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Unknown M35 Helmet
Hello esteemed members of WRF,
I have a small question for those of you who are willing and able to answer it. I am still quite new to the world of collection German steel helmets. I am hoping to expand my collection as many other do, however I also enjoy a few post-war models with a so-called 'longer' service history. This particular helmet has been, as far as I can gather, repainted post-war in a grey colour that was standard for all materials used by Civilforsvaret, the Danish Civil Defence - set up shortly after the war ended. Thus they used, unbeknownst to me, a great deal of German equipment left in the country after they marched home (whatever was left of it). I have only seen Danish M23/41 helmets being used by the Civil Defense, however I stumbled across this M35 (or M40) looking helmet and I say that because the stamps do not match those of the German producers from the war. The kind elderly lady selling the helmet claims the stamps in the back read, "Jbb" and underneath it, "S1890". It doesn't stand out as a Finnish or Hungarian helmet (according to my 5 minute Google research ), but then again - what do I know?
My question is - could someone kindly enlighten me as to who produced the helmet and any other valuable information?
- Daniel
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06-12-2014 10:24 PM
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Sorry i was writing a reply on my phone and it got deleted - will write it again when home
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Easy peasy
It's a German produced M40 shell, 1943/4 production or thereabouts. Jbb is in fact Q66. You can also tell the producer is Quist by the font that is used for the lot number - typical for a Quist stamp. It was made late in the war since all the shell information is stamped at the rear, rather than the Q66 being at the side as it was previously. Quist made the M40 up until the end of the war, unlike the other manufacturers. The Danes simply repainted the thing and stuck a domestic produced liner in.
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My guess at 43/44 was mostly based on the location of the stamps and assumed reduction in production in '45. It's tough to date shells from lot numbers as they were non - consecutive on the whole (except ET/ckl). You can get an idea with other dated components like liner bands or pins, though this is imperfect as they may have been replaced.
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