M1915 Tschako

[morel5000]

Hi All,

here is my latest find. A Prussian Tschako M15, for Telegraphen or Luftschiffer.
I always thought they were also for machinegunner battalions?

Are the chinstrap and kokarde ok? The inside is not as black as the outside. I'm not an expert on straps, I read the article and I think both are ok. But I might be biased

Thanks and
best regards,
Michel

 

[b.loree]

Nice shako, congrats. I am suspicious of your chin strap though......the cut edges look too clean and new. On all of the original straps that I have, the edges are very dark from skin oils and sweat. The rust on the fittings would be easy to fake. My opinion only,

 

[poniatowski]

The shako was worn by a variety of troops, including machine gunners, so unless it's marked somewhere, it could have gone to a number of different units. I wouldn't worry too much about the chin strap, a good repro is nice too. This looks like the fittings were put in something (such as a sodium solution) to force them to rust, since there's none that matches elsewhere. However, an overall nice helmet and one to be proud of! I can't really comment about the field badge and cockades since I'm no expert on them.

Ron

 

[morel5000]

Thanks for the comments! Tomorrow I'll try to make pictures of the strap when its removed from the helmet. The cockarde looks ok, however if the strip is a repro it is probably replaced (I guess cockardes are easier to find so it might be an original).

Thanks again for the input :thumb up: ,

Michel

 

[morel5000]

So I got the strap loose at one side and was able to take some pictures. So here they are:

Inside

Outside

Stitching:

and

and finally the picture I forgot the last time:

Best regards,
Michel

 

[argonne]

Very nice Tschako! Congrats! =D>
My opinion is that the cockade is a very good original, as maybe both metal buckles of chinstrap.
About the chinstrap, I´m not sure...I think quite old replacement...Seams and thread are definitely not original. If I´m not wrong, chinstraps seam has always 3 holes (on all of my helmets) and yours have 4.
But again, only just my opinion. :wink:
Philippe :salute: