Original German WWII Luftwaffe LKpN101 Netzkopfhaube Summer Flying Helmet with MINT Unissued Flight Goggles In Box Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The famous net-top helmet proved popular with Luftwaffe pilots as it was designed for comfort and without the restriction of a chinstrap. This classic mesh flying helmet which has become synonymous with Luftwaffe fighter pilots in WW2.

This example has a manufacturer’s label coded BXO indicating it was produced by the firm Deutsche Telephonwerke & Kabelindustrie AG of Berlin, a manufacturer of telephone and radio equipment. We do not know if they manufactured this flying helmet, or whether it was shipped to them for outfitting with the avionics.

The size given is hard to read but is appears to be stamped 54. Overall condition is very good to excellent. This example features dark leather receiver cups and provision for the Luftwaffe later variant with attachment points for 3-strap oxygen masks.

The throat microphones are marked Mi4c and Ln 26779-3 meaning the avionics are comprised of oval Mi4b magnetic type throat microphones with four-pole break coupling/plug. The helmet carries the short communication cord favored by fighter pilots and is fitted with a plug that is nicely marked BLK v F 127560.

Goggles are in the standard teardrop design, with aviator-style clear glass lenses, Luftwaffe gray painted aluminum frames with rubber eye sockets, each of the eye sockets stitched to the framework of the googles, each of the frames have five ventilation vents along the top and bottom edges, the frames linked together by an aluminum nose chain, ribbed olive green elasticized headband strap with sliding metal fit adjustment buckle, elongated loops with hooks attaching the headband to the frames on either side, the googles themselves attached to the frames by small metal clips which also act as locking clips to secure the lenses in the frames. The goggles are in near mint condition and come with the original box.

Near extremely fine overall condition.

Early First World War pilots in military aircraft soon discovered that appropriate protective flight goggles were a necessity, due to the cold, sun glare and the all too frequent occurrence of oil leaking into the slipstream and covering the pilot. Originally the German military was caught unprepared and no specific protective goggles for pilots were available, which resulted in the pilots utilizing commercially produced or captured enemy protective goggles. Early in the war, the Carl Zeiss optics firm of Jena developed specific protective flight goggles that became the standard pattern for other manufacturers. Further improvements and refinements of assorted protective flight goggles continued in the inter-war years and by the start of the Second World War, there were no fewer then nine types of protective flight goggles available and nine main manufacturers including, Carl Zeiss, Ernst Leitz, Philip M. Winter, O.W. Wagner, Nitsche & Günther, Knothe, Cellowaro, Bauer, Uvex and Auer.

Overall a wonderful honest Luftwaffe fighter pilots helmet offered in very good complete condition.