Polish WZ-63 Airborne helmet

**ruddersrangers44** · 06-11-2015, 09:25 PM

Finally got it safe and sound then Mark,looks superb,and worth every penny by the looks of it,the scrim sets it off perfectly,well done Bud,another space among many to find a home for.............

**Mark K** · 06-12-2015, 01:39 AM

Thanks James and Jake it is without a doubt a nice lid that IMO shows period usage and James it would appear that some one has had to do some hand stitching on this example to keep it together and servicable .
I need to start putting up some more shelving though as I have been stacking helmets for a while now and I am running out of room.

Regards Mark

**James C** · 06-16-2015, 07:03 PM

Great to hear of the field repairs Mark

and don't forget if you need a hand with your shelving let me know

**battle gear** · 06-19-2015, 06:40 AM

looks like it's seen some action? or at least some field use and training maneuvers, here are some early photos from NVA Manoever Oktobersturm 1965 of the Wz63 in use.

**battle gear** · 07-07-2015, 02:56 AM

are these soldiers wearing Polish Wz63 helmets? I dont see any air vents on the side?

**Greg Pickersgill** · 07-07-2015, 08:29 AM

Yes, BG, that is the wz.63. Small numbers were produced without the vents. Otherwise identical to the standard model. Not even the Polish collectors actually know why or when. So far as I know it is the only real variant of this helmet - unless you count the fact that DDR-issued examples didn't have any ink-stamps in the crown (that's a real minor variation!).

**battle gear** · 07-07-2015, 05:38 PM

Thanks Greg, the early Wz63 shells without the vents must be very rare, probably not many in collections.

**Greg Pickersgill** · 07-07-2015, 06:11 PM

I think we should be careful about assuming that ventless 63's are early production; I have seen enough pics and mentions of them to know that they exist, but nothing to show when or why they were produced without vents. For all I know they could be the *last* production examples, just as much as the first.

**battle gear** · 07-16-2015, 02:09 AM

here's another Wz63 in my collection the shell is dated 1985 and the liner is a size 60

notice the liner looks a little different on this larger size, it has separate leather fingers and less padding than smaller liners, a size 61 would fit me better, but those are not very common.

**Mark K** · 07-17-2015, 12:20 PM

Now that be one minty helm BG the WZ 63's do seem to be all over the place on price as I have seen some sellers list them for stupid amounts of money and must be considered quite rare by some US sellers .
Many thanks for adding the image I love the fact that he has some Hessian slammed under his net to tone down the semi gloss paint.

Regards Mark