Article about: I think I've seen all these helmets at the port, Callis, I seen them in neatly stacked the back of a tipper truck through the window of the coach we were in, this was last year so is it poss
This is more a "scrap yard" find than an "attic" find. It happened 12 years ago.
I was visiting an industrial zone in the suburbs of Madrid with a fellow collector where all the scrap yards of the area are concentrated. These huge scrap yards have mostly old crashed cars and some metal leftovers for recycling. We used to make visits once a month just in case we found interesting military vehicles for sale, as someone had told us that only a year earlier you could buy ex-spanish army american MB willys jeeps or WC-52 trucks, saving them from the torch.
We were driving around and suddenly from the distance we saw what was literally a mountan full of helmets! The adrenaline rush was something i´ll never forget. Upon closer inspection, we discovered the mountain consisted of some spanish civil War m-21 and M-26 helmets, some post war american M1 type helmets, but mostly spanish Z-42, german look alike helmets.
We were nevertheless excited, as the lot looked really old. We started climbing the mountain and joking about how nice it would be if they would be german helmets. After all we knew Franco had received some amount of war material, including helmets, from Nazi Germany. Suddenly, I stepped on a huge, german M-35 helmet. Yes, it was a real german M-35 helmet!
As you can imagine, after finding that gem, we decided to "dig" for more. We spent the next fifteen days coming back every afternoon and literally moving the mountain from one area to the other by the system of climbing on the top and inspecting every helmet, one by one, and throwing the helmets to a side, thus forming a new, filtered helmet mountain.
We managed to find 38 german M-35 helmets of different sizes, complete with original liners but with post war chinstraps. Some had the Spanish eagle attached to the front, but others were perfectly clean.
I kept one specimen for me, an ET 68 sized helmet, only having to add an original chinstrap. The rest were sold for a good amount of money to a militaria dealer.
The owner of the scrap yard did not know what he had, and he thought we were crazy when we asked him permission to "look" in the helmet mountain. "Why would you do that?" he said. "All the helmets are the same. Just take as many as you like from the base of the mountain". Nevertheless, he agreed, and charged us the equivalent of 9 euros for each helmet.
The second photo shows the two mountains, the one on the back had already been checked. The last two photos are of the helmet I kept (and still have, of course). I really felt as if I was in an allied depot in 1945. The experience was magnificent.
By the way, we also found some well marked german bags, of which I kept a couple. They are black leather bags with shoulder straps that I think are ordnance related, maybe to store a telescopic sight, but never bothered to find out. I will take them out of the boxes and photograph one for you folks to help me identify them.
I apologize if my story was too boring and hope you like the photos.
He ask a big price for just one helmet, really he paid 9 euro for 50 of them
I think Adrian type of helmets is also good, and I'am wondered if there was any of Soviet helmets?
He ask a big price for just one helmet, really he paid 9 euro for 50 of them
I think Adrian type of helmets is also good, and I'am wondered if there was any of Soviet helmets?
Dimas,
Yes, the scrap yard owner probably thought he made a big business with us.
Regarding soviet helmets, I was really hoping to find Sch-36 specimens, which saw action in our Civil War, but unfortunately there was none at all. A pity.
I saw the title "Treasures in a scrap yard" and I clicked it... I first saw the pictures, and I was "!!!NO WAY, NO WAY!!!"
Still, it is an incredible finding; but those few seconds, before I read the text... my heart pumped so fast and hard, it was so surreal... THANK YOU!
Nifartachi,
Those were my exact feelings when I saw the helmet mountain from the distance. But finding 38 german helmets out of maybe several thousands is not that bad either.
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