This tropical pith helmet was introduced in late 1940 for use by German units stationed in warmer climates like North Africa and southern Europe. Many of these helmets are seen in pictures and newsreels of the time but they were found to be unpopular and ineffective so production was halted in 1942.

The helmet offered here is the first pattern made of a cork base covered in khaki cotton twill material and edged in a gray-green leather. There is a band of material around the base of the crown with a cloth keeper at the rear. The left side of the crown has a stamped aluminum shield with the Army style eagle and swastika while the right side has a shield bearing the National colors of black, white and red. The top of the crown as a screw in cloth covered vent with three air holes.

The interior of the crown is lined with red felt and has a brass vent plate with four openings. The light brown leather sweatband is in excellent condition and marked with a size “57” and a maker’s mark on the inner surface.

The overall condition of the helmet is excellent. The exterior is fairly clean with only light scattered surface dirt. The leather edging shows some light wear as would be expected. The interior is near perfect with only the chinstrap missing.

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