07 December 2007

Luftwaffe Protective Helmet 7 Dec 2007

Hi there!

I am back with a rare Luftwaffe protective helmet:


A rare Fliegerstahlhelm SSK90
On 8 May 1941, the Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe ordered the introduction of a steel helmet for use by flight personnel. It was made out of several "leaves" made of 1 millimeter thick, chronium-nickel steel. The inner shell was made by stamping pieces from sheet steel and then riveting them together. The outside was covered in brown goatskin. The inner padding was made of foam rubber and the inside of the helmet was lined with brown cotton material. The new helmet was described in Luftwaffe Service Regulation 422, Section A, Supplement 1. However, soon after delivery of the first helmets it was found that the helmet was unsuitable for operational use and that it had to be returned to the Luftwaffe Clothing Office in Berlin. Hence, only few of these helmets were manufactured and survived until today. A rare item!

"wasabogoa" sent me an original, previously unpublished photo of a Do 17 crew that wears the SSK90. Thank you for sharing this rare photos with us!.














No comments: