Hey all, I recently purchased this civic curved dip German WW2 Police helmet for a lesser sum of money along with some other militaria and I was wondering if anybody could tell me if it was real or not. I know it may be hard to tell from the pictures so if anyone could tell me some distinguishing features that would let me know if it was truly original. Some key points, the liner has the numbers 99 and 58 on it in two different spots the inside of the shell on the back has a stamp that appears to read "D.R.F THALE" and a large "A" After some research I have found that the stamp means it is from the Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale that carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd. If anyone could tell me any information on this helmet to know if it is real I would greatly appreciate it. PICTURES: A07 C7763 305 E 4 D1 F B027 03 E93 B44562 D EAD49019 9 FAA 4 C1 D A904 EDF75 C3 BA19 E A138 F4 CE D5 A6 49 C5 ACC8 22 C4422 A158 A 173 E4930 ACEA 4543 B762 8 AB14 FE73856 D7 BA4 ED7 370 F 4 FEF A0 A8 121 F7 CACE10 D 8 B6423 CD E748 4 E29 AA1 C 87 EC13 CD5 F72 DEDF9290 0799 4553 999 A 23 B831 EEDBEF 8 A09 D3 BE 69 D3 43 D2 A4 DD B61 BCBC45 EB0 https://ibb.co/fyUaEp
A07 C7763 305 E 4 D1 F B027 03 E93 B44562 D EAD49019 9 FAA 4 C1 D A904 EDF75 C3 BA19 E A138 F4 CE D5 A6 49 C5 ACC8 22 C4422 A158 A 173 E4930 ACEA 4543 B762 8 AB14 FE73856 D7 BA4 ED7 370 F 4 FEF A0 A8 121 F7 CACE10 D 8 B6423 CD E748 4 E29 AA1 C 87 EC13 CD5 F72 DEDF9290 0799 4553 999 A 23 B831 EEDBEF 8 A09 D3 BE 69 D3 43 D2 A4 DD B61 BCBC45 EB0 https://ibb.co/fyUaEp
I wish I could answer your questions but out of my league. It certainly has a lovely patina. I hope someone with more knowledge will respond but welcome to the forum regardless. Gaines
Your photos would suggest that it's a wartime helmet, and the markings do indeed indicate that it was manufactured in Thale by Eisenhüttenwerk, but I can't comment on the decals as it's difficult to confirm their authenticity from a photo. Can you post a full side on photo of the shell and also one of the inner crown pad and it's suspension system. The chinstrap in full would also be interesting to see. The tabs around the rim of the liner were for attaching a leather neck protector that was used by firefighters to stop hot embers and the like from burning the neck. However their presence doesn't suggest that the helmet was used by the fire service as the tabs were fitted to this type of helmet in the factory as standard.
Makes sense, keep the design standard for efficient production and let the user attach the neck protector as needed. The neck protector seems like a useful idea, maybe better than the "bill" in back on the classic fireman's helmet.