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Item 520 M35 single decal army helmet
This is an NS64 which was produced in the spring of 1940; during the transitional period between M35 production specifications and the new regulations instituted in March. The helmet is an M35 shell finished to M40 specs; being painted with the new M40 feldgrau but no texture added. The single army decal is a textbook C.A.Pocher as found on all NS helmets between 1936 and the end of decal application in 1943. The paint rates at 98% as does the decal. The dome bears a 1940 type non-dated acceptance stamp. All components are in “matching” condition. Overall the helmet is a well-balanced and excellent condition example of a rare transitory model. SOLD
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Item 514 M15 Czarist Russian helmet
Arguably one of the rarest of all production helmets of the 20th century. The M15 Adrian was produced by France to supply the two brigades of Russian troops sent by Czar Nicholas II to the west in exchange for French produced war materiel delivered via Murmansk to the Imperial Russian armies on the eastern Front. The Russian soldiers who fought for France took part in several campaigns on the western front as well as the French attacks on the Salonika Front. This example retains 95% of it’s original factory applied chocolate brown paint and is adorned with it’s original Russian eagle front plate. The liner is a correct first pattern type made from a single piece of blackened leather. (As these Adrians were produced for the expected arrival of Russian troops as negotiated in 1915, any original surviving example should have a 1st pattern liner which was utilized in Adrian helmets until late 1916.). The chinstrap is original to the helmet and remains intact and sound. Overall one of the nicest example of this rare helmet that I have ever seen. (and I have only seen or owned less than 10 of them over the decades). $3950.00
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Item 519 M34 Fire-police helmet
This is a very good example of one of the earliest third Reich era police light-weights. The Germans at the time had melded the two services of Fire Department and civil police into one for reasons of administration) The model is generally known as the M34. The helmet was originally adorned with the early police insignia consisting of a canted swastika on one side and a canted national color shield on the other. Later (likely post 1935) the helmet was upgraded with what came to be the standard Police insignia of the party shield and the police eagle with wreath. Looking closely at the party shield, you can notice signs of repair to the decal. I believe that this was done during the period for reasons of keeping the helmet attractive for dress purposes. Take note of the “mud-cracks” which only can occur after a considerable amount of time. Also, given that there is un-repaired damage to the same decal, I believe that un-repaired damage occurred post-war and therefore would have no purpose served in repairing it. The helmet is otherwise in very attractive condition; retaining 95% of it’s original paint. The liner and chinstrap are intact and sound. The fire-man’s neck shield remains in very good and pliable condition. Overall this is a very displayable and attractive example of an early helmet. $650.00 ON HOLD
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Item 518 M42 Kriegsmarine helmet
This is an EF64 helmet produced in 1941-42. The eagle decal is a a Huber Jordan & Koerner “thin-wing” which is gold in appearance. Most of the True Kriegsmarine decals display characteristics which make possible their unambiguous identification as KM; such as the layered feature or the green tint to the detail lines. This is the one decal type which displays none of these features so we are left solely with the properties of it’s color to base our opinion as to it’s identity as a true KM decal. In my opinion, it is a KM decal; albeit the least desirable of them for the aforementioned reasons. The helmet shell has been overpainted in black color which we see from time to time on original German helmets. The reason for this has often been attributed to a sort of camouflage but whatever the reason, there is little doubt but that the black color of this example does date to the war years. The liner remains intact and sound with -pliable leather and no damage. The chinstrap is not in commensurate condition so even though it is itself original; I would assume it to be added to this helmet. Overall an interesting helmet in very decent condition. SOLD
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Item 517 M16 Imperial German combat helmet.
This is a very good and complete example of the German M16 combat helmet. The BF64 shell retains 90% of it’s original feldgrau paint and there are remnants of a mail-home label still sticking to the back. The original liner is the 1917 type with stamped steel frame and chrome tanned leather pads. Two of the drawstring holes are pulled through by the drawstring. The helmet is complete with it’s original leather chinstrap composed of brass hardware and riveted construction. Quite typical for helmets late 1916/early 1917. Overall this helmet is well balanced as far as commensurate condition of all it’s components. A very honest example. SOLD
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Item 516 M40 Luftwaffe helmet with ground combat material cover
I bought this helmet at an Ohio gun show about 15 years ago. The seller was a gun dealer who had recently gotten when clearing out a veteran’s estate but the veteran was not identified to me. The helmet is a standard M40 Luftwaffe in shell size 66. The camouflage material is Luftwaffe splinter B and is unmistakable as being a part of Luftwaffe ground combat smock as no other garment used this type of splinter pattern HBT material. It was wrapped around the helmet shell when it was found. The Luftwaffe bread-bag strap was aded by the fellow to whom I later sold this helmet. Overall this is a very attractive and displayable helmet. $1500.00
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Item 515 M15 French Adrian Helmet
Here is a nice and basic example of the French Adrian helmet with infantry front plate as was issued to the French army through-out WW1. The helmet shell is a medium size (of three different shell sizes) and retains 95% of it’s original horizon blue paint. The liner is a second pattern type; produced fro multiple pieces of leather, which came into usage late 1916/early 1917. The chinstrap is original to the helmet and is intact and sound. Overall sound and solid. SOLD
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Item 513 M40 Single decal Luftwaffe helmet
This is an M40 Q68 which is in extremely nice condition; The exterior shows only minor age/wear as a result of post-war storage. The Huge size 68 shell retains 99%paint and decal. The liner is named so it was obviously issued but seems not to have been worn much. The inside of the dome shows portions of the original acceptance stamp, which is not common for Q M40 helmets. Overall, this one is a top shelf Luftwaffe helmet. $1450.00 ON HOLD
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Item 511 M 16 style Austrian Berndorf re-issue helmet
One of the more interesting “transitional” helmets out there. The helmet shell is a 1930s Austrian which was produced at the famous Krupp plant at Berndorf. (note the maker logo and size marking at the rear. These interwar “berndorf” helmets were equipped with wire bales at the side edges; presumably as it was intended to use as chinstrap bales but were in fact, never so used. It is not clear as to whether these Berndorf M16 style helmets were ordered by the fledgling German Wehrmacht in the mid 1930s or they came into German hands after the 1938 Anschluss but in either case the helmet has been adorned with a Juttner style army decal which remains 90% intact as well as a national color shield on the reverse side. The leather liner and chinstrap are original factory production and were not upgraded to the M31 liner system as so many of Germany’s transition helmets were. Overall this is a very attractive example. $1650.00
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Below are some links to pages which you might enjoy looking at.
Note: some of the links are broken (or pages wiped out) since I have moved to the new platform. I intend to rebuild and reset the links when I can get around to it. .
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Formal studio portarait of Oberfeldwebel Johann Schwerdfeger, a pre-war professional soldier, probably created in connection with his award of the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross), received in 14 May 1944 when he served as a Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 1.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 228 / 101.Jäger-Division. Schwerdfeger soldiered from 1935 to 1937 in Infanterie-Regiment 84, and in 1939 was transferred to the third company of Infanterie-Regiment 186 of the 73. Infanterie-Division, at the Polish Campaign’s start. In June 1942, after serving in Jägerersatzbataillon 75, Schwerdfeger joined Jäger-Regiment 228 of the 101. Jäger-Division, who fought in the Don Bend, at Rostov, and at Maikop, in the Caucasus, and joined the retreat through the Kuban and the Taman Peninsula. On 17 May 1943 Schwerdfeger was awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight’s Cross) for his extraordinary bravery in the battlefield. In April 1944, in the breakout from Hube’s Pocket, he was severely wounded, and was awarded the Eichenlaub for his Ritterkreuz; moreover, Sergeant Schwerdfeger also earned two Panzervernichtungsabzeichen (tank destruction badges), meaning that he singlehandedly destroyed two enemy tanks with hand-held weapon. Schwerdfeger was able to recover from his wounds sustained in Hube’s Pocket and served the remainder of the war. He passed away in December 2015. The novel, “The Willing Flesh”, by veteran Willi Heinrich, and the famous World War II movie “Cross of Iron” (based on the novel), is generally recognised as being loosely based on Schwerdfeger’s experiences as an NCO in Jäger-Regiment 228 in the course of that unit’s retreat through the Kuban and Taman Peninsula in the late stages of the war.
Contact information:
To order or to ask questions:
E-mail address: wii1944@aol.com
Mailing address:
Ken Niewiarowicz
P.O.Box 582
Lapeer, MI 48446
