Can any information be had from a helmet batch number . Or was is just for quality control and once it left the factory was that where all traceability stopped.
Can any information be had from a helmet batch number . Or was is just for quality control and once it left the factory was that where all traceability stopped.
It was just for quality control. Helmets were tested at the factory for their ballistic qualities. So if any failed it was vital to know which batch they came from. The batch would either be scrapped or re-worked into "beaded" type home front issue lids.
However, in recent years this batch numbering has started to be used by collectors. Some of the more scarce issue helmets, such as SS and KM, are being cataloged by batch number. So gradually number tables are being built up and we know certain numbers can be attributed to certain helmet contracts, ie decals.
Cheers, Ade.
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The lot number was just an indicator of the batch of steel that was used to make the helmet. You are right, it was just for quality control.
Collectors use them nowadays to determine what kind of decals should be on a helmet. For example lot number '1234' from the ET factory might all be single decal Heer helmets, so a shell with that lot number that has Luftwaffe decals would be looked upon with suspicion.
(Ade beat me to it!)
Thanks for the info .
One item with respect to lot numbers, other than ckl/ET they appear to not be sequential. That is a very important item to consider, I have seen collectors infer that the numbers are sequential and that is incorrect.
so what happens to the lot number once the helmet is reissued , example= et64 lot #123 issued to the army then reworked and reissued a year later as a luftwaffe lid . wont the records indicate that this is an army helmet?
The 'records' are lost, there is a modern record being built up as helmets are examined and logged, so problems like your reissue scenario are not an issue.
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