The Fallschirmjager Helmet

Fallschirmjager in German is actually three words. They mean, "fall, umbrella and hunter". Combine it and you have a "fighter from the skies".

The Fallschirmjager or Paratrooper wore a different uniform and insignia than the regular ground troops. His helmet also was one of unusual design. It is apparent that it was copied from the standard M35 helmet with the probability of having parts ommitted. The visor and earguards were removed to enable the headgear to be more compact and thus avoiding much of the protrusive parts in air maneuvering.

The necessity of a different strap assembly was provided to prevent the loss of the helmet in the air and also giving more safety to the chin and neck regions from jolts and pressures. This is known as a "chin harness". There were four variations:

1. Early issue was grey leather, backed by chamois on the side that touched the face. It had a quick release buckle of two positions with snaps.

2. A wider but thinner material, grey leather with ersatz (fake) chamois backing and a standard slide buckle.

3. Late issue, very hard leather and instead of the slide straps being sewn, they were riveted on. The harness was much thicker than the first two.

4. Remade harness: After the paratroopers were taken off jump status and used as infantrymen for the duration of the war their helmets were refitted with a D-ring and a standard buckle as the standard German army helmet. These were not as heavy or bulky as the jump issue.

For shock more padding was necessary and special allowances were used in the dome with the support of a rubber lining that ran almost the extent of the interior.This was covered with a leather lining and contained twelve holes for ventilation. The helmets were issued in the following metric sizes; 54, 55,56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61.

Instead of the regular type rivets for securing the liner to the shell, a bolt and nut system was used. This again was for prevention of breakage that could occur in the air. Some examples are known, and some "raw edges" were produced, but otherwise all paratrooper helmets had a "rolled edge". Paratrooper helmets had the silver Luftwaffe insignia on the left side (few examples were produced at the beginning of the war with Wehrmacht insignia) and national colors on the right.

Helmet Covers

1. Cloth helmet cover, blue grey with slots for camouflaging. These were first used on Crete.

2. Two different patterns of camouflage covers being a early issue and late issue. These were the same type as the camoflage smocks (jump suit) held on by clips with slots etc.

3. Chicken wire cover. These were of heavier steel than normal chicken wire. They were sized to the helmet and held on by two clips, one on each side.

4. Net type cover.Large holes in the netting. Liner was removed then net put over the helmet and liner replaced.

5. Mud Covering. Helmets were covered with mud and allowed to dry. This gave the blue-grey helmet more of an earth color.

The 2nd. Fallschirmjager Division that saw service in North Africa, used the standard paratrooper helmet with Luftwaffe decal-insignia. All were painted an Africa Korps tan, by the parachute riggers and personal equipment men of each Regt. They brushed on two or three coats of standard paint that was used on trucks etc. In doing this they covered up the flying eagle insignia. The paint jobs ran from excellent to poor, depending on how rushed they were and the craft-ability of the artist.

Floyd R. Tubbs, "Stahlhelm, Evolution of the German Steel Helmet", Author Published, 1971

The 1937 Army Parachutist Badge

My main goal in writing a monthly column on German medals and badges is to probide a service to collectors. In today's market the collector is constantly being called upon to discriminate fine details which verify the authenticity of war souvenirs. With all the repros around this can be almost impossible for the uninformed. I would venture to say that in the past thirty nine years, I have probably seen over twenty varieties of reproductions of the Luftwaffe Pilot badge alone. And its just about as bad with most other medals and badges.

Each month in DG, I will provide a picture of an original medal or badge. Both front and back view will be shown as well as the distinguishing characteristics of an original piece.

This month's badge is the 1937 Army Parachutist. There are two accepted type, the silver alloy one and the light aluminum badge used for summer tunics. As you can see from the picture, both have "bearded" eagles. By "bearded", I mean thay have a lower jaw or part of the beak below aht opper one. Repros often do not have the "beard". Note that the rear talon is wide spread. On most reproductions the talons are close together. Always look at the back of the badge for a high quality pin with cap shaped rivits. On repros the makers uaually pay less attention to the pin and back of the badge then they do to the front, consequently the pins are often of inferior quality. You can sometimes determine authenticity by this construction. It is interesting to note that the Army Parachutist badge was manufactured during the late 1930's when the highest quality Luftwaffe badge were being manufactured by Junkers, Assmann and other premier makers. Dispite this fact, original examples of this badge do not have a comperable quality or construction. You should also remember that these badges were in production for a very short period of time, and comparatively few solders qualified for the award, making this badge much rarer that the Luftwaffe Para badge. Conventional wisdom is the the original badges are unmarked.

Presently these sell for about $550. in aluminum and about $400. in silvered alloy.

Robet McCarthy, "The War Badge Collector", Der Gauleiter, 1988

Luftwaffe Gravity Knives

One of the best examples of German equipment designed for a specific purpose is the Luftwaffe Gravity Knife. This knife. also called a Paratrooper Knife, was issued to Luftwaffe personally as a general utility knife. Its primary designed function was to provide parachute troops, and other flying personel, with a heavy duty, reliable knife for a variety of functions.

These knives were made in two distinct types and finishes. They each consisted of a steel single edged blade which slid point frist out of the handle. The mechanism was operated with one hand by a lever and was practically infallable. Both types had a folding pick and large carrying ring on the end opposite the blade. Both types had wood grips as well. The sole difference in the two types of knife is that one could be taken apart by pressing a small square metal plate imbedded in the grip. This is the type generally issued to parachutists. There was also a variance in finished from blued steel to nickle plating.

Often you will find knives with makers marks on the blades. but not all, particularly the blued ones will have them. There is invariably a serial number on the base of the pick and I or one on the thumb lever. Often military acceptance proofs are stamped on the blade or pick base in the form of an eagle.

Unattributed: "LUFTWAFFE GRAVITY KNIVES", "Der Haren Kreuz" c. 1968