Spanish Leather Tankman's Helmet

seventh in a series of tanker helmet posts

Now don't get me wrong,  I think Spain is a country that has given the world great beauty.

This is a Spanish Beauty:

(photo by Massimiliano Uccelletti)

The Mme Grégoire Staechelin' rose is known as the "Spanish Beauty":

And this Moorish influenced Spanish architecture is certainly a thing of beauty:

This Spanish tanker's helmet, however, ain't no beauty:

This is the ugly cousin of the Italian M35 Tanker's helmet (profiled last week).  Although this helm tries to mimic the far superior Italian version, it fails in every aspect.

As with the Italian model this helmet is a leather covered fiber bowl surrounded by a padded bumper with a rear skirt and leather chinstrap/flaps.  The bowl, you'll note is considerably shallower than the Italian helmet, providing much less protection for the wearer.

From the top little difference can be detected between this number and the Italian model, except perhaps for the inferior dye job of the leather.


Its when one begins to examine details like the sewn seams that the inferiority of this helmet really start to become evident, clearly the person who sewed and assembled this bumper pad had other things on her mind.


The interior is, again, a copycat of the Italian M35 except for the lower grade and color of the suspension leather.

The finish of the neck flap is misaligned, miscut, and haphazardly assembled.


This Frankenstein assemblage of misaligned  rivets secures the chintzy chinstrap buckle.  One wonders if these workers are encouraged to come to work drunk.


The flannel liner has absolutely no value as a cushion to the wearer, again compare this to last week's entry on the Italian liner with its plush white felt padding.


Peeling away the flannel reveals the Pinata-like dome of this lid.  About the only shock absorbtion available in this helmet is the fullness of the hairdo of the wearer.

North Korean nut-job and dictator for life Kim Jung Il might have enough of a bouffant "do" to bring some level of effectiveness to this helmet, but here (as in most instances) he is the exception.


Where the Italian neck flap is tightly sewn into place, the Spanish version is crudely tacked on.

And note how those tacks often tear right out of the cheap, thin leather.


The chinstrap assembly too, suffers by comparison with the Italian model.


The unscreened vent holes don't even communicate through the flannel liner, rendering them quite useless for providing ventilation.


The only aspect of this helmet that gives it any aesthetic value is the Spanish eagle affixed to the front.

The helmet bears no maker's or inspector's marks of any sort.  It's as if no one wants to claim paternity of this waif.

I think the reason that the bumper pad is not attached as that on the Italian model, is to facilitate disassembly of this helmet making it easier to fit into the trash compactor of history.

But who am I to criticize, after all, as these photos demonstrate, proud Spanish tankers did fight on to defeat...

ahh...
er...

oh right, now I remember!  They went on to defeat the Incas!

And for as ugly as this poor excuse of a helmet is, now comes the really ugly part;

This is former Spanish strongman and prick, Francisco Franco:

And here he is on his wedding day as the blushing bride of Satan (the man to the left)

What a lovely couple, I think they're registered at the genocide boutique.
=====================================================

España es una tierra de contrastes.

Questions?

provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar 248.68.8
Spanish Leather Tankman's Helmet
Acquired 1991, Grand Rapids Michigan.
Condition: excellent

Next Monday another tanker helmet will be profiled.

Stay tuned!

M35 Italian Tank crewman's helmet

Sixth in a series of posts on tanker's helmets

Ahh, Italian design, chic, elegant, sexy, usually black and generally leather ,always appropriate and in the best of taste.

At least that's what we've come to expect.  It wasn't always so.

Submitted for your consideration the M35 Italian tanker's Helmet of WWII and beyond.

La mia qualità! Ciò non era che cosa stavo prevedendo.

True, it is black, and leather, so far very Italiano, but design-wise, this is a pretty goofy looking lid.   Looking like a bowler hat  combined with a contraceptive device for an elephant, this zany piece of headgear was sported by Italian tankers for over thirty years.   But if, as American sculptor Horatio Greenough stated, "form follows function" I'd better analyze the function of this helmet before I spend too much more time harping on its ungainly  appearance.

As these all too grainy photos indicate the Italian M35 was worn with a certain elan by Italian tankers of the pre war era,

And this helmet continued to see service with Italian armor during and after World War Two.

So one can safely assume that this piece of protective gear, while looking totally unmartial, must have had certain protective aspects that made it effective and popular with the troops.

Let's examine the details.

This side view shows to good effect the leather skirting, the padded brow bumper, as well as the tall leather covered fiber bowl.  The leather is of a very high quality and the stitching is heavy duty and very tight.



From the rear it becomes clear that the skirt is designed to keep dust, oil , and debris from going down the back of the tanker's neck.  The 360 degree bumper provides outstanding protection from all angles, and is very sturdily constructed with an effective combination of firmness and flexibility.

From the top the bowl shows the very symmetrical nature of the helmet, there is none of the ovoid shape of the helmets of many other nationalities.  The superior stitching on the bumper is also shown to good effect.

Ventilation is provided through two screen covered vent holes which communicate fresh air through the bowl and the padded liner.

The natural color leather liner is made of high quality hide divided into seven "fingers" or flaps with an adjusting thong connecting each.  From the pristine condition of this liner I believe that this particular helmet was never issued.

Beneath the leather liner is the white felt padding, both thick and comfy which is suspended with about a half an inch between it and the skull of the bowl.  This space is crucial in preventing skull fractures when the bowl is struck.

This view of the stitching shows that the bumper is securely and permanently fastened to the body of the helmet.

Two nice stamps are particularly crisp and colorful in this liner.  This one indicates size and manufacturer...


while this one provides the date of manufacture.  Although this helmet was first issued in 1935, this individual was manufacured 26 years later.  Nice longevity for a helmet design.

This detail shot of the chinstrap assembly demonstrates well the superior materials and workmanship of this Model 35.  This is that type of tailoring that one expects to find in a high-end Italian leather jacket.  Brava Italia! on a very effective and long-lived tankers helmet.

There you have it, a very unusual looking helmet that does an unusually good job of protecting the head of the wearer.  And if this detailed exploration isn't convincing enough of the efficacy of this helmet, there's always that old adage:  "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".  To that end, next Monday I'll showcase the Spanish leather tankman's helmet, the ersatz version of the Italian M35.  And believe me, in my side by side comparison you'll see that the Spanish version is the poor cousin to the Italian.

The devil will be in the details.

provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar 156.43.48
M35 Italian Tankman's Helmet
Acquired 1990, Lansing Michigan.
Condition: unissued

And while you're in the neighborhood, why not slip over to my toy soldier blog 
to catch up on the latest regarding the Civil War combat that continues in my garden.

Ciao!

Mannie

The Problem with Antique Malls: the movie

I think all serious helmet collectors can relate to this one:

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Happy collecting!

Mannie

Bundeswehr Tanker's Helmet: Cold War era

Fifth in a series of tanker helmet posts


"Sadder but wiser" 

That's  a phrase that characterizes the early purchases of many helmet collectors. I think all of us, in our ignorance and lack of experience, coupled with our enthusiasm, have bought a helmet that was misrepresented by the dealer.

The subject of this post represents one of a few of those instances on my part.

Back in 1989 I was very happy to pick up this "American" tankers helmet, ca. Korean War.  At least that's how the dealer pitched it to me.  The price was right and I paid cash, feeling good about the purchase.

As soon as I got it home and took a good long look at it I became uneasy.  I was starting to have some doubts.

Although very similar to the WWII American G.I. tanker lid, there were things about this one that just didn't match up.

It wasn't until I purchased Paolo Marzetti's "Combat Helmets of the World" (1996) several years later that I finally got a positive ID. There it is on page 120, figure 32.105; "Bundeswehr tankman's helmet U.S. A.C.H. type"

Oh well, live and learn. I still don't have an American tanker's helmet of the WWII era, but I did pick up, for $25.00 a pretty okay West German version. So all's well that ends well I guess.



Here then, in all of its copycat splendor, The Bundeswehr tanker's helmet of the post WWII era.
Front view, note the lack of the "horns" found on the U.S. version.

The straps that secure the headphones are also unique to this German number.

Top view demonstrates far fewer, and different placement of  ventilation holes than with the U.S. lid.  Marzetti notes that earlier versions of this German helmet had an aluminum bowl while later ones (as this one) had bowls made of fiber.

There are no maker's marks of any sort.  A (missing) rubber disc fits in the very crown of the helmet to provide additional cushion for the wearer.

White felt padding backs the four fingers of the leather liner.


The is the only stamped marking of any sort in this lid denotes the size, the only other is in chalk...

and is just as mysterious in meaning.

Foam rubber, long since rotted away, was cemented on the headphone earpiece flaps, both for comfort as well as acoustic insulation.

A close up of the elasticized straps that snap into place to secure the headphones, also a view of how brittle much of the leather has become. That little metal bracket was, I believe, part of the suspension for a boom microphone.

Despite my initial buyer's remorse and a few years of trying to puzzle this one out, it remains a very nice specimen.  A mute testimonial of a West Germany that was quickly getting back on its feet economically and militarily following the devastation of the Second World War.  I'm happy to have gotten this helmet at such a reasonable price.  And although I'm grateful to have acquired it...

here's looking toward the day when an affordable U.S. WWII tanker lid comes my way:

Until then, happy, and informed, collecting to us all.

Mannie

provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar v2.120.32.105
Bundeswehr Tankman's Helmet
Acquired 1989, Lansing Michigan.
Purchase price :$25.00
Condition: fair

Next Monday, another tanker helmet installment.