Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is a fantastic all original German WWII M40 helmet issued to the Heer, or Army, with a heavily patinated field applied camouflage finish incorporating sawdust as a texturing agent. The shell shows multiple layers of paint and extensive service wear, giving it an especially attractive broken in appearance.

The camouflage finish has worn through in numerous areas, revealing earlier layers beneath. There is also some flaking and several dents to the shell. In places, one of the underlying colors appears to have a Dunkelgelb, or dark yellow, tone, possibly representing an earlier tan repaint. We were unable to confirm exactly when each paint layer was applied, but the helmet clearly shows evidence of repeated refinishing during its service life.

The interior retains a considerable amount of the original Panzergrau, or armor gray, finish, with light wear and scattered oxidation.

The rear interior skirt is stamped:

DN304

The left interior skirt is marked:

Q64

The Q manufacturer code identifies F.W. Quist G.m.b.H. of Esslingen, while the 64 denotes the shell size.

There also appears to be a faint handwritten name on the rear skirt near the heat lot marking, although it is too worn for us to read with confidence.

All three original liner retaining pins remain intact and retain much of the textured paint on their exposed heads.

The helmet retains its original M31 leather liner with all eight fingers present. The top tie is missing. The leather remains in very good condition overall, showing only light use with no major staining or significant damage. It appears to be the thicker, more textured later war pigskin type leather.

The galvanized steel liner band is marked over the left ear:

64 n.A / 56

indicating a size 56 liner fitted to a size 64 shell.

The opposite side is faintly marked:

RBNr. 0/0256/0038
1943

A small section of the original chinstrap remains attached to the right side of the liner band.

The M40 helmet represented a simplification of the earlier M35 pattern. The general shape and rolled edge were retained, but the separate ventilation bushings of the M35 were eliminated and the vent openings were instead pressed directly into the helmet shell. This reduced the number of individual components and simplified manufacture.

The M40 continued in production until the introduction of the M42, which simplified the design further by eliminating the rolled lower rim. Both patterns saw widespread service throughout the war.

This helmet is especially appealing because of its layered camouflage finish. The sawdust texture, multiple colors, worn surfaces, dents, and remaining interior factory finish all give the piece the look of a helmet that saw prolonged use rather than one preserved in storage.

A particularly attractive Quist M40 with strong service character, a 1943 dated liner, intact retaining pins, surviving interior markings, and a distinctive textured camouflage finish that would be extremely difficult to duplicate convincingly today.