1960's Bundeswehr padded panzer beret.

**oradour** · 07-17-2010, 01:35 PM

Gentlemen, hope ive put this in the correct part of the forum !.....a German Bundeswehr Panzer Beret Helmet
Not often seen, leather/rubber brimmed, hard shell wool covered beret-style Bundeswehr tankers helmet in excellent condition. Apparently these helmets can trace their heritage back to the WW II black beret style hard cork protective helmets developed by the Panzerkorps. It's my understanding that the leather rim and interior of these helmets are very similiar.
This Bundeswehr example has an olive drab wool beret cover which is in excellent condition: no stains, rips or holes (very clean). There are two air vent grommets on the left side of the wool beret top that are painted olive drab . The black hard rubber brim is in excellent condition . The gray leather sweatband is clean, unstained fully stitched all-around with the exception of the white silk bow which has pulled loose from the second layer underneath. It has a removable cloth crown liner. When removed one can see the protective shell with its rubber vent grommets, the orange color is some sort of sorbo-rubber covering that is deteriorating. The front stitched Bevo weave badge shows Bundeswehr color cockade as well as crossed sabers (in this time period signified ''Army''). Label attached to the removable liner shows it as having a date of manufacture of January 1963. It's labeled as a European size 54, (small) on the tag. These ''berets'' were not particularly liked by the panzer crews and were dispensed with around 1980. An unusual item which I thought worthy of preservation, especially as I paid £13 for it, was I robbed !....I also show an example of the Bevo badge, cut from a roll marked manufactured 'Oct 1959' by a maker in Wupprtal. I believe early Bundeswehr items are now becoming collectable, with some reputable dealers now offering from their stock.....

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 07-17-2010 01:35 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**ian** · 07-17-2010, 01:46 PM

what a wonderfull helmet/berret ,wish i had one ,,i used to see the panzer guys around fallingsbostl and allways thought there berrets looked funny ,never new they were rubber lined ,but i was young back then 70s and took no real notice ,of the guys them selfs ,i was very interested in the then new leopard1 ,
i wish id scrounged one of these berrets now
thanks for showing it to us cheers ian

**oradour** · 07-17-2010, 01:50 PM

Ian, thanks for the comments, to be honest..I had never seen one before this was offered to me !...I cant see much thro the Imperial tinted glasses I wear !

**Adrian Stevenson** · 07-19-2010, 11:34 AM

I agree: I think these are now worthwhile collectables. Many of these have got cut up to make fake Pz berets over the years.

Cheers, Ade.

**mabrgo** · 08-08-2010, 05:18 AM

Picked this up on Ebay a few weeks back for $15. Can't believe it didn't go for higher. All I can say, it must be a pleasure to own an original wartime black panzer beret - a pleasure I'm sure won't ever come true, for me atleast...

Matthew

**oradour** · 08-08-2010, 10:30 AM

mabrgo, nice beret, just likes its brother...im sure these items will go up in price, they are just getting going in the collectors market, if this thread is anything to go by, most collectors have either not seen one before or at worst do not know of there existance, I think we got ours at the right time. I shall be keeping mine.

**mabrgo** · 08-08-2010, 01:42 PM

Actually, yours was the first one I ever saw. A few days later I was perusing Ebay, and I just couldn't pass it up. I hope it goes up in price, but really, it wouldn't matter - it's so cool that I don't think I'd ever get rid of it. It's so simplistic, yet different and odd.

By the way, I love the belt buckle you have. All three of your pieces look great together.

Matthew