Original German WWII Luftwaffe M40 Helmet with Liner
Up for sale is a beautiful and original German WWII M40 Luftwaffe helmet. Incredibly this piece shows nearly all of its original blue color, still with strong pebbling from its factory coat. It has definitely has been taken good care of over the years, and likely looked exactly the same almost 80 years ago! The shell shows a very nice natural patina, with some signs of whiting which either came from age or at one time a whitewash coating for the winter months of the war. The decal is roughly 60% complete and still looks great as a combat worn piece. The leather liner is still very soft and almost 100% in tact, however 1 finger has ripped. Some staining on the front brim of the liner may have been caused by sweat, although we were told this is blood. The story was that a US service member shot and killed the Luftwaffe soldier using this helmet. After the fighting stopped several hours later, it was picked up, the blood cleaned, and sent home before the war was over. Its always best to buy an item, and not its story, however the stain may match that story. Since it is relatively even in almost a line, one can imagine blood pooling on the forehead of a fallen soldier. As the blood was apparently wiped clean from the liner, this would have left a stain but not any corrosion. All in all a great piece regardless!
Manufacturer : HKP64
Batch Number: 1083
Up for sale is a beautiful and original German WWII M40 Luftwaffe helmet. Incredibly this piece shows nearly all of its original blue color, still with strong pebbling from its factory coat. It has definitely has been taken good care of over the years, and likely looked exactly the same almost 80 years ago! The shell shows a very nice natural patina, with some signs of whiting which either came from age or at one time a whitewash coating for the winter months of the war. The decal is roughly 60% complete and still looks great as a combat worn piece. The leather liner is still very soft and almost 100% in tact, however 1 finger has ripped. Some staining on the front brim of the liner may have been caused by sweat, although we were told this is blood. The story was that a US service member shot and killed the Luftwaffe soldier using this helmet. After the fighting stopped several hours later, it was picked up, the blood cleaned, and sent home before the war was over. Its always best to buy an item, and not its story, however the stain may match that story. Since it is relatively even in almost a line, one can imagine blood pooling on the forehead of a fallen soldier. As the blood was apparently wiped clean from the liner, this would have left a stain but not any corrosion. All in all a great piece regardless!
Manufacturer : HKP64
Batch Number: 1083
Up for sale is a beautiful and original German WWII M40 Luftwaffe helmet. Incredibly this piece shows nearly all of its original blue color, still with strong pebbling from its factory coat. It has definitely has been taken good care of over the years, and likely looked exactly the same almost 80 years ago! The shell shows a very nice natural patina, with some signs of whiting which either came from age or at one time a whitewash coating for the winter months of the war. The decal is roughly 60% complete and still looks great as a combat worn piece. The leather liner is still very soft and almost 100% in tact, however 1 finger has ripped. Some staining on the front brim of the liner may have been caused by sweat, although we were told this is blood. The story was that a US service member shot and killed the Luftwaffe soldier using this helmet. After the fighting stopped several hours later, it was picked up, the blood cleaned, and sent home before the war was over. Its always best to buy an item, and not its story, however the stain may match that story. Since it is relatively even in almost a line, one can imagine blood pooling on the forehead of a fallen soldier. As the blood was apparently wiped clean from the liner, this would have left a stain but not any corrosion. All in all a great piece regardless!
Manufacturer : HKP64
Batch Number: 1083
