Doug B
Well-known member
Indeed Hans, I had that when I was 14 before my uncle wanted to turn it into a flower pot! Here it is with Karel's beside it, mine is the one on the right with the white barn paint. I took these at the museum here in town. Both have the identical stripe, both are camo overtop of camo, something which you almost never see, both have the exact same color palette, even the brush strokes are the same. Inside both have writing from 3 different German soldiers in pencil, mine had the inscription as well from the soldier who captured it in Peronne France 1917.
I still remember Karel calling me and texting me photos of the one he was looking at in the show or flea market, we couldn't believe it. These 2 helmets were painted on the same day and probably by the same soldier. Both are incredible camos, but yet nobody can identify what the red stripe signifies with any certainty. I have heard for rank, for medic, for machine gunner, an Austrian wound badge but I ruled that out. Cannot find any photographic evidence either and too bad neither helmet was ever unit marked.
So it still remains a mystery, however I have now seen it faked on eBay lol!
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