Why No tank helmet in Germany

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Ludwig Wittgenstein
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Re: Why No tank helmet in Germany

#31

Post by Ludwig Wittgenstein » 03 Feb 2020, 15:41

Regarding the earlier comment about German tankers putting their Stahlhelms out on the turret on the hope of losing them, it may be of interest that British Sherman commanders were also known to place a helmet and goggles on the turret by the hatch, but this was to draw sniper fire in order to locate where the danger was. It did work too as they would discover their helmets riddled with holes.

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legko
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Re: Why No tank helmet in Germany

#32

Post by legko » 23 Aug 2022, 08:23

Indeed, why did the German tankers not have protective helmets? After all, the Luftwaffe pilots were supplied with them. And in the tank, the conditions will be tougher ...

While working on this article, I read the materials available on the net that are presented on this topic. The conclusions from them are quite expected by me: all the authors loudly repeat that it was extremely convenient for German tankers to fight in caps due to the comfort of German tanks: “So, why didn’t German tankers create an analogue of a helmet? In fact, the answer is very simple - because their caps were also quite comfortable, and due to the spacious compartment in the tank, they did not hit their heads as often as, for example, Soviet tankers in the cramped compartment of the T-34.
Well, what else can you think of, looking at photographs in which "blonde beasts" are fighting in the conditions of the Russian winter in caps. Apparently, they are not afraid of either meningitis, or pneumonia, or bronchitis, or otitis media. What really there are some bumps and abrasions!
Just as a wolf cannot force itself to cross the line of flags hung by hunters, so the human mind falls into a stupor at the sight of "historical" textual and, especially, graphic materials. The brain of the average person is not able to imagine even for a second that they can be a scam, taking everything at face value!
So the point here is not the negligence of German strategists, who did not take care of preserving the health and lives of their tankers, and not the superhuman physiology of German soldiers, but the laziness of our brains, and often their complete absence.

Because tankers, even German ones, still need a helmet:

1. At the moment of the shot, the atmospheric pressure rises sharply inside the tank due to the powder gases breaking through the mechanical gaps. Such drops can cause barotrauma of the unprotected ear.
2. Sound waves from gun shots will very soon cause deafness in the unprotected ear.
3. When an enemy shell hits a tank, the unprotected heads of the tankers will most likely be cut by armor fragments. The sound wave will cause contusion and barotrauma of the ear, and the momentum transmitted by the projectile will cause head injuries when it hits the hull and mechanisms of the tank.
4. Head injuries inside the tank are easy to get even when driving over rough terrain - there are no seat belts or head restraints in the tank.
5. Without headsets equipped with intercom, coordinated actions of the tank crew are impossible in battle. It's funny to read the memories of our "front-line soldiers" how T-34 commanders led their crews in battle with the help of kicks and gestures.

That is, the operation of a tank in combat conditions without a helmet is simply impossible. Even such a “comfortable” one as the “Tiger” or “Panther”.

Conclusions:

1. German tankers did not have helmets because there was neither a war nor the tankers themselves! Photos of the Great Patriotic War, as well as the entire Second World War, are fake and presented by the Creator for the sole purpose of convincing us of the existence of History.
2. Mystifying Human History, the Creator intentionally or unconsciously made many mistakes, as in this case with German tankers, completely ignoring the physiology of the human body. It is strange that he “painted” helmets for Soviet tankers (so hard that they sleep, eat, communicate, listen to political information and commander’s orders in them), but not for German ones. Forgot? Decided: will come down and so? Maybe it tests our IQ?

Sergey Morozenko
Marine officer. Graduated from TOVVMU them. S.O. Makarov in Vladivostok, Faculty of Radio Communications. He served on Russky Island as commander of BCH-4, head of the RTS of a large landing ship.
https://alternative-history.com/falshiv ... o-shlemov/


shamirnewell
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Re: Why No tank helmet in Germany

#33

Post by shamirnewell » 06 Jun 2023, 00:30

Poor quality photo of a panzer commander wearing a panzer helmet similar to Fliegerstahlhelm 44.
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DCRFAN
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Location: new zealand

Re: Why No tank helmet in Germany

#34

Post by DCRFAN » 06 Jun 2023, 10:56

I have been crewing armoured vehicles, managing AFV fleets and lately involved in acquisition of new vehicles and crew equipment all of my working life ... now in 48th year.

When I began as a baby crewman we only wore headsets and a beret. Then after a few years the first uncomfortable US Vietnam era fibreglass bone domes helmets arrived which we were forced to wear. Just a few weeks later I was driving an M113 across country on a black moonless night with no lights. I had the impression something was in front of me, I pulled back on the laterals and turned by face down into the hatch as I received a bang on my helmet. After explaining to the crew commander why I had stopped we continued on. Later we stopped for the night and sitting inside the rear I removed and examined the helmet. There was a clear scratch where the outside sand/paint coating had been scrapped off. The next morning while first parading the vehicle the black scrape up the glassis plate was very obvious. The night before we had been driving throughout an area of small burnt pine trees which became very hard in the fire. To this day I realise how lucky I was to have a helmet on not a black beret. Why were they uncomfortable, the integral headset had hard ear pieces that only achieved a noise seal by inserting pieces of foam behind each ear piece by inserting three different depths of expanded foam that were huge, a bit too big and just a little too small.

Fast forward few years, I was on a tank gunner course. We were bombing up at a static range shoot. I was standing on the ground beside an M41 tank loaders hatch holding a 76mm HE round when I heard 'look out' then it all went black. When I came round a few seconds later I was lying on the ground with the HE round beside me. Apparently the loader decided to clear out the fired 'brass cases' and began tossing the 76 'brass' (actually steel) out of the loaders hatch without any warning. I wore a 76 case on my bare head. Wish I was wearing a helmet! Lots of Disprin required following that experience.

Jump forward a few more years crew commander in an M113 with T50 turret. Exercise in a native forest. Reversing down a narrow track after a contact. Just eyes about the top of the turret top. The vehicle is straying off the track ... 'Driver right'... no response, 'Driver right' a bit louder.... no response. Shit drop lead has become detached and theres a big tree stump in the grass. I yelled 'DRIVER HALT' as I tried to reconnect the drop lead. CRASH. I was bounced around in the turret as we struck the stump. I'm glad I had a helmet on that time as my head ripped into the .50 cal and the inside of the turret. End result of that collision, the idler and idler spindle were ripped off. We left that scene with the track returning over the last road wheel and the remains of the idler sitting inside on the floor.

Now with the added protection of Active Noise Reduction headsets, to this day I strongly advocate for wearing helmets in AFVS. It's not just about combat injuries. To me, like in sport, the evidence supporting the protection provided by helmets is a no brainer.

bam
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Re: Why No tank helmet in Germany

#35

Post by bam » 25 Jun 2023, 12:30

shamirnewell wrote:
06 Jun 2023, 00:30
Poor quality photo of a panzer commander wearing a panzer helmet similar to Fliegerstahlhelm 44.
He's wear the paratrooper helmet, not the Luftwaffe crew helmet

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