The legendary Afrika Korps was the German expeditionary force operating in Libya and Tunisia during the North African campaign of WW2. The fighting reputation of the Afrika Korps became almost mythical, as did that of its commander, the "Desert Fox" Erwin Rommel, as they drove the British back in the Western Desert nearly to Cairo, and threatened the Suez Canal itself. The Luftwaffe also played a pivotal role in the Afrika Korps; their Flak Regiments provided both anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery, utilizing the legendary 88 for both roles. Luftwaffe personnel quickly realized the value in camouflaging their helmets, field gear, and artillery pieces, all of which would stand out against the barren, sandswept North African landscape. Many German helmets were spray painted a desert/tropical camouflage color in a row all at once by a man designated for the task from his company. Any original German WW2 DAK tropical camouflage helmet remains scarce and highly desirable today. This German WW2 Luftwaffe Single Decal DAK Afrika Korps Tropical Camo Painted M-40 Stahlhelm Steel Combat Helmet is in good condition, with most of the camouflage finish having worn away from the top crown, as often occurred when these helmets were stored crown down in the field and once they were surrendered en masse at Tunisia, moderate smoothing, finish abrading, and patina around the entire upper crown, some scattered scratching and finish abrading to the camouflage finish around the exterior lower crown, the exterior brim and skirt, and the interior brim and skirt, moderate drying, darkening, and surface cracking around the upper leather liner, moderate drying, stiffening, and upward curling to the leather lappets of the liner, missing a few of the small leather "discs" from the underside of the liner lappet "fingers", missing the chinstraps, missing the liner connecting lace, and with some overall age wear evident. Otherwise, the helmet is in fine shape, with absolutely no dents, cracking, or other damage to the tough steel construction. Most interestingly, it retains approximately 35% of the original spray painted DAK desert/tropical camouflage finish around the exterior, almost all around the lower crown, brim, and skirt, boasts approximately 65% of that finish around the interior skirt and brim, the latter being exactly as you hope to find it, with the camouflage not extending beyond the liner and the interior crown being left in the traditional Luftwaffe gray, and sports the original Luftwaffe single decal under the camouflage finish at the left crown, which has not been "dug". The helmet is a classic M-40 with pressed air vents and a rolled rim, bears its maker code and size, "SE62", stamped at the interior left ear, denoting it was produced by Sächsische Emaillier-und Stanzwerke and is a Size Small, and carries the heat lot number "9683" marked at the interior back skirt. It features all three of the original split rivets, the original aluminum liner band with rounded chinstrap bales, and the original 8 "finger" brown leather lappet liner, and is a fine example of a very rare, original German WW2 Luftwaffe Single Decal DAK Afrika Korps Tropical Camo Painted M-40 Stahlhelm Steel Combat Helmet.
Uniforms