Interesting pdf files about german helmets

[Byzantium]

Hi guys,

I've had these pdf files for a while but i haven't seen them posted here yet, i thought it might be interesting for some who'd like to dive deeper into the technical side of german helmets (metallurgy, thickness, weight, dimensions, bullet resistance - and in the case of the 2nd/3rd pdf, decals)

I can't add them as an attachment because they exceed the max file size limit, but you can read them through the links below.

The first pdf file is a 1944 de-classified US analysis of 50 captured German helmets from the North Africa theater of war.
They examined the helmet shells (to determine the metallurgy/composition) and linerbands, and did ballistic tests on the helmets (yes, they destroyed them).

It contains some interesting takes, such as their assumption that early German helmets were infact produced by the Skoda plant in Czechoslovakia because they have a similar metallurgic composition:

"The Skoda plant in Czechoslovakia was the big European producer of helmet steels and helmets, supplying them not only to the Czech government but to foreign countries. It is highly probable that both the Dutch and the subject German nickel-silicon steel helmets, produced in 1938 and 1939, were manufactured in Czechoslovakia."

Link to original unclassified pdf: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA954454.pdf

The other two pdfs are from a study that shows it's possible to discover the presence of a decal under a thick layer of overpaint, using infrared (this may have been discussed here before, but i'm not sure)

Link to original pdf paper 1: https://www.ndt.net/article/qirt2022/papers/2026.pdf
Link to original pdf paper 2: https://www.ndt.net/article/art2023/...rt2023_p79.pdf

Greetings

[Danmark]

Thanks, what a great read ( 60 pages though and I've only brushed through so far ) on the helmet analysis. As to their 'assumption' on manufacture location, what is more likely is that the steel sheet - or maybe even the planchets came from Czechoslovakia but we know that the 5 factories made them - appendix A indicates that with the ET / EF / SE / Q & NS stamps.

I wonder if our resident helmet authors and website experts have seen this? ... if not, there are 50 more examples to add to lot number lists!!

[Byzantium]

I agree, that kind of sounds plausible (that the steel plate itself was imported from CZ at that time)

One of the lotnumbers in Appendix A (T473, Q62) shows up in Brian Ice's list as entry: US government inspected, so i guess he (and perhaps more people) is/are aware of the pdf existing, i haven't looked up any of the other lotnumbers yet

[MAP]

I haven't had time to do a deep dive but I've never seen this before. That said, I have seen research on using the infrared before.

[Danmark]

I've just been looking at steel production in Czechoslovakia in the war years.... and if it would have been possible for the steel for helmets coming from that source.
Up till the annexation ( in 1938 ) steel production was around 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum.

After the occupation they were making a million tonnes more each of the war years until the end - it couldn't have just been for their own use!!

Four of the factories were only 100km from the Czech border too ( NS in Schwerte was closer to the industrial ruhr. )

.....passes the sniff test I reckon!

[Byzantium]

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs...00360004-7.pdf

Found one more tiny pdf (CIA de-classified) about the ET plant, it shows steel production per month measured in tonnes (presumably they are talking about the year '44) and the amount of workers were 6000 men

[Schwerpunkt]

I agree, that kind of sounds plausible (that the steel plate itself was imported from CZ at that time)

One of the lotnumbers in Appendix A (T473, Q62) shows up in Brian Ice's list as entry: US government inspected, so i guess he (and perhaps more people) is/are aware of the pdf existing, i haven't looked up any of the other lotnumbers yet

It means 1 helmet with that number was inspected out of a lot with hundreds of similar numbered helmets so not per definition the helmet in BI’s list. It is a lot number not a serial number.