The Holiest of GrailSS have arrived.

[DougB]

I dont know if you remember about 6 weeks or so I started a thread asking "What is your next purchase?" in the helmet section. For my answer I had identified 2 SS helmets, ones that I simply thought were unobtainable but were ones that if offered, I would snap up in a heartbeat. Naturally as these things go the timing sucked, but hey, we can sacrifice things like gas, food and water for more important items that come along. So it happened, quite unexpectedly and naturally I did not say no....

Well today will be celebrated around the Buhler household (by me anyway) for decades to come, a personal holiday will be declared and I will take this day off until I die to open up several cases of imported German beer in celebration and to sit and stare with awe and amazement at these 2 (two) gems of helmets. One I have admired since I became passionate about German helmets years ago and never thought it would depart its mantel at its former home. The other came to light out of a collection from where it sat for over 40 years. It to me was THE holy grail of helmets. Bar none. And like its aforementioned cousin I thought it would be forever unobtainable.

But today, thanks to a good friend in SS helmet collecting, these 2 beauties arrived to Canada to find a place upon my shelves. Pardon the terrible cell phone pictures but I must share these with you today and will endeavour to take some hi quality studio shots and proper write ups of these in the coming days - well, weekends anyway. I havent been this excited since the birth of my children or since I found out that it was legal to...wait I wont go there.... Anyway, here is a brief synopsis on these helmets until I get time to properly photograph them and do a proper write up.

One is a factory grey EF M40 DD SS with EF runic decal unglued and unlacquered as so many of the EF decals are, and yes you read that correctly. EF SS runic decal on an EF SS M40 helmet in DD format. The helmet is lot number 5018 but in typical EF stamping is near impossible to read. This one must be the rarest M40 SS helmet on the planet and as EF SS runic decals are my personal favourite, this one for me at least is a chart topper.

However, there is one helmet that tops all others on the SS charts and for me all of German Helmetdom. One helmet is THE king and is the iconic SS helmet. I have owned one of the two known hand rendered SS-VT helmets but heard of only one other that is not painted but decaled. This one has decals and is proof positive these decals did in fact exist. Most if not all were reissued and repainted once SS decals were standardized and again once war was declared and the use of black parade helmets was discontinued.

This one survived. And is named. And is unit marked. And will be researched ASAP. I bring you the SS-VT double decal helmet marked to Buhne, III Sturm for SS Deutschland in a refurbed ET66 M18 with an RZM style M27 leather liner and correct rollerbuckle strap.

The decal pics I borrowed from my friend who sold it to me but I will do my own pics again hopefully this weekend! I just had to share these 2 with you all as its not everyday you see these. So please pardon the terrible cell phone pictures. And enjoy!

Doug



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[CARL]

Congratulations Doug, delighted for you. Enjoy the party!

Regards,

Carl

[Paul D]

Congratulations Doug the Buhne helmet is a truly wonderful piece of history !!

[Gunny Hartmann]

I'm very jealous!......

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Very impressive. Do you have details of its life since 1945?

[KradSpam]

Fantastisch! I will likely never see or handle one of those VT lids Doug so I love your threads on these outrage-o-rare types, exotic doesn't quite cover it What spec would a usual EF M40 be? ET decal? I can't remember seeing many / any other EF M40's, SD or otherwise.

Ps. It surprised me your favourite decal is EF, I would've taken you for a Pocher man I think.

[Nikolaus]

just WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DougB]

Thanks gentlemen and FB, to that point I do know that it has been in a long time collection for over 40 years and the past 2 years it was residing in Kelly Hicks personal collection. To my knowledge the helmet has only been with these two collectors. The acquisition by its original owner I believe has been lost over the years but when I do a proper write up on the piece with photos that do it justice I hope to have more information FB. Thank you for the compliment, this in hand is beyond the pale.

Doug

[DougB]

Fantastisch! I will likely never see or handle one of those VT lids Doug so I love your threads on these outrage-o-rare types, exotic doesn't quite cover it What spec would a usual EF M40 be? ET decal? I can't remember seeing many / any other EF M40's, SD or otherwise.

Ps. It surprised me your favourite decal is EF, I would've taken you for a Pocher man I think.

EF M35 and M40 SS helmets simply do not exist. I own a reissue EF M35 that has the expected feldgrau overpaint and SS/party decal underneath the existing SS Pocher/Party decals as you see on SS re-issues. So I do not know what it was originally outfitted with other than for sure it is an SS decal under the paint from what little is visible. EF SS M40 Kelly has seen with an ET decal, as you do see M42's outfitted with ET decals. This is the only one known.

I love the rakish look an EF decal has. I used to own at one time at least 10 EF M42 helmets with EF SS decals but thinned them out and kept my best ones.

[stuka f]

Great aquisition!Congrats!
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