M-42 helmet

[Porcelain44]

Can anyone tell me why this WW2 German M-42 helmet is silver? Did they paint them this way for parade, air raid warden etc? It was found in a barn and the paint appears to have been on it a long time. Thanks

[Mark in Cleveland, Tn.]

the so called silver is nothing but the bare metal shell before painting, as it has lost most all of it over the years.

[Porcelain44]

Thanks for the note. It makes sense but the underside appears to have some green-grey paint. Would they have painted the underside and not the outer shell, or did the latter have grey-green paint at one time that has disappeared, leaving only the silver base?

the so called silver is nothing but the bare metal shell before painting, as it has lost most all of it over the years.

[Hans1906]

German helmet production in the 1940s (Silent) https://dissolve.com/video/Very-rare-fo ... D294-5-124

Stahlhelm 1916-1945 - German Steel Helmet (E)



Hans

[Porcelain44]

It turns out it was silver paint. I have been carefully removing it and getting back to the original grey green layer.

[Hans1906]

Today's chance find on the NDR website:

Vom Stahlhelm zum Küchensieb / From the steel helmet to the kitchen strainer

Today, the idea of going to bed with a hot-water bottle made out of an ammunition casing may seem macabre. Or using a coffee pot that was once a "bazooka". However, post-war people did not have the luxury of being squeamish about it. Necessity made it necessary to use such items as well.

Source and link: https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronolog ... on146.html

You can still find such pieces on German flea markets today, most vendors don't even know what they are selling there...


Hans

[mikel]

I was a kid in the 50s.
What we did to helmets we acquired from vets, trash cans, etc was heinous.
There were lots of them and of little value.