Russians digging near Leningrad

[LAS VEGAS]

The wintercamo ss helmet is in such good condition .How was it found?, and the implication is it was dug up ,surely not.If genuine it appears to be a helmet taken off a prisoner ,and dispalyed in a very dry environment?

[hassiman]

I had a friend who was head of intelligence for the 422 Heavy Bomb Group based in Attlebridge UK during the war. As the allies advanced through Europe they would fly him into cities just after the areas had capitulated... He was doing bomb damage assesment. He remembers seeing piles of tens of thousands of Helmets, weapons... he said the Germans were trying to give him weapons as they had been told to surrender whatever they had. In Koblenz he entered a spa that had been a handout for the NAZI elete. In it he found dressing areas filled with spare un iforms labled for Hitler, Goering, Himmler etc etc etc...
I asked hime why he hadn't taken something... He said he had more important things onhis mind as missions were still being flown, his guys were still being blown from the sky and he had flown in in a small fast Mosquito and had no room for anything.

Of note... it was from his 422 base that the last Heavy Bomber shot down over Europe during WWII, A B-24 Liberator piloted by the Farrington Crew was based.
One of the best historical accounts written about the air war over Europe "The Wings of Morning" by Thomas Childers describes that base, that crew ... all of whom my friend knew well.