Original German WWII M42 Italian Camouflage Painted Helmet – CLK64 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic all original example of a German WWII Model 1942 helmet, with original Italian Mediterranean campaign painted camouflage. It shows signs of once having an ultra rare full basket chicken wire cover. These signs include a horizontal line of missing paint across the back of the shell and that each vent hole has a rivet insert. These rivets inserts are extremely rare and were used to attach to a full wire basket more securely to the shell. Helmets such as these are extremely scarce on the market. It’s a true USGI “bring back” from WWII.

Different grades of wire were used to provide the framework for which foliage could be attached to helmets.  In many cases, the wire itself served as a means of camouflage without the aid of leaves or branches.  A variety of methods were used to attach wire to a helmet. Both strait bailing wire as well as fencing wire (often called Chicken wire) was also used in various gauges. The wire types and grades applied to helmets often differed depending on the theater of combat where the helmet was being used. Helmets that used wire for camouflage were typically found in the Italian and French theaters in 1943 and 1944. However as a whole, continental Europe with its strong agrarian base was an abundant source of farm yard and fencing wire.  

This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains much of its genuine spray applied camouflage paint with yellow, green and brown colors. The shell does show wear and use but is dent free. This was a helmet that was worn extensively in the field, most likely created in preparation for the Allied invasion of Italy.

All three liner retaining pins are intact, and still retain small traces of the camouflage paint. The interior of the helmet still has an original M31 leather liner. We aren’t sure if this liner is a period replacement. The liner band is aluminum, size 56 and dated 1944. The liner is in very good condition with all eight with fingers and original tie string to crown. It is named in ink cross the reveres.

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is batch number stamped, 3609 and a faint manufacturer’s code with shell size, CKL 64 indicating that it was manufactured by Eisenhutten plant in Thale, Germany in shell size 64cm.

Overall a fantastic 100% genuine M42 Italian Camouflage Painted former Chicken Wire named helmet! German helmets with this type of camouflage are always the hardest to find on the market. 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.

More than 1 million M1935 helmets were manufactured in the first two years after its introduction, and millions more were produced until 1940 when the basic design and production methods were changed.