Opinions on LW M40

[nickman983]

Hi, I recently picked up this LW M40 and I wanted to get a second set of eyes on it. I think overall things look OK but, my main area of collecting is US helmets so, I figured it would be best to get a second opinion just to be sure.

My main concern is the split pins/liner. I think 2 of the split pins look fine but the 3rd looks to be re-bent. I was wondering if someone could provide some insight into whether or not the liner is original to the helmet or if it was likely replaced.








Split pin on the wearer's right side


split pin on the rear


split pin on the wearer's left side

[MAP]

Thanks for the nice photos. Very helpful.

Looks like a nice M40 ET Luft in a large size. Helmet may have had a white wash that was scrubbed off in the spring based on these photos.

Bent split pins are always a concern. The exterior of all three pins match up. And the other two appear to be untouched and have their washers in place. Also the over all wear of the shell is consistant with the liner and the liner fits well....So it's always a guessing game when we see something like this.

It is not rare to find a helmet where a washer was not put on when the helmet was manufactured. My view is that over time this pin got loose and was re-bent by the soldier.

(Or it could be that someone took it out for some reason and put it back in without the washer. )

This is what I see. Let's hear from others.

[nickman983]

Thanks for the response! Your observations of the helmet are pretty much spot on with what I am seeing/thinking. To me the patina on the pins (both inside and out) look to match each other and the helmet overall. Also, I can't get a good enough angle to take a picture, but there is rust stain on the back of the liner band from where the rear split pin sits. As such, my assumption was that the bent split pin is period. I think it's possible it was re-bent due to being loose, especially considering that the pin on the other side is a bit loose.

Regarding a possible whitewash, there's a decent amount of white residue in/around the vents and around the pins, though I think the rest of the white spots on the helmet are a bit more noticeable in the pictures than in hand. I'm not sure there's enough left to be certain though.

I'm far from an expert on these helmets so I'd love to hear what other people's thoughts on this one are.

[Adravor]

Looks like a nice helmet, the paint behind the liner looks way more blue then the other paint, could be the light or an repaint?
As for the split pints i wouldnt worry if the others are tight, might be that it wasnt tight enough when it left the factory, my Luftwaffe M40 also had a loose split Pin which the soldier in my case tightend with a littel stick between pin and liner.

[helmet2id]

Well, for what it's worth I like it. A nice winter combat used LW helmet. Jim G.

[nickman983]

Thanks for the opinions on this one!

Looks like a nice helmet, the paint behind the liner looks way more blue then the other paint, could be the light or an repaint?

It's bad pictures/lighting on my part. The white background kind of blew out the rest of the colors on a few of those. Here's a quick shot of it that better captures the color.



I'll grab a picture or two of it in natural light tomorrow assuming the weather cooperates.

[AndyM35]

Definitely a former white wash for me. A nice helmet too!
Andy

[AndyM35]

Adravor, good point. I think potentially the paint on the outside has patinated to a darker colour than the outside of the shell and combined with the scrubbing to remove the wash has resulted a lighter inside dome.

I like the outside shots of the pins and agree with MAP that the original owner may have had a play. How many of you have ever had to wear one of those plastic safety helmets that never fit? They don’t always fit right and the normal thing is to try to get a good fit and mess with it. If I was issued with a lid with a loose liner or perhaps after a battle I’d try to tighten it too.

Andy

[Danmark]

The other thing to consider is that a fairly heavy steel shell is attached to the liner by just three thin split pins. General wear. usage and tugging the chinstrap ( or even holding onto the removed helmet by the strap ) is surely going to loosen the pins - which also may account for looseness and re-bending in the field.

[Adravor]

Yeah, and if all the other split pins are unbent and tight, the liner definitly belongs to the helmet, which is one of the most important things in my opinion.

All in all this helmet is a special and really nice example, nice decal, nice paint, great liner, named and with whitewash, almost perfect, the drawstring and chinstrap missing is a bit sad, but overall it does not do that much harm.