The Waffen-SS were the elite of the German Wehrmacht during WW2, with each man being chosen for his physical fitness, toughness, fighting spirit, and ardent National Socialist ideals. As the legendary Dick Winters once said in an interview, those Waffen-SS were "some hard nosed soldiers". The Waffen-SS were usually deployed where the fighting was fiercest and the danger greatest, from Italy to Southern Russia, and from Normandy to Holland. In tropical conditions, some soldaten of the Waffen-SS wore the classic 1st pattern khaki pith helmet, badged with an "SS" shield on one side and an NSDAP shield on the other. Both of those differed from the standard side shields, with every other branch wearing a National tricolors shield on the right side. This German WW2 Waffen-SS Italy Southern Russia 1st Pattern Khaki Pith Helmet is in poor condition, with heavy indenting, "sinking in", and softening to the top crown, a stitched repair along the upper edge of the front hatband, some tearing along the upper edge of the back hatband, the back left hatband rivet having popped away from the crown, heavy tearing around the edge of the brim, which is missing all of the leather trim, some drying, crazing, and flaking to the leather chinstrap, heavy cracking, tearing, and softening to the back brim, heavy drying, tearing, and darkening to the leather sweatband, heavy patina to the ventilation bracket at the interior top crown, and with heavy overall fragility and age wear evident. Otherwise, the helmet is in poor shape, with no other damage to the soft khaki cotton covered cork construction. Most interestingly, it's tagged a Size "55" inside, making it a US Size 6 7/8, carries the original zinc based "SS" shield at the left crown and NSDAP shield at the right crown, and features the original tan finished leather chinstrap with all of the original metal hardware. It sports a brown leather sweatband, boasts a red cotton crown lining, and is an honest example of a rare, original German WW2 Waffen-SS Italy Southern Russia 1st Pattern Khaki Pith Helmet.
Uniforms