relic m40

[James C]

afternoon gents ,as ive been looking over my relics stahlhelms ive come to realise that ive never done a dedicated thread on this relic m40 im hoping by adding it here i might glean some more information on it especially the coating as the out of all my relics this one has the thickest coating ive seen and im wondering what might of been used ,its also one of the most deminutive in my collection and it would never of fitted my big head so small in fact i imagine it might just fit a member of hitlerjungend it was found near the city of riga when in 1944 the red army battled with a division of the german 28th most probably the jager light infantry and broke through the front near the city of lecava southern latvia known also by its german name of Gross Eckau the pressed vent grommit is best described as a bagel in shape so im not sure if this will help to identify the maker all the internal stamps are corroded out so any help appreciated

[Danmark]

Looks like the paint was thickened with something to make it more 'paste-like' James. Maybe dirt, maybe sand, maybe cement who knows for sure. ( just don't call it zimmerit or we'll have another war on our hands )

Cheers, Dan

[James C]

thanks dan ,zimmerit it is ,im sold but seriously though i was thinking along the lines of dirt too but im always open to suggestions thanks for looking her over ,if there is anybody who is clued up on relic stahlhelms its you

[Gunny Hartmann]

Great looking relic James!.....

[James C]

thank you paul

[Tango]

I agree with Paul nice looking lid...& you must have half decent weather to get those photos too??.. Cheers Terry.

[James C]

thanks terry its a bit over cast but bright here today ,thanks for looking and commenting ,im appreciative of any help cheers james

[TheGoon]

Nice lid James the paint looks very thick on this one, could very well have been mixed with dirt or mud or he just slapped a lot of paint on to it at once or let it dried and kept putting more on.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi James ,nice relic! I think it may be a Quist helmet as the vent is slightly forward of centre and the skirt has a nice gentle "slope" to it although I may be wrong. Here is a little chart that I lifted from somewhere or other a while ago(apologises to the original author as I do not remember who to credit!) Have a look and see if you think any differently! Leon.

[TheGoon]

Agree with fallschirmjager it looks like a Q by looking at the air vents