M44 liner
To clarify: both of these liners are the M44. (looking above each split rivet, a square bracket can be seen). The M31 is not yet posted. Sorry for the mixup--i am still having some difficulty posting pics.
The term "non-standard" perfectly describes the M44 liner when compared to the M31. I previously listed a comparison of the two, but did not mention the "media". According to "Wehrmacht Combat Helmets 1933-1945" p.19 the M31 liner was made of either goatskin or (latewar) pigskin. The M44 liners pictured here appear to be made of a dark low-quality leather, very rough to the touch. A good example of low quality leather is the post war Bulgarian M51/72 liner. As was pointed out, another characteristic of the M44 is it's ill-fitting appearance. This could be due to two factors: the single band is fairly thin, and it's shape can distort easily. also, the 3 "v" clips are flexible and can cause certain areas of the band to pull further away from the shell.
According to Baer (p.383-402 1985 ed.), The M44 liner was designed for the prototype helmets. In autumn of 1944 the results of prototype helmet testing were presented to the leader for approval, which he turned down. So in late 1944 all testing was complete and the selected prototypes and the M44 liner were ready for mass production. Even though the prototype shells were not mass produced, there would have been no reason for the economical M44 liner not to be mass produced.
Considering the strain that the german war industry was under in late 1944-1945, it is no surprise that the quality of equipment was lower than previously. e.g. poor finishes on weapons/bayonets, lots of ersatz material, etc.. It should not seem unusual that the leather of the late war M44 liner should be of substandard quality when compared to the M31. Even though the quality may have been poor, it was still fully functional. The steel components of the M44 tend to rust easily, probably due to a lack of corrosion proofing.
Either the M45 is an original wartime model, or it isn't. My reasons for generating discussion is to gather many experienced minds to hopefully solve the mystery. My motivation is not "faith in this model being original", but, rather that there is some evidence to suggest that it could be. For myself, evidence such as: "no wartime documentation", "non-standard components", "no photographic evidence", while being true evidence worthy of consideration, is not in itself conclusive to allow the collecting community to close the book on the M45 as being "not original".
To clarify: both of these liners are the M44. (looking above each split rivet, a square bracket can be seen). The M31 is not yet posted. Sorry for the mixup--i am still having some difficulty posting pics.
The term "non-standard" perfectly describes the M44 liner when compared to the M31. I previously listed a comparison of the two, but did not mention the "media". According to "Wehrmacht Combat Helmets 1933-1945" p.19 the M31 liner was made of either goatskin or (latewar) pigskin. The M44 liners pictured here appear to be made of a dark low-quality leather, very rough to the touch. A good example of low quality leather is the post war Bulgarian M51/72 liner. As was pointed out, another characteristic of the M44 is it's ill-fitting appearance. This could be due to two factors: the single band is fairly thin, and it's shape can distort easily. also, the 3 "v" clips are flexible and can cause certain areas of the band to pull further away from the shell.
According to Baer (p.383-402 1985 ed.), The M44 liner was designed for the prototype helmets. In autumn of 1944 the results of prototype helmet testing were presented to the leader for approval, which he turned down. So in late 1944 all testing was complete and the selected prototypes and the M44 liner were ready for mass production. Even though the prototype shells were not mass produced, there would have been no reason for the economical M44 liner not to be mass produced.
Considering the strain that the german war industry was under in late 1944-1945, it is no surprise that the quality of equipment was lower than previously. e.g. poor finishes on weapons/bayonets, lots of ersatz material, etc.. It should not seem unusual that the leather of the late war M44 liner should be of substandard quality when compared to the M31. Even though the quality may have been poor, it was still fully functional. The steel components of the M44 tend to rust easily, probably due to a lack of corrosion proofing.
Either the M45 is an original wartime model, or it isn't. My reasons for generating discussion is to gather many experienced minds to hopefully solve the mystery. My motivation is not "faith in this model being original", but, rather that there is some evidence to suggest that it could be. For myself, evidence such as: "no wartime documentation", "non-standard components", "no photographic evidence", while being true evidence worthy of consideration, is not in itself conclusive to allow the collecting community to close the book on the M45 as being "not original".
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