Canadian Mk II brown and green three tone camo

[Mark K]

Morning Gents I was lucky enough to secure a new Camo painted Mk II from a friend and advanced collector here in Canada.
And an interesting helmet it is as Canadian camo painted Mk II helmets are about as rare as hens teeth as most were repainted and used post war.
This particular example is a 1941 dated C.L./C. steel lot batch number 33 and from the construction I can tell it is sporting a early shallow type VMC liner the owners name and service number have been scratched into the paint on the under side of the shell near the rim should make for a good research project.
I do rather like the patina, age and crazing to the paint on this one even though only two colors were used I myself consider this a three tone camo paint job as the original painted finish was incorporated in to the pattern the green over paint is quite striking and bold and IMO is of the same color used early war time on Canadian and British vehicles and mobile equipment.
I am still on the fence as it were to if this Mk II was used in the ETO and or if the pattern is a camo ( referred to as the Mickey Mouse pattern) that was used early on in country (Britain) During the quite times known as the Phoney War .
I have included an image from Juno Beach were there is a very similar pattern visible on a Canadian soldiers helmet in the foreground of course with out seeing the image in color it is impossible to tell but does make one consider the possibilities.
I would say the image was taken with in the first couple of days of the D-Day invasion.
I will post up some better detailed images upon its arrival thanks for looking .

Regards Mark

[SHINDENKAI]

That is one fantastic looking, camo Mk.II !!

Can't wait to see more detail photos.

In the period photo, are they wearing some kind of "Skeleton" vest ?

Cheers!
Taka

[Mark K]

Yes that is correct Taka the vest as best as I can tell from the images is a skeletal assault vest that wear worn for a very short period of time just after the D-day invasion I have a really good link but can not upload it right now as my internet connection is being quite fussy.

Regards Mark

[Mark K]

Here you go Taka I can only speculate that the one in the image above would be very similar to the one shown in the Link below not much to go on I am afraid as the image gives away very few details.
(The D Day Battle Jerkin (Assualt Vest))

Regards Mark

[Opex]

Very nice addition Mark, I am particularly fond of the camo paint scheme. I look forward to seeing some more pictures of this helmet when it arrives at your place.

I do have a query for you, I have seen an example this type of paint scheme before which I believe was described as "Maltese", and on first glance I assumed that was what it was, admittedly these helmets are not all my speciality at all so is there a distinct way to tell the difference in paint schemes, and indeed was there a genuine"Maltese" paint scheme ???

[SHINDENKAI]

Here you go Taka I can only speculate that the one in the image above would be very similar to the one shown in the Link below not much to go on I am afraid as the image gives away very few details.
(The D Day Battle Jerkin (Assualt Vest))

Regards Mark

Thank you for the link, Mark.

Beautiful example.

Cheers!
Taka

[Mark K]

Very nice addition Mark, I am particularly fond of the camo paint scheme. I look forward to seeing some more pictures of this helmet when it arrives at your place.

I do have a query for you, I have seen an example this type of paint scheme before which I believe was described as "Maltese", and on first glance I assumed that was what it was, admittedly these helmets are not all my speciality at all so is there a distinct way to tell the difference in paint schemes, and indeed was there a genuine"Maltese" paint scheme ???

Thanx Gary I really do not like it for a Maltese Camo for one it is Canadian so would be out of character there has been no sand texturing applied and the color combination and paint scheme seems off to me for the Island of Malta.
I do like it though for a possible candidate for BEF helmet though perhaps Dunkirk there are a few possibilities that come to mind as this particular paint scheme has been used in more than one location and at different times during the war fun to speculate though perhaps his name and service number will help reveal a few more details.

You are most welcome Taka glad you found the link informative.

Regards Mark

[Opex]

"Thanx Gary I really do not like it for a Maltese Camo for one it is Canadian so would be out of character there has been no sand texturing applied and the color combination and paint scheme seems off to me for the Island of Malta.
I do like it though for a possible candidate for BEF helmet though perhaps Dunkirk there are a few possibilities that come to mind as this particular paint scheme has been used in more than one location and at different times during the war fun to speculate though perhaps his name and service number will help reveal a few more details."

No worries Mark, as before these genre of helmets are not my speciality at all, and your explanation of the colour differences and addition of sand clears up my query, I hope you can track down the original owner which would be great

[James C]

very nice addition mark ,i bet you are real pleased to have aquired it for your collection i would be ,superb referance picture too mate ,well done, regards james

[Mark K]

Many thanks James it is the 5th camo Mk II to grace my collection I have three two and three tone camos and two field over paints one in dusty olive green and the other in desert tan four of them being Canadian Mk II's and the last with a Canadian connection .

Regards Mark