M42 Tri Color “Splotched” Camo

Product Description:  An M42 Tri Color “Splotched” Camo in excellent condition. The exterior of this  helmet was camouflaged at some point using a tan base spray, then being accented with dabs of darker green and red in a pattern known to collectors as “Splotched”. The exterior camo shows even use and wear throughout. Areas of the helmets Heer decal can be seen under the camo paint on the helmet’s left side. The helmets liner is dark and dry with age. One of the leather tongues has broken off, and the drawstring has since been lost to time. This is a later produced rear marked “CKL” helmet. The helmets size is 64, and the lot number is 3154.  A nice looking example of a M42 Tri Color “Splotched” Camo.

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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