M35 DD Heer named battledamaged(?)

[mpnox]

If the "hit" had come from the outside the folded edges on the hole in the liner band would be on the inside, with the folded edges being on the outside surface of the band it denotes a hit from the inside of the helmet.

I think you were right all along, hats off to you sir!

Do you think it was a pick axe? Looking at the metal I think something hit it with some speed. With a pick axe it would make a dent but not make the metal bent like that. Still not an expert but just a feeling.

[Gunny Hartmann]

I'm only saying a pick axe because the hole in the liner looks kind of squared off. A strong guy with a heavy pick could easily make a hole in a helmet, there is a hell of a lot of kinetic energy involved!...

[mpnox]

I'm only saying a pick axe because the hole in the liner looks kind of squared off. A strong guy with a heavy pick could easily make a hole in a helmet, there is a hell of a lot of kinetic energy involved!...

Yes that's true. I will look into this further.
If only these things could talk!

[Ripper]

I'm no expert but I absollutly agree with Gunny.The hole in the liner looks to be made from the inside out.

[mpnox]

I'm no expert but I absollutly agree with Gunny.The hole in the liner looks to be made from the inside out.

Yes, read my previous post https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/steel...10/#post967728

[KradSpam]

Pickaxes were sometimes used post war to render helmets unusable. There is a famous photo of a guy working on hundreds of them all piled up. You could certainly punch through it like that.

[mpnox]

Pickaxes were sometimes used post war to render helmets unusable. There is a famous photo of a guy working on hundreds of them all piled up. You could certainly punch through it like that.

I saw that (https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/milit...an-helmets.jpg)
But I think with a pick axe the hole would be much bigger and different. And why would you hit it 3 times and in the back?
I will try and research this a bit to see if I can find out if it was bullets or a pick axe.

[Danmark]

I can only add ( based on the damaged relics I have collected ) that the liner band has been pierced from the inside but the ( hardened ) shell has cracked and the piece has broken away. This is common with M35s and less so with the M40 / M42 shells that were made from a different type of steel. I cannot say what caused it but it was with some velocity and has resulted in an evocative helmet that I would be happy to own.

Cheers, Dan

[mpnox]

Now I brought the lid to work so a friend with quite some experience in this area could take a look at it.
He said definitely made by bullets, no doubt. Made by smaller than 9mm but bigger than .22, maybe 7.62mm (or .30 caliber)
He also believed it to be shot by a gun and not rifle since a rifle would have pierced the shell much more.

So something like this maybe? 7.62×25mm Tokarev - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Possible suspects
Nagant M1895 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TT pistol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It don't look like the soldier was wearing the helmet when it was hit, I can't find any traces of blood.
There is a piece of the liner that is cut out, done with a knife, razor or scissors. Why I don't know.

[timothy]

Regardless nice original M-35 I have seen pick ax photo's from WW1 damaging helmets this one looks more like some type of schrapnel or velocity hit. timothy