Battledamaged beautiful finds

**Paul D** · 01-11-2010, 08:22 PM

Thanks Alan , even a rough area of where from might help ??

**herrzark** · 01-12-2010, 01:53 PM

interesting photos......

**Matt L** · 01-15-2010, 08:24 PM

Here's one my most favourite pieces in my collection- a non-fatally battle-damaged Fallschirmjäger helmet shell from the Ukraine (saved from use by a farmer as a water bowl for his chickens

). Obviously the small hole and cracking at the crown are just age, but otherwise it's in quite good shape, especially for it's post-war use

During its service time, however, it had a few problems- namely some nasty Soviet shell splinters that doubtless left its wearer, assuming, hopefully, the rest of him was otherwise protected at the time, very happy with it. None of the splinters penetrated, and amazingly each of the three dents was caused by an impact from a different direction.

The largest one is in the very front, the splinter seeming to be of roughly 15mm by 5 or 6mm, judging by the shape of the dent's centre- but it had a good deal of energy since the dent is sizable. Now beause of its size, this one could possible not be a splinter hit, but a result of the helmet striking somthing hard- I couldn't say for sure either way I think.

Moving clockwise, the second dent is on the wearer's right at about 2 o'clock, and is an oblique hit leaving a slightly elongated dent; this one's smaller and at such an angle, it has to be the result of somthing hitting the helmet as opposed to drop damage.

The third hit came from the rear, another smaller splinter impacting just above the right suspension system bolt hole- this one left a good mark in the centre, showing it to have been around 8mm x 5mm- or at least the bit that hit the helmet was that size (a projection on a larger spliter, for example).

So even if only two are actual hits, they're the result of two different shells impacting all around this poor guy...