Maltese MKII

[Nitram]

I was on a morning bike ride, round the national park, and decided to pop by the flea market, originally I had intended to meet a friend there and have a coke and something to eat, but he didn't show and instead of breakfast I bought this Maltese issue MKII.

There were 4 of them in total at the whole market, the asking prices for these were awful. I found a MKI stamped 1942, it was rater odd, I think it was a stamping error, and 3 other MKIIs. Only the "MKI" had a liner, but the guy wanted too much for it. Then I found this pile of rust, from an older gentleman clearing out his garage. It still has some brown/tan camo left on it, has both bales relatively intact, dated 1939, and the original liner screw. Unfortunately the liner is long gone, but getting a replacement should be easy enough.







At first I thought the Brown/Tan was just rust, but then I noticed the rim was painted brown too, so I imagine it's camo. There's a small hole rusted trough at the top, otherwise it's pretty solid.



So what you think? It was either this, or a hamburger and a drink If anyone has any Maltese camo'd helmets I'd love to see em'.

Nitram

[tinlid]

I think you made the right choice regarding the helmet or the burger, for me the helmet would win every time. Might not be a Malta camo, could be Italian or maybe the BEF in 39-40 in France.
The picture of troops coming ashore at Salerno show a camo very similar to yours, the other at Malta, plus the helmet with net is probably Malta too.
Good find though, if you need a liner let me know.
Aaron

[Nitram]

I suspected it's Maltese, simply for the fact that I got it here in Malta from an old maltese gentleman. However, you're right with the camo there, I'd guessed it was maltese, because that was the most similar pattern I could think of (goes to show I'm not familiar with camo patterns at all!). It's quite possible it was used in italy. Thanks for the info!

I'll definitely be putting in a liner at some point, sending you a PM now.

Nitram

[Nitram]

Ive been looking at the bolt that holds the liner in place, its brass (I think), and rusted solid. No way of installing a liner in that without damaging the bolt.

As I personally prefer complete helmets, I think Ill probably sell it. What would it be worth in this condition? One of the bales is slightly loose, theres a small hole rusted in near the top, otherwise its pretty solid. Bales are both 1939 dated, with some parts of springs still left attached.

Nitram

[Nitram]

I've decided to keep it, it's rather grown on me.

Here's a picture of the inside (For Aaron to help me confirm it's a MKII):


Nitram

[tinlid]

MkII I reckon

[Nitram]

Cheers for the confirmation!

Nitram

[ppp p]

Camo of the 1st helmet looks similar to my helmet



Piotrek

[Nitram]

Thanks for sharing Piotrek. Do you know anything about the history of the helmet?

Nitram

[ppp p]

I don't know. Unfortunately...
Piotrek