Article about: I have just acquired this Fallschirmjaeger helmet which was offered to me a couple of days ago. I was after a good copy to add to my collection, as the cost of a completely genuine example w
I have just acquired this Fallschirmjaeger helmet which was offered to me a couple of days ago. I was after a good copy to add to my collection, as the cost of a completely genuine example was way above anything I could afford. This one seemed to fit the bill.
The liner looks to me like one of these modern repro's that are available, and the straps are exactly the same as the ones on my Bundeswehr M/71 helmet, so I would assume that is what they are. I can't see any makers codes on the shell, and I'm not really keen on the idea of taking the helmet apart to have a closer look.
The shell is pitted over most of it's surface, but none of it has much depth to it. There are patches of thick green and brown paint to the lower surfaces of the helmet, and on the left, there are a few bits of white where you would expect to find the eagle, although the glare of the flash has tended to hide this in the picture. The rest of the helmet has traces of another shade of green.
In my mind there are three possible answers to what the helmet is. The first is it's a GSG9 shell that has been very cleverly aged. The second is that it's a fairly good quality repro that has been aged. And the third is that it is indeed a genuine shell, and I have dropped lucky. Comments are welcomed.
The zig zag stitching on the seam in the liner is definitely the sign of a fake. Ade is also right that the chin strap is fake. Post the pics that Ade asked for and we may be in a better position to evaluate the shell, but with he fake inner components, I have my doubts. Jim G.
The zig zag stitching on the seam in the liner is definitely the sign of a fake. Ade is also right that the chin strap is fake. Post the pics that Ade asked for and we may be in a better position to evaluate the shell, but with he fake inner components, I have my doubts. Jim G.
Sorry about the time taken to upload the pictures, but some things in life are far more important than this website! Thanks for your input Jim, but I did actually point out that the liner was a copy. As for the chinstraps, you can't really call them fake - as they are Bundeswehr chinstraps for the Fallschirmjager M/71 paratrooper helmet. At over £70 for a good set of repro chinstraps, I suppose using Bundeswehr chinstraps is a cheaper option.
Anyway, back to the shell. There are a few numbers at the very back of the shell, but I can't read them because of the aluminium band of the liner. But looking at them, it could be... 347?. I can't see any makers code, and I don't want to be stripping out the chinstraps and liner. here's the close-ups of the rim of the helmet, and one more shot of the possible eagle?
The shell looks good! Can't tell about the paint or remnants of the decal, if there is paint in the pits it would be post war, applied, but the inner rim shots and the over all dimensions of the shell do look right. Nice buy! Jim G.
The shell looks good! Can't tell about the paint or remnants of the decal, if there is paint in the pits it would be post war, applied, but the inner rim shots and the over all dimensions of the shell do look right. Nice buy! Jim G.
There's no paint in the pitting. But to be honest, my M35 has pitting and it has paint in the pitting. But there is no doubt that the paint was applied during it's service life.
Could this fallschirjaeger helmet be genuine?
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by helmet2id
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