A question for the helmet experts

**warbuff** · 12-07-2014, 06:03 PM

I believe that I may have made an important discovery on one of my helmets. This helmet was acquired by a vet so I know every thing is legit. Anyway, I was looking through a Magnifying glass at the decal and it seems to me like the KM decal is applied over the black paint! Through the breaks in the decal, you can see black paint underneath it, and also the black border of the decal is very defined compared to the black paint. I have taken the best up close shots of the decal in natural light as I can, I was hoping one of the experts could confirm my suspicions. I will also post a pic of the whole helmet.

Cheers, Warbuff

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 12-07-2014 06:03 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**TheGoon** · 12-07-2014, 07:21 PM

To me it looks like it's under the paint and the reason you can see the decal border is the paint wasn't applied thick in that spot and the black paint underneath looks like a really dark grey.

**warbuff** · 12-08-2014, 12:30 AM

Any one else?

**Danmark** · 12-08-2014, 01:16 AM

I think that there are several layers of paint. Being a M42 with a decal the paint was more slate grey and smooth when it left the factory so the rough finish is a field overpaint IMO. Then I can see some white flakes which may? mean a winter 1944 repaint, then a post war black job.

**warbuff** · 12-08-2014, 01:20 AM

I was thinking that it may be a heer helmet that was repainted black in the field and reissued to a KM flak group. to me it appears that the aluminum oxide is in the black paint, and the chips in the black paint reveal the smooth slate gray you mentioned.

**DougB** · 12-08-2014, 01:45 AM

Id want to see this in hand but it reminds me of a near black KM M40 SE I had that was very similar. It was brought back by a Canadian vet. Hard to tell if the decal is scrubbed and / or under the paint or what is going on there. I lean to under the paint.

I dont know about a KM Flak group, Flak Batteries were typically the domicile of the LW. When I see black painted over helmets my first concern is postwar done, as many a helmet were overpainted black postwar.

I think its pretty much guesswork right now, without it in hand I wont really guess but I would highly suspect it being issued to a Flak group. I think its collector myth that black painted helmets are Flak anyway, JMO.

**warbuff** · 12-08-2014, 01:51 AM

Thanks for the reply Doug, I agree with you that this is a tough one. One other point is, in the areas where the decal it chipped away, the underlying paint is a different color from where the black has chipped away on other areas of the helmet. Which leads me to think that the decal is on top of the black.

This makes for a great discussion though.