German Model 1942 Helmet w/ Single Decal & Name Inside

This is a nice untouched example of a Model 1942 or M42 German helmet from World War 2. What I like about it the most is that it's still "wearing the war" on all surfaces plus seventy years. We picked this one up at a recent show from an elderly man who owned a shop in the midwest that specialized in militaria and collectibles. He said this one walked into his shop about thirty years ago. He obviously liked it because he held onto it rather than selling it. He had some others including a German paratrooper's helmet which I couldn't afford. This one has the original green paint which is uncleaned with the desirable single decal on the side. Only the early M42's have these as they were omitted from the remainder of production. It also has the name of the soldier it was issued to painted on the inside of apron which reads "Pion. Hockh." Stamped markings inside read ET66 (manufacturer and size) and 245"3" with the "3" backwards. Leather liner is not in the best of shape but it's original and still has the original draw string. The shorter buckle side of the chin strap is also present with the other side missing. If you look at the photos of the top of the helmet, you will notice what appears to be a splotch of white paint...at least that's what we thought it was at first. It's actually the remnants of a piece of paper. I was about to remove it when it hit me what this paper probably was. Instead of being a GI bringback, this may have been captured and mailed home straight from the battlefield. What we're looking at is probably a fragment of the original address label that was pasted atop the pot by the GI himself. Many helmets were mailed home in this fashion...no time to fashion a box...just thrown in the mail to get it back home.

Item# 1784

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