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That photo is one from a series of the 9th Flak Division at Stalingrad. The officer pictured front left, Helmut Wilhelm Schnatz, was killed later the same day that the roll of film was taken.

Pigskin liners were definitely common during the war. You can find a bunch if you search on here but here's my late war M40 Quist....

Just to be clear, I don't claim to know with 100% certainty why that helmet has a section with "aligator effect" to the paint, but I was putting the oil residue forward as an educated guess. It is...

Probably surface contaminate under the paint. Remember, helmet shells were dipped in an oil bath after the oven to harden the steel during production prior to painting. Probably was not washed off...

I'm not so sure either decal has been touched up. Would need an in-hand inspection for me. Where the black on the national shield is missing, it seems to be the blue-gray underneath. On the...