SS pith helmets

[CurtD]

Interesting Early SS Pith Helmet

Got this off the Discovery Channel

[CurtD]

Closeup

[francis006]

...... Chris ,t'ai envoyé un ptit truc

[Edelweiss]

Wow, what a helmet !!!
Damn, this guy was surely worried that one could miss the fact that he belonged to the SS ! No shields once again, and once again the runes are placed on the "wrong" side. When I saw the first pic, the helmet looked ridiculous from the distance, but the clozup shows that the job was very well done.
Thanks Curt for sharing this amazing document here !
Do you know where the scene takes place ? (Frisco ? )

Francis sent me a mail with a helmet he had in hands a few years ago ; another reissued italian pith which seems OK to me from what I can see and was told about it :

[Edelweiss]

I'll let Francis comment his pics. Here's the other side, where the party shield looks like it was restored with paint :

[francis006]

Thanks Chris,
Yes ,this helmet would have been found with another trop KM helmet (italian) and French vet equipment .I'll try to find the other pics of the KM Chris !
It looks to be all OK and also had stamp inside (as the KM) .The decal didn't seem touched up but like varnished a far as i remember ,wartime or after ? i don't know but a very old work because it had turned yellow
Francis

[Edelweiss]

That's the white part of the shield that makes me think of paint : it should look different even with lacquer IMO ; but I didn't have the helmet in hands and can be wrong.

Once again, the same zinc shields, and also the same stamping inside the helmet, like most (all) italo-german piths.
What about the prongs ???

[francis006]

In fact ,the white was under but realy yellowish .
For the prongs ,i don't remember at all (as for the Km) .Chris will post it soon

[Edelweiss]

There's no white, so to speak, on untouched shields ; only a very light (faint) silver surface finish. You don't remember the prongs ? What about your elephant's memory ???

Here's the reissued KM pith that was with Francis' SS one ; both were stamped inside with their specific affectation. Francis told me these popped out 5 years ago.

[Edelweiss]

The other side, with the specific KM national shield :

[CurtD]

Wow, what a helmet !!!
Damn, this guy was surely worried that one could miss the fact that he belonged to the SS ! No shields once again, and once again the runes are placed on the "wrong" side. When I saw the first pic, the helmet looked ridiculous from the distance, but the clozup shows that the job was very well done.
Thanks Curt for sharing this amazing document here !
Do you know where the scene takes place ? (Frisco ? )

Francis sent me a mail with a helmet he had in hands a few years ago ; another reissued italian pith which seems OK to me from what I can see and was told :

According to the show, this was filmed in Tibet during the early days when Himmler was running around all over the world looking for Aryan artifacts.

I'm guessing that runes were painted on by hand and this was not an official helmet. Perhaps even done just for the film -- as you suggest -- to make sure everyone saw that this was the SS.

[DaveJ]

I have finally gotten to photograph my shiels and my buddies.
Here are the JFS 42 and 43s.

[DaveJ]

my 42s are on the bottom,

the reverses

[DaveJ]

here are the 42s

[DaveJ]

and this is the revers on an army tricolor, JFS 42