M42 Heer Normandy Camo Helmet

Product Description: This is a tremdously impressive example of an M42 Heer Normandy camo helmet. The camouflage paint retains vibrant colors and is a one-look original wartime field applied finish. This helmet left the factory as a typical single decal Heer M42 helmet. The exterior was field repainted with a very attractive and striking Normandy camouflage scheme, featuring red and green spray over a tan base. This camouflage overpaint shows light wear from field use, and is about 94 percent intact, with a few areas of heavy wear to the dome. The patina on the exterior of the helmet is light and even, with the colors remaining very bright and attractive. There is some chipping of the paint over the Heer decal, revealing some of the detail to the Army eagle. The inside of this beautiful M42 Heer Normandy camo helmet retains the original factory paint. The liner and chinstrap show some wear and age, but remain completely intact. The liner is a wartime steel banded example; the leather liner is complete, with typical; age and usage toning. The original drawstring is present. The chinstrap is full length, with a steel buckle, and is maker marked and dated 1942. The inside of the skirt is manufacturer stamped “EF” with the size portion of the stamp very lightly stamped and illegible. In the rear of the skirt is the lot number 35081. This M42 Heer Normandy camo helmet is a really nice and highly desirable example, with lots of eye appeal.

Historical Description: The helmets used by WWII German soldiers were issued with a variety of solid paint colors applied at the factory. Different units deployed to combat zones had different methods to break up the iconic German helmet silhouette, for camouflage purposes. Some units issued fabric covers or camouflage nets. In other units, helmets were painted with camouflage colors. Among the most widely utilized camouflage paint finishes were solid tan for desert environments, solid white for winter use, and the tri-color camouflage scheme known to collectors as “Normandy” pattern camouflage. This camouflage style was certainly used in Normandy, famously by Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6, and also by many other units. But it was also used by various units in all the occupied countries along the German-fortified “Atlantic Wall.” The Normandy camouflage scheme is characterized by the use of red, green, and tan/brown/yellow paint. In some cases, the entire helmet would be oversprayed with the tan base color, and then areas would be further oversprayed with the red and green. Other helmet painters chose to simply spray areas with the various colors. These paints were, generally speaking, the same pigments supplied to units for the purposes of camouflaging vehicles. The paint was usually applied in unit work shops, using industrial type spray guns, rather than by the soldiers themselves. Every painter had his own style, and there were probably infinite variations in the way the helmets were camouflaged. Normandy camouflaged helmets were regarded by enemy GI soldiers as attractive souvenirs, and they remain very desirable collectibles today.

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