DD SS Ground Dug

[youthcollector1]

I would be guessing that if they went throught the process of putting fake decals on it they would have done to the local barber for sum hair and then sum blood from a farm mix it together and then paste it inside the helmet then bury the helmetbin the ground for 5 months.
Instant blood stained hair helmet.
Rgds peter

This may be possible, but not worth the risk.

[Gunny Hartmann]

Downright low, that helmet should be reburied.

[DougB]

It's well documented that graves are being dug up in Russia for relics. If anyone is going to dig up a grave they won't have the least bit of concern for faking the helmet, thier moral compass isn't exactly set to true north. It's not military archeology these grave robbers are doing, they are looking for $$ plain and simple and don't care how they get it.

[SSamir]

It's well documented that graves are being dug up in Russia for relics. If anyone is going to dig up a grave they won't have the least bit of concern for faking the helmet, thier moral compass isn't exactly set to true north. It's not military archeology these grave robbers are doing, they are looking for $$ plain and simple and don't care how they get it.

And with this economy they'll dig up their own mother's grave. You'd be surprised how far some people will go for the dollor. Sad if u ask me.

[Gunny Hartmann]

This is making me feel a bit uneasy now, how the hell do we know how many relic helmets that we now own originally had human remains in them, my M40 and M42 might have had blood and brain matter in them but were given a good scrub out.
I suppose all we can do is hope the helmet was just lost or thrown away, unless we see the helmet being actually dug up we will never know for sure.

[big ned]

At the risk of taking some serious flak here, I would like to ask if Horsehair was ever used in WW2 German combat helmets for padding, similar to the 'pillows' found in WW1 M16 and M17 helmets or some of the Luftschutz/Flak hilferin types of WW2.

I ask because the hair in question appears more like cut horsehair to me than it being of human origin. Just thinking aloud....

[Gunny Hartmann]

No flak from me Ned it's a valid question, the only actual padding on combat helmets was the layer of felt around the liner band.

[KradSpam]

At the risk of taking some serious flak here, I would like to ask if Horsehair was ever used in WW2 German combat helmets for padding, similar to the 'pillows' found in WW1 M16 and M17 helmets or some of the Luftschutz/Flak hilferin types of WW2.

I ask because the hair in question appears more like cut horsehair to me than it being of human origin. Just thinking aloud....

Not that I know of Ned, not officially anyway. Maybe a squaddy would have added it himself for insulation or something, but why not use some rags etc......

Best case scenario it's from a barber, added by the faker. I hope that's the case. You could always have it tested.

[big ned]

Thanks for the replies lads. It just struck me that it looked more like horsehair than human, I have spent most of my life around horses to some extent or another, and the similarity is uncanny to me.

Regards, Ned.

[Glenn66]

I have to say, the hair does look very coarse. Let's hope it is merely part of the overall faking effort and not someones remains. I could never own something as macabre as any form of human trophy.