Frosty Bavarian M1896

Tony without Kaiser

Tony without Kaiser

Departed
Staff member
Just a standard infantry M1896 Bavarian? Perhaps not.......

This helmet was a very pleasant surprise, as the photographs I received before committing were very poor. However, when it arrived, it turned out to be a near-mint Bavarian issued example.

Other than my vacuuming off the dust when I received it, I believe this Pickelhaube has never been cleaned; the fittings still retain the light plating over the fittings (similar to gilding almost?) which seems to have been unique to Bavarian issued Pickelhaubes. From the photographs, I expected the chinstrap to be a replacement, and was amazed to see it was an original. The best original chinstrap I have ever seen. The most interesting thing about this helmet though, is it comes from a very obscure unit.

Click HERE to see more photos, and the unit markings. And the liner! Oy yoy yoy! :compress:

dbh73.jpg
 
Congratulations Tony. An extremely nice helmet. It is I think the first time I see this marking in real, but I have seen this light gold plating on non-bavarian helmets.
B
 
Thats really interesting, Tony. I have a Bavarian helmet with exactly this type of 'plating' over the fittings. It doesn't seem to tarnish and needs never to be cleaned. It is a really rich, dense gold - not frosting and it seems quite thick. I always thought it was private purchase but the liner is the issue type.
I'll post it.

And, yes - thats another great helmet you have there!
 
Hmm... Chip sent me an email, and mentioned that Jeff Noll's book about weapon markings shows this exact abbreviation (St.A.) and identifies it as Militärische Strafanstalten (Bavarian Military Prison). He also mentioned that he thinks the "04" looks like a date. So I might have misidentified the St. A. as Sanitäts-Abteilung. Wouldn't be the first time. Thoughts?

dbh73e.jpg
 
Well opinions are free, and I'm afraid that is all I can offer is an opinion. As you have already explained this is a tough one. I am not so quick to embrace abbreviations of weapons. They are normally significantly different, but sometimes can be a clue. I agree that the numbers 04 represent a year. But then we had this abbreviation St. A.
I am not sure that the first letter is S. but I can find no other candidate that would work with a t.
There is a well-documented Bavarian only abbreviation St. = Strafanstalten. However, we have also seen the same abbreviation used for Stabs-Wache. I have seen neither of those used on a helmet.
Sanitäts-Abteilung should be S.A. but again, I have not seen it used on a helmet.

The problem with the penal establishment is at the abbreviation is not St. it is St.A. I do not see the letter a as a sequence as in A., B., C. but rather as a separate word- Probably Abteilung. St.W. is again Stabs-Wache but what is St.A?
So, that is a very long rambling. Just to say I don't know, but at least you have my thoughts. The rule that I have been following is that the owner of a Mark makes the decision on originality. There is no question that this was original, but I do not know what it means -- should be rare either way. I posted it on the list with your first thoughts, and all I can add now is as Dave Mosher says -- "make the call."
 
joerookery said:
// So, that is a very long rambling. Just to say I don't know, but at least you have my thoughts.
Click to expand...

All very welcome I assure you Joe. Thanx. I agree, the "A." is a seperate word, which is why I leaned toward Sanitäts-Abteilung as I have seen St. on field dressings. One I had was marked "St. Depot X Armee-Korps" so this is why I assumed this helmet was Sanitäts-Abteilung.

St. = Strafanstalten is also a possibility, but if so, why the Abteilung?
 
Either way T, a fantastic addition to your collection. Some of these things will always remain up in the air. The guy making the markings could screwed up either way. We will never know for certain. The main fact is that this is a superb example. Brian
 
Tony: Chip's idea of the St. A. meaning Straf Anstalten is a possibility
but I have some reservations. The marking he cites from Jeff Noll's book is taken from Bavarian Printed Instruction Number 448 titled Small Arms Marking Instructions, dated 1910. The actual Bavarian list shows the abbreviation as "St." and the meaning listed as "Straf(-Anstalten)."

The abbreviations used on weapons are similar but in many cases different from those used on clothing. Until something concrete shows up I think you have a list of several possibilities. My vote for number one on the list would, at this time, be Sanitats Abteilung.

Reservist1
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top