M40 Camo - ET64 -Lot#3 - Capture Tag - Bizerte Tunisia 1942

[helmet2id]

Bought this, and a factory police helmet, at a small gun show in Connecticut about 25 years ago, for $180 if memory serves. Tied to one of the chin strap bales was a tag that reads:

GERMAN ARMY HELMET
FROM BATTLEFIELD NEAR
BIZERTE, TUNISIA, 1942

It is an M40 shell, an ET64, lot number “3”! It has a zinc/steel banded size 56 liner. The leather, which has some mouse nip damage, was treated by a previous owner. It is a really early ET M40 shell that may have originally been issued as a double decal Luft. The GHW II lot number data base indicates that an M40 ET with lot#5 was a double decal Luft and had an aluminum reinforced liner. On this one the remains of a Luft Adler are visible on the left, but I can’t see any remains of a tri color. The split rivet tails don’t look rebent but the one on the GHW database has an aluminum liner so I can’t swear the liner is the factory installed piece. If it isn’t, when the current liner was installed is anyone’s guess. All I can say is this is how I got it a quarter of a century ago. The capture tag is the greatest part of this piece, and verifies that it is in fact DAK camo. I think the camo paint is airplane paint, and I have no doubt that it was war time applied. Hope you like it. Jim G.

[helmet2id]

Here are pictures of the tag, the decal areas, the line r and the maker/size/lot number stamps.

[TWS]

Very cool Jim. Thanks for sharing. The ??red?? colored ring of ??paint?? on the rear split pin is curious.

A very interesting example with a lot of character.

[AndyM35]

A really thought provoking helmet Jim. Looks like it might have had a textured paint or similar over the Luft blue prior to the DAK camo. Nice tight fitting liner too. Very intriguing.

Andy