Original German WWII M40 Single Decal Luftwaffe Chicken Wire Helmet with 56cm Liner & Chinstrap – stamped hkp64 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic all original example Model 1940 German WWII helmet with a single Luftwaffe Eagle decal and a great original Chicken Wire Cover. The wire was used to easily attach foliage and other camouflage items from the area, and could easily be redecorated for a new season. This is the thicker style of wire used with wider openings, and we have had several experts examine the wire and confirm that it is the correct type of wire used during WWII. Unfortunately, as with all “chicken wire” helmets, it is virtually impossible to verify when exactly it was added to the helmet. However with the rust and patination on the wire as well as the helmet, we are fairly certain it was added during wartime.

The helmet has a lovely “been there” look, and is fitted with a lovely 56cm M-31 liner, as well as a service worn original chin strap, which is in somewhat delicate condition. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet still retains much of the original lightly textured Luftwaffe Fliegerblau (flyer’s blue) paint, which utilized aluminum oxide as a texturing agent. There is some scuffing and chipping to the paint, especially around the lower rim, which also shows wear from the chicken wire. The interior paint is a bit better retained, though there is still some chipping and oxidation. The original Luftwaffe eagle decal is present but definitely shows quite a bit of wear, and is only retained at about 40%. This is a great example that really looks the business!

Above the left ear interior of the apron has a stamped manufacturer’s code and size hkp64, indicating it was manufactured by Sächsische Emaillier und Stanzwerke A.G., Germany. It is also marked with lot number 12784 on the underside of the rear skirt. Towards the end of the war, the SE marking was discontinued in favor of three letter code “hkp”, and later this was moved to the rear skirt. Size 64 is a nice smaller size that can accommodate liners from 56cm to 57cm or US 7 to 7 1/8. Size 64 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. There are the initials R.A. on the rear skirt as well, and it looks like there was another name marking previously above this, but the paint was scratched off.

All three liner retaining pins are intact, however they look to be plated, which has oxidized and caused most of the paint to flake off all three. The interior of the helmet still has the original M31 leather liner, with all eight of the original fingers intact along with a worn original top tie. The leather is still soft and supple, and has a lovely light brown color, showing a bit of staining around the edge, and is marked with the size 56 on one of the fingers. The outer side of the galvanized steel liner band is marked 64 n.A / 56, indicating that it is a size 56 liner for a size 64 shell. The right side displays the full manufacture information, as well as a date:

B. & C.
BERLIN
1941

This liner was made by Biedermann & Czarnikow, a German company who later moved operations to Łódź in occupied Poland to take advantage of the slave labor in the ghetto located there. NSDAP authorities renamed Łódź to Litzmannstadt in honor of the German General Karl Litzmann who had captured the city in the previous World War. This is exactly the right period and type of liner for this helmet, and we see no evidence that it was ever changed out.

The chinstrap is present, and looks to have a maker mark on the long end over a 41 date. The maker mark is unfortunately too worn to read. The chin strap is in relatively good condition, though it is torn through partly near one of the buckle holes on the long end. It has the correct galvanized steel hardware, which now shows oxidation.

Overall an fantastic genuine complete M40 Single Decal Luftwaffe helmet with original chicken wire covering and a patina that is impossible to duplicate! This is an item that will only continue to appreciate in value over time.

The first “modern” steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, (“Gaede” helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet’s shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet’s safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army’s Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation were given by collectors.