Luftwaffe M40 Single Decal.

[James C]

fairly boring i think not ,its a great looking lid thanks james

[Adrian]

I'll take some more pics tomorrow in different light to see if it helps.

I've had it about five+ years now and the price was a very low one (approx £200 with £/$ exchange rates at their most favourable) so the seller hadn't added anything on for a possible double decal. In fact I've never seen a helmet as cheap since - which is why I don't own another!

[KradSpam]

A very close shot on the decal remnants would be good Ade, is there any paint under the blue? The overall look is good but it does have some odd points, 2 decals on an M40 is rare as said, also early brass liner rivets usually on an M35. The strap is OK I think but more often seen on a KM helmet.

[VolksJager]

Hi Adrian,

Its a nice M40 Lufty! I dont have to many problems with this one at all. Has some great patina and was most certainly used. I will start with the decal, from what Is left of the detail (which isnt much) I dont see to many problems. There is no sanding marks to say its artificial wear, could be acetone cleaning of the surface though which can explain the loss of detail. The other idea could be no lacquer on the decal which then has lost detail over time. Crooked swastika arms as the like is not and indication of a fake decal, as others have said this was a hard decal to apply. Look at the decal under a UV light and tell us what you see.

As for the other side I will take a punt and say does anyone else thing someone has gone decal digging on this one? Acetone on stripper on a q-tip could explain the damage to that side. Not a removal but looking for something is the way I see it.

The roller buckle chinstrap is not something that scares me away either, I have seen other helmets with changed out chinstraps before that were period, some soldiers preferred other types.

Brass liner pins, as Andy said, should be on M35's but if they were using old stocks then its not uncommon. The liner band is right for M40's so thats a good sign, check under the leather for washers on the pins.

Overall A nice lid, Gets my vote

Cheers
Jason

[stefanr]

I like it and for £200 even I would have taken the punt.

[M422A1]

I've seen crooked swastikas before and also decals which have folded up on application resulting in a very non conforming look.

I can take further photos if required, just let me know what you want to see.

I was just at a friend's house last night and he has two
luftwaffe helmets with crooked swastika's in his massive collection.
Both 100% original. And his aren't the first I have seen...

Best Regards,
Mike

[Sir Payne]

I've seen crooked swastikas before and also decals which have folded up on application resulting in a very non conforming look.

I can take further photos if required, just let me know what you want to see.

I stand corrected on the decal. I did some research and I found a few other helmets with a similar very-crooked swastika decal. What initially concerned me was that this decal's arms appear 'very crooked', specifically the left arm, and it almost appeared like it was made like that. I guess an application error, or some other problem is understandable. Sometimes you will find complete decals that are off centered or badly tilted, I should have kept that in mind.

Regards,
Corey

[davejb]

I tend to agree with Jason,although the decal is rough in detail I dont think it has been done to fool anyone, the damage through the decal appears to have the same patina as the surrounding areas, the helmet as a whole looks a good M40, i was initially worried about the roller chin strap as I was under the impression that these type of straps were not common to german helmets of any type, but I will bow to Jasons remarks that he has seen period straps of this construction, also as you say Adrian the cost was not high therefore was not intended to gain a monetary advantage, the brass pins may well have been changed out from a period helmet at the time and the condition of the poor application of the Adler decal is seen on many period Luftys, as for the tri-colour decal there is very little evidence either way to confirm period or a later application, but i cannot really see that it has been scratched away but i have heard that some DD M40s tri-colours may have been removed with petrol in period to conform to the regulations issued for their removal, whether this is the case here is subject to conjecture

[Danmark]

If it bores you too much old bean, I would be happy to add it to the "Great Southern Wall"
( Somerset is south of Wales and I live in New South Wales ....... too easy! )
Dan

[Adrian]

I appreciate your comments Gents. (Well, maybe not Dan's so much.....)

Here are a couple more decal shots.....