Reissued Heer Helmets

Definition

As written in the online free dictionary one of the meanings of reissue is : To issue again, especially to make available again.

So what do collectors consider reissued helmets ? The actual meaning may differ somewhat depending on whom you ask but generally a reissued helmet according to my definition must always have been repainted over the factory base color or the factory base paint was stripped and the helmet received a new paint job.

On top of that 3 other things could have happened to a reissued helmet :

• A new liner was installed
• The original decal was painted around or overpainted
• Another decal was applied on top of the paint

Where were helmets re-issued ? This is a tough questions to which we don’t know the direct answer , we can only look at the vast amount of reissued helmets and make logical assumptions.

1. Factories for sure reissued helmets , in their case it could be stock helmets painted before 1940 that were repainted to M40 standards (textured paint , single decal).
2. Depot reissues , we must assume that battlefields were cleaned up and that good material was gathered and freshened up behind the front lines in especially equipped makeshift factories. Helmets would get newly painted , new liner bands installed and in some case even be re-decaled.
3. Field reissues , these would be crudely repainted helmets that do not carry a decal however they may have been re-decaled at a later stage.

Statistics :

If you look at the reissued helmets that reside in people’s collections I estimate that a good 98% are M35’s. This of course makes sense because they needed to be adapted to the cruel wartime conditions the most. Get rid of the glossy paint and more flimsy liner bands. The large majority of these being Heer helmets which is also the reason I have decided to create a separate page here.

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ET) size 66 – M35

• Lot number not visible due to the overpaint
• Under the leather is a piece of 1943 dated newspaper
• 1943 dated liner band
• The overpaint was done right up to the liner band as you can see paint on the band and leather under the leather is the original apple green paint.
• Both decals are under the paint but the Heer decal is nicely visible , with the USB microscope we can also see the red of the tricolor peeping  through the cracks in the paint.
• RB nr chinstrap

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ET) size 62 – M35

• Lot number 462x (last digit not 100% readable)
• 1938 dated aluminium liner band
• Painted around ET factory decal
• 2 Names on the leather
• 1940 dated chinstrap

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ET) size 64 – M35

• Lot number 4696
• 1940 Dated reinforced aluminium liner with the round cornered chinstrap bales.
• The ET factory decal has been painted around
• Bullet or shrapnell hit that took the vent piece.

Pictures courtesy of Langemarck

Sächsische emaillier und stanzwerke (SE) size 64 – M35 – REISSUE

• Found by Dave Shirlin in 2007
• Lot number 3038
• 1937 Dated liner
• The interior paint shows the original factory smooth green with the tricolor decal lurking under the paint.
• This helmet would have been typically repainted in 1940 or later.
• An ET style decal was placed on top of the repaint which suggests the helmet was re-painted in a professional environment maybe even in the SE plant itself or a facility related to the plant.

Sächsische emaillier und stanzwerke (SE) size 62- M35 – REISSUE

• This re-issue is a type that has been observed with liners from 1941 to 1944. All with the same paint and the same decal. It’s an M35 that has been completely re-painted , re-decalled and often also has received a new liner band.
• Carries a typical re-issue decal by Methner & Burger
• 1943 Dated liner

Maker unknown , size 66 – M35

• Maker probably EF
• Lot number 21474
• 1940 dated liner band
• Originally reissued like the SE helmet posted above with Methner and Burger decal
• Overpainted black up until the liner band.

Maker unknown , size 64 – M35

Emaillierwerke A.G. Fulda (EF) size 62 – M35

• Lot number 21054
• 1940 dated liner band
• It still has its first pea green color on the inside.
• The decal is the HJ & K type typically found on EF shells but a decal that saw widespread use on reissued helmets as well.
• The tricolor as often seen is buried under the paint.
• The crack in the visor area is not something often seen

Pictures courtesy of RonR

Emaillierwerke A.G. Fulda (EF) size 64 – M35

• Lot number 20980
• 1940 dated alu reinforced liner band
• 1938 dated chinstrap
• Note the very rough uneven applied paint and the paint cracks where the tricolor is overpainted
• The decal is the Ed Strache type which is only applied on reissued helmets.

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ET) size 64 – M35

• Lot number 3932
• Has a 1940 dated Rahm & Kampmann chinstrap
• This one has a period applied Gustav Peiniger decal which are very hard to find.
• The liner appears to have 2 names both with a date and year behind them , we can only guess as to why.

Maker unknown , size unknown – M35

• As often happens with reissued helmets is that maker ,size and lot number are obscured by paint. The size can usually be derived from the liner band but in this case I do not have that information.
• Liner band dated 1936.
• What I can see from the Lot number points to an ET helmet.
• Double decal reissues are rare because one of the purposes of repainting the helmets was making them stand out less. In my opinion this is a repaint that was from before 1940 when there was no call yet for reconditioning single decal helmets. The Pocher decal set on this helmet was used quite a lot on repainted transitional helmets around 1935/36.
• The helmet has two cloths tags under the liner of the same person together with its unit information which seems to be Mg kompany of the 129th Infantry regiment.

Pictures courtesy of RonR