My First Combat Helmet

[M422A1]

Attached are some photos of my first German combat helmet (previous to getting this one, I had a M34 RLB). M42 with original paint (and rust!), liner and chin strap. The chin strap isn't on it in these pictures but I have it somewhere. I used the helmet reenacting back in the 70's & I broke the chin strap so I took it off.

I got it from a friend of my parents who owned a junk/antique shop for $35. He got it from the vet that brought it back. I was 14 years old then and now I'm 51 but I always managed to hang on to this helmet through the years.

Best Regards,
Mike

[NickD]

nice lid mate & story to go along with it thanks for sharing & at $35 an absolute bargain nice one

[85ronnies]

Mike it would cost more than that for the chin strap now nice helmet mate thanks for showing,
cheers Ronnie

[Nifartachi]

Hi Mike,

Nice to know you kept it for all those years. Sorry to hear about the chin strap.

[Davidh]

nice looking lid , rgds Dave

[ironcross1]

Great lid ,you did better than me , i still have my first one , bought 30 years ago for $20 , back then i had no idea on the different verities , turned out to be Norwegian reissue ,cheers Raymond

[Rick]

Nice helmet glad you kept it.

[rottenfuhrer-nl]

nice one en don t ever sell it you wil regret it !

[M422A1]

I just wanted to add that the original owner wrote his name inside the liner. I had the helmet for several years and had never untied the drawstring in the liner. One day a friend said that some soldiers wrote their names inside the liner and I should look. Upon looking, I was pleasantly surprised to see the name "Kessler" written inside the liner.
I guess the only thing better would have been "SS Rottenfuhrer" in front of "Kessler"!

Best Regards,
Mike

[SteveR]

A nice model 42 no decal helmet.