed others using my pics and helmets on their sites.