Article about: I have been trying to add one of these for decades. Almost bought Eric Zentner’s wonderful example just before his tragic accident. I do miss him. Anyway, I finally found this one recently
I have been trying to add one of these for decades. Almost bought Eric Zentner’s wonderful example just before his tragic accident. I do miss him. Anyway, I finally found this one recently. The Adler, one of the less common “hairy bird” examples, is, I believe, of Austrian manufacture, and is in pretty good shape. The tri color is a little beat up but is still pretty good. The liner, chin strap and dome pad are all there. Like several others that I have, this one had a comb that was period removed and the holes were soldered shut. One interesting thing is the maker stamp. It can be seen on the exterior of the apron, something I haven’t noticed on any of my other M34’s. I am going to check the others when I have the time. Anyway, it’s the 9th Crash Crew, but my first with a “hairy bird”. Hope you like it. Jim G.
Yet another cool helmet Jim. Very purposeful looking. Agree with MAP, these rare birds are a bit of enigma. The exact reason for their colour seems unclear. Sorry to hear about your friend. Perhaps this helmet can be looked at as a kind of tribute to him.
"I have never heard of a hairy bird. what do I look for on the decal? what does the white band signify?" Toot
Click twice on the picture of the Adler decal, it should enlarge. Look at the long lines and you will see short lines coming off of them at an angle. This detail makes the "feathers" look more full, and are the defining characteristic of the so called "hairy bird" Luft Adler. I don't think it has been definitively proven, but it is thought that these decals were manufactured in Austria. The White band is something that is seen on most, but not all Luftwaffe Crash Crew helmets. I think it was put on these helmets to make the wearer easily recognized as a member of the crash crews at Luft aerodromes. It is absent from some early examples. Early Crash Crew helmets had combs. Most of the combs were removed during the War and I believe those without the White band had the band added when the comb was removed. Jim G.
Here is one of mine without the stripe. It is an early one with a Gold Leaf Luft Adler, only seen on crash crew helmets. (The last 5 pictures are from the Ludwig Baer book.)
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