M16 Camo

[ottodog8]

Hi All,
While this is not my latest find, it is a piece that has puzzled me for the 12 or 15 years I have owned it. I bought this as a postwar repaint. My question is by whom and when was it painted? The ageing, camo pattern, colors, and texture of the paint are perfect. The liner is spectacular, and has genuine age. There are 2 giveaways however. One is that there is pitting under the paint. The other is the leather washers on the reverse of the liner pads. I have owned and studied M16 helmets for over 40 years, and have handled and seen many hundreds, but this one is outside anything in my experience. Anyone have any ideas? Whatever it is, it sure is a beautiful helmet.
Steve

 

[Gustaf]

Hey Steve,
One would expect to find pitting under the camo paint on an M1916 helmet, as the camo paint would have been applied after the helmet had seen atleast a year of duty in the trenches. I have not seen a liner like that, but it would be logical to make them that way, as the eyes in the liners are the first thing to tear.
Gus

 

[poniatowski]

I agree about the pitting. I have a liner like that on a Finnish rework... however, I cannot vouch 100% for its authenticity either. The price was right so I bought it!

Ron

 

[JohnS3rd]

Steve,
That is a nicely preserved M16 Cammo Helmet. Did you have any luck in determining the authenticity of the helmet liner?
Best regards,
John

 

[ottodog8]

Nothing new to report. I still have the helmet, still don't know when it was done. I have owned it since the early 1990s.

Steve

 

[JohnS3rd]

Steve,
Thank you for the quick response. Did you ever try to blacklight the threads, the cloth pads, cotton ties, and pouches to see if any of the items glow and have rayon?
Best regards,
John

 

[Amybellars]

Steve
The liner and chinstrap are reproduction and I am pretty sure the paint work is not original to the period.

Such paint job was done in the 70s according to what I know.

 

[Amybellars]

A well preserved one in my collection

 

[JohnS3rd]

While not an M16 Camo, I have an M18 with one of the coolest patterns I have seen.
Best regards,
John

 

[Spiker]

Camo helmet and MG 08 water canister.

 

[JohnS3rd]

Ed,
Very cool display. :thumb up: Thanks for sharing. :thumb up:
John

 

[ottodog8]

Steve
The liner and chinstrap are reproduction and I am pretty sure the paint work is not original to the period.

Such paint job was done in the 70s according to what I know.

Amy,
Curious about why you think this is from the 70s. I was pretty actively collecting at that time and never saw anything like this. But this is why I asked. My belief is that if someone was making these fairly recently, there would be more than one and perhaps another collector has seen a similar piece. Again, I don't believe this was done pre 1918, but am more than a little curious about it.
While helmets are not my main collecting interest, I have managed to acquire a few examples.

 

[ww1czechlegion]

The paint on the outside doesn't spook me as being a modern paint job. I like the nice heavy thick paint brush strokes that most collectors like to see on these helmets. But of course I may be wrong. It's sometimes hard to tell from even these excellent photos, without having the piece in hand to see in person.

Of course we know the liner is a modern replacement as you and others have pointed out. But I think the paint on the exterior of the shell has a chance of being original WW1 period. Have you posted it on German Helmet Walhalla forum to see what the camo helmet collectors think over there?