M.35 Luftwaffe "tropical" camo

Hambone · May 4, 2013

Probably Sicily. Estate find out of Longview, Washington, so the story goes. It shows that it was subject to a good bit of long term moisture and Longview, Washington is pretty wet. It would be hard to fake this type of wear. Liner band and leather show traces of the camo overpaint.

Hambone · May 4, 2013

Decals under the paint. LIFE color pics of DAK helmet capture pile in Tunisia. Luftwaffe helmet painting.

Freddy · May 5, 2013

Nice lid,like the period photo never seen it before,sure iv'e got one from that photo?

mrfarb · May 5, 2013

I like it myself.

Hambone · May 5, 2013

Thank you. The "in hand" comparison with other camos I have which are unquestionably 100% original is quite favorable. The wear patterns are the same. Camos are heavily faked. "DAK" camos have been faked since the 50s. What is hard to fake is the wear of several years of field use and 60+ years of aging. The liner hasn't been out of it and is original (1939 date), which is consistent with the shell. The liner band has the same camo paint on it, as does the leather. The inside rim was brush painted, as was the shell, and you can see the brush marks in the paint, which is also crazed and aged.

Bigdibbs88 · May 5, 2013

nice lid i like the tropical ones, but usually they're too expensive and as you said heavily faked.

nice find :thumbsup:

George R. · May 5, 2013

Hambone nice lid, you do not see to many genuine DAK helmets. GR

Hambone · May 5, 2013

Tks George. Could very well be Sicily/Italy too, but many of those Luftwaffe troops did arrive in Italy fleeing North Africa. The pink / orange type tans are more associated with Afrika and Italy than other browns and tans which could be So.Russia, So.France, even Normandy. Just my opinions and observations.

CanadianAR · May 7, 2013

Thats an awesome lid Hambone, just freaking awesome. Great pics too.

Whos painting those other helmets and why? They do not look german.

mjones · May 7, 2013

Hambone,
Great helmet. I showed the pictures to my good friend Gerhard Hennes whom was a signal corps officer in the DAK. He is 91 and still sharp. He remembered large piles of helmets and equipment in and around Tunisia where he too was captured.
Mike

Hambone · May 7, 2013

CanadianAR said:
Thats an awesome lid Hambone, just freaking awesome. Great pics too.

Whos painting those other helmets and why? They do not look german.

Tks CanAR. Those are Luftwaffe troops in tropical uniforms painting their helmets in tan camo. Could have been North Africa, Tunisia, or Italy.

MJ, it would be cool if you "interviewed" him with his recollections of that, equipment, etc. Sadly, we are losing our vets and their stories at a rapid rate.

CanadianAR · May 7, 2013

Hambone said:
Tks CanAR. Those are Luftwaffe troops in tropical uniforms painting their helmets in tan camo. Could have been North Africa, Tunisia, or Italy.

MJ, it would be cool if you "interviewed" him with his recollections of that, equipment, etc. Sadly, we are losing our vets and their stories at a rapid rate.

Cool,

That older fellas shorts screamed british to me, but prob just the style of the time.

What size and maker is it? I cant make it out.

Bigdibbs88 · May 7, 2013

Hb I'm thinking of the luft grouping you posted a few years back....maybe time for a desert/tropical grouping

Hambone · May 7, 2013

Bigd, need to find an original Lw. trop pair of pants (most all repros) and bluse

I have the sidecap. More pics of the helmet from the seller, including maker info. It's a Quist with an early reenforced 1939 date liner band, 57 liner, 64 shell. You can tell the liner has never been out of it. Lots of spider poop, hair, crust, etc. in the dome:

mjones · May 7, 2013

Hambone said:
Tks CanAR. Those are Luftwaffe troops in tropical uniforms painting their helmets in tan camo. Could have been North Africa, Tunisia, or Italy.

MJ, it would be cool if you "interviewed" him with his recollections of that, equipment, etc. Sadly, we are losing our vets and their stories at a rapid rate.

Hambone,
I will do that later this month or eary June. He has written five books mostly on his experiences. Under the Crooked Cross, The Barbed Wire are two. I have them all. He had attended the WW2 days at the Reading PA Airport the last 4 or 5 years to sell books but is not this year. He sold his car and is 'not as sure footed' in his words as he used to be. Last year at the WW2 days I helped him get in with the GD unit. He said I was his minister of propoganda. He speaks four languages fluently and was proficient in Arabic at one time. He used to live near me and has moved to VA near one of his daughters. I will interview him regarding equipment.
Mike J

Hambone · May 7, 2013

That would make an interesting thread Mike. For history's sake it is good that he hasn't memorialized his experiences in books. I remember as a small child in the early 70s that WW2 vets, my grandfather's friends and such, were all around. Not anymore.

Peter U · May 7, 2013

Great helmet!
:thumbsup:

P

jack944 · May 15, 2013

nice lid

Love the bird and shield peaking out..like the toning on paint. :thumbsup:

Hambone · May 15, 2013

Tks guys. The liner is 100% original to the helmet, but it looks like it was cleaned with water long ago and was stored in a humid environment, which makes sense as to its stated origin from an estate in Washington state, close to the Pacific and in a city between two rivers. That helped the liner, keeping it pliable, rusted the helmet. Looking at some of the old stains in the helmet I believe it perhaps a KIA helmet which was cleaned out on the inside.

Amberg · May 15, 2013

Hello,
serious question from an ignorant WWI sniper collector.
Why should the Germans have painted the inside of a helmet in tan?
That does not make sense to me.
This is like painting the inside of a tiger tank in ambush camo or wearing camo underwear!?
Or is it just that simple that the Germans wanted to get rid of their camo paint and did not want to pollute the desert?

Thanks
Wolfgang

M.35 Luftwaffe "tropical" camo

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