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ISRAEL & WORLD uniforms, hats, caps and helmets
A word about Israeli
militaria: with Israel being 60 years old this May (2008), while
much of Israel's militaria is "contemporary", and many items are available
for sale at surplus goods sites, the items offered here are neither new or
mint, nor deliberately unused surplus. We place great value on presenting
used Israeli militaria (in the best condition possible) in order to afford
the collector the opportunity to acquire pieces with significant
historical importance. It is our feeling that militaria which never had a
presence on the battlefield is (in most cases) militaria without
historical significance.
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American M1917 Brodie steel helmet of the US 3rd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in World War I (Dagnas et. al., Casques Vol I., p. 232-3). This is the US-made version of the British type 'B' version of the helmet, with a crimped metal rim and rough finish on a matte surface, and the standard leather and canvas web liner and leather chin-strap, with rubber cushioning on the sides but no rubber 'donut' cushion on the top of the liner (as on a British-made helmet). This helmet bears the emblem of the Third (Marne) Division, painted on a sanded-off patch of the helmet front. This division fought in Chateau Thierry, Argonne, at the Meuse, and at the Rhine in France.
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Item Code: 0010085 Price: $250
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Belgian Army mark II (mkII) helmet shell, circa. 1949-51, in khaki color. The helmet is not maker-marked, bears the Belgian tricolors on one side, and though missing the liner, it has the Belgian neck strap and rivets bolted to the strap hoops. The tricolor is painted and is not a decal. In excellent condition, with a few scuffs to the finish (but not to the shell). The Belgian Army used British-made helmets during and right after the war; in 1949, Belgium produced such British-styled mark II's on her own and fitted them with domestically produced liners, and these in turn were replaced in 1951 by the NATO modelled helmets.
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Item Code: 0120010 Price: $35
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British Army world war II khaki shorts, 1943, with double-strap waist fasteners, two side slit pockets and an open back pocket. The shorts have three long webbing belt loops and a button down fly consisting of three concealed buttons; most of the buttons have been replaced, and one of the metal ones looks similar to a period German styled button. The inside has a series of stamps, mostly probably supplier codes (i.e. "PN156", "PN199") and sizes (i.e. "11" and "M"), and an triangular Army-styled stamp bearing "UST 1943". Physically in excellent condition, except for the replaced state of the buttons. Possibly used in Palestine or in the North African theater of operations.
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Item Code: 0110036 Price: $45
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Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) tunic, 1987. A 5 front-button light-weight dark green tunic with 4 scalloped pockets and shoulder straps, and collar fastener. Buttons are metal, maker-marked "22" and embossed with the Communist star.
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Item Code: 0120026 Price: $75
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Chinese political commissar tunic, 1982. A 5 front-button olive green tunic with 4 pockets, of which the top two are scalloped with concealed buttons; bottom pockets are fastened on the inside to the lining of the tunic; collar fastener; no shoulder straps on this uniform. The buttons are dark-brown plastic coated on a metal base; no maker marks. Thicker fabric than the PLA uniform above.
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Item Code: 0120027 Price: $80
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Rare pre-State Israeli made steel helmet for "Magen David Adom" (the Jewish equivalent of the Red Cross organization), circa. 1940-42. This is a metal helmet formed from a single pressed piece of metal, in a design similar to the American Brodie / British Mk II helmets but without a crimped edge. Relatively invested in its manufacture, the helmet bears a comfortable thick padded crown, with light green leather sweatbands and a brown leather chin-cord with the factory's name ("Pleese Ltd." – 'Brass', in Hebrew – located in the city of Holon, south of Tel Aviv) imprinted in Hebrew and in English letters. The strap loops are held in place by Canadian-styled split-rivets. The front of the helmet bears a red Star of David on a round white background with the medical unit number in the center, and has a dark green paint finish (missing in places) to the surface. The helmet also has a top bolt bearing the name "Crescar Ltd." Overall in excellent condition. The chin cord however is broken at the center (under the top bolt), though it's all held in place, and the liner is a little loose.
Eretz-Israeli made steel helmets were used during the Second World War and after, in the War of Independence, especially in homefront capacities - medical aid (as in this case) and air defence forces (the Hebrew "Haga", the equivalent of the English "ARP" Air Raid Precaution organization) through these are extremely difficult to come by in any condition. These helmets also do not bear any other maker's marks (i.e. stamped on the inside of the helmet's metal) as on British/American made examples. The factory which made these helmets, Pleese Ltd., also bears the distinction for being the firm which produced the 25 Mils coin series of 1948 - independent Israel's first coin.
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Item Code: 0110037 Price: SOLD
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Israeli Army (IDF) used British paratrooper type-3 steel helmet, circa. 1948-mid-1950's. This is a BMB (Briggs Motor Bodies) manufactured shell, dated 1944 and sized 7 (the size is stamped in a shield-like device with the date digits spilt in pairs before and after the shield). It is an olive-green painted helmet with lightly coarsed surfaces, white canvas webbing, tan leather sweatband and chin support, and thick reinforced side padding (now dry and somewhat brittle) around the liner which is held in place to the shell by an extra band of metal. The name "Katz" is written twice in Hebrew on the liner - once on a canvas strap and again on the leather sweatband.
The elements which make this specifically a type-3 helmet and a paratrooper issue as opposed to a tank helmet or dispatch riders helmet - with which each is often confused with the other - lie in these details: the canvas straps (i.e. type-3 characteristic versus type-2 which had thick black leather straps with punched holes; and not a dispatch rider helmet liner), the thick padding (i.e. not a tanker-helmet liner) and the large bolts visible on the exterior of the helmet holding the liner in place (i.e. a paratrooper helmet as opposed to a tanker's helmet which had small bolts).
The significance of the helmet is not that it is a generally sought-after British paratrooper's helmet but rather its connection to the Israeli paratrooper ("tzankhanim" in Hebrew) force: as a 1944 issue it was probably used during the early days of the Israeli paratrooper unit (which may account for it lacking a stamping of the Hebrew letter "Tzadi" [ö], which in later years of better organization, was used to catalog and account for military inventory in the IDF), which was founded in September 1948 outside Haifa in a former British commando school and numbered 219 officers and men organized into 3 companies; the Israeli "tzankhanim" units are prestigious formations in the IDF with much accumulated battle glory in the last 60 years, and count among them Ariel Sharon's elite "Unit 101", the 890th parachuted-infantry Battalion and the 1st Paratroop 202nd Brigade - among others.
At the time of the formation of the paratrooper unit, the IDF acquired much of its initial equipment from British surplus stocks - much of which was actually defective or requiring assembly and part-replacement. Similar to the concept of "Hitelmacher" hats, the Israelis also coined a phrase for these British paratrooper helmets - these were called "French helmets": although the initial training courses of Israeli paratroopers took place in Czechoslovakia in 1948, in the early 1950's, when Israel enjoyed warm relations with France, it was the French who also gave training courses to the IDF - and using their supply of Free French British-made surplus from the Second World War, the Israelis labelled these helmets "French helmets". In excellent overall condition, though with brittle padding inside and in places a somewhat worn leather sweatband. For more information on the Israeli "Tzankhanim" and photographs of their soldiers in British helmets and equipment, please see this page.
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Item Code: 0110038 Price: SOLD
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RARE first khaki version of the Israeli Army (IDF) 'Hitelmacher' hat, with metal insignia badge, circa. 1947-48. Of the two major varieties produced, this is the earlier, American-made issue in khaki denim (the other version, of Israeli manufacture is made of green denim).
This first issue was part of a donated shipment hats specially produced for the Hagana/Israeli Army by American-Jewish hat makers, whose Yiddish title "hitelmacher" (hat-maker) became the Israelis' coined name for these uniquely designed pieces of headwear with fastened collapsable sides (for neck-protection against the sun).
This issue differs significantly from its Israeli counterpart in a number of ways. The hat overall is more rudimentary in manufacture, with simpler stitching: it lacks the leather sweatband of the green denim issues (which may account for the hat's more 'crushed' appearance) and simply bears a light denim reinforcement around the base (with plastic lining on its reverse); it lacks additional lining on the inside; there are no internal supports for strengthening the hat's shape.
The hat is also higher than its Israeli counterpart, and the foldable flaps don't line up as neatly with the hat's crown, or cling closely around it. The air-holes/hook-catches for the flaps are made of khaki-painted metal (and not closely stitched edging). The visor is shorter and made entirely of denim (therefore it's softer and less rigid than the green Israel issue), with a curved stitch pattern around its front (on the top and bottom).
There are slits for buttons in the corners of the flaps, but no buttons (or leather chin cord) are attached to the sides of the hat as on the Israeli issue. Photographic evidence suggests that the buttons and [black or khaki] chin straps for these khaki hats may have been added later, in Israel; the basic sample may simply have included button holes for future additions in-country.
The key and most significant characteristic of this issue is the maker's mark: a stamp on the inside back edge in transliterated Yiddish spelled in Hebrew letters, reading: "Ai Matana Von Americaner Hitel-Macher Durch Der Initziation Von Trier Union Komitet Fur Histadrut" ('A present of the American hat-makers through the initiative of the Union Committee of the Histadrut' - the Histadrut is the Zionist labor union in Israel). Additional signage includes the stamped hat size (7 1/4) next to the 'Hitelmacher' legend, and the Hebrew letter 'Tzadi' (ö) in a circle stamped on the inside crown (signifying IDF usage: 'Tzadi' is the first letter of the abbrevation 'Tzahal' in Hebrew, or 'IDF', in English).
The hat sports a lovely metal insignia of the IDF, the original version with two metal prongs on the reverse, and with red cloth backing. A lovely and significant piece of Israeli militaria.
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Item Code: 0120011 Price: $350
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Israeli 'Hitelmacher' army hat, 1947-49. An example of one of Israel's first, unique pieces of military headwear (the ubiquitous 'sock-hat' - "kova gerev" - would be the other): a light-green denim cap with drop-down sides, to protect the wearer's neck from the sun. This piece does contain the plastic maker-mark stitched onto the inside, but through the years the identity has been worn off; the green-colored side buttons are similarly not maker-marked - like caps of this early period. The hat has two holes, one on top of the other, at the front, where the semi-curved metal badge of the newly founded Israel Defence Forces would have been worn (with two metal prongs on its rear-end - one on the top and another at the bottom; see the Israel memorabilia article on the "about us" page for an example of what this badge looked like). The hat has a brown leather lining, which together with the good condition of the hat in green, gives it a lovely appearance. Hats of this type were manufactured between 1947-48 in New York for the Israeli Army, and were produced by a Jewish business using the Yiddish phrase "Hitelmacher" ('Hat Maker') in their name - the name stuck, and hats of this type then and since have been referred to as 'Hitelmacher' hats. Rare and significant.
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Item Code: 0110004 Price: $200
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Israeli Army (IDF) 'Hitelmacher' hat, circa. early-mid 1950's. An example of one of Israel's first and unique pieces of military headwear (the other piece would be the ubiquitous 'sock hat' - the "Kova Gerev"): a light-green denim cap with drop-down sides at the back, to protect the wearer's neck from the sun. This example has the green colored leather chin-strap cord on the front, held by two plain green (un maker-marked) metal buttons; the drop down flap is folded and hooked to the buttons with stretch bands. It is also fastened to the hat by metal hooks at the top of the flaps. The inside has a brown leather liner; the maker's identity is printed on a diamond-shaped paper label with transparent plastic on top, stitched to the inside top of the cap - the plastic cover is largely missing and much of the print on the paper is gone: the make is from "Nachlat Binyamin St. 23 A" in Tel Aviv. The cap is in excellent, preserved physical condition though it has mud spots, mostly on the right side of the cap.
Hats of this type were originally manufactured in New York for the new-born Israeli Army, and were produced by a Jewish business using the Yiddish phrase "Hitelmacher" ('Hat Maker') in their name - the name stuck, and hats of this type then and since have been referred to as 'Hitelmacher' hats. This one is of an Israeli make, hence the estimated later date for its use. Inside, it is stamped with the Hebrew letter "Tet" and the number "55" - the "Tet" probably refers to the cap size; the "55" may be the issue date although the wearing of Hitelmacher hats ceased sometime around the period of the 1956 Sinai Campaign (Operation Kadesh). The hat retains its shape well - lovely, rare and significant.
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Item Code: 0120007 Price: SOLD
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Israeli Air Force hat, late 1940's - very early 1950's. Lovely gray-blue and black cap, with black leather sweat-band, black crown band, thick visor and plain, maker un-marked buttons (i.e. suggesting that hat is from period above, before the IDF emblem appeared on buttons). The hat bears the metal screw-on emblem of the Israel Air Force (some wear to surface), and has a tan-brown leather inside-liner and taupe colored fabric lining. The inside crown is covered with an extra layer of light translucent plastic which protects the stamp of the maker: "Makers of All Kinds of Hats - P. Birnzweig - Tel Aviv, Montefiore St. 26". The hat is in very good condition, though the crown has a several small tear marks and underneath, the crown liner is exposed in a few areas where the fabric has worn away. A lovely historical item from the beginning years of what is generally considered the world's best air force.
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Item Code: 0120004 Price: $150
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Israeli Air Force hat, early-mid 1950's. Lovely gray-blue and black cap, with black leather sweat-band and un-maker marked buttons bearing the emblem of the Israel Defence Forces (i.e. dating the cap to at least the early-mid '50s). The hat has a tan-brown leather inside-liner and taupe colored lining, and the inside crown is covered with an extra layer of light translucent plastic which protects the stamp of the maker: "Makers of All Kinds of Hats - P. Birnzweig - Tel Aviv, Montefiore St. 26". Though missing the relatively common metal emblem of the Israel Air Forces, the hat is in excellent preserved condition.
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Item Code: 0110005 Price: $120
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Israeli Army Intelligence corps ('Aman') hat, 1950s. Khaki and brown cloth visor hat, with plastic visor and leather band held by IDF buttons, with metal insignia of the Corps on front. Maker's label is on the inside: "Dov Bonek and Sons Workshop for All Kinds of Uniform Hats", of Yafo Street in Tel Aviv. Well made, in preserved condition.
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Item Code: 0010174 Price: $120
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Israeli army (IDF) khaki battle-dress pants, 1949: long khaki pants with side 'slit' pockets and two rear pockets with triangular flaps (buttons missing); pant fronts have button-down fly with flap to hide the buttons (each one is different and looks like they may have been replaced over time with wear). The pants have the partial remains of an army tag bearing "Tzava" (Army) in Hebrew, with a date which looks like "6/49" underneath, and the maker's name "Moshe Prufal(?)"; another similar tag is nearly worn clean (the word "tzava" and the size "7" are barely visible). The initials "KL" have been penned on the inside flap. The pants have standard pantloops around the waist, and are manufactured in a rudimentary manner similar to the American-made 'hitelmacher' hats of the period. Has some moth nips, frays to the leg flaps and an opening in the rear stitching. For a related item, please see Item 0110034.
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Item Code: 0010209 Price: $75
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Israeli army (IDF) khaki battle-dress shirt, 1950: a rarely seen version of the Israel Defense Forces work/battle dress uniform shirt (probably domestically made - see item 0010209), with angular-cut front pockets, and butternut colored American styled plastic buttons (6 down the front). The inside is stamped in two places along the bottom shirt-tail with the Hebrew letter "Tzadi" (for the first letter of the word "Tzava", or "army") and two numbers ("2878" - perhaps a source code, and "40" - perhaps a size); another label bears the Hebrew word "Tzava" (Army) in Hebrew, with the date underneath "1/50" (January, 1950), the size (41) and a place for the supplier (which is left blank). A tab at the collar which may have revealed the manufacturer is now mostly missing. Except for the lowest front button which is missing and a age stain to a portion of the front of the shirt, the uniform is in superb physical condition. For a related item, please see Item 0010209.
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Item Code: 0110034 Price: $60
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Israeli army (IDF) tunic and pants set: 1961-62 issue dark-green British-styled battledress uniform, usually used as winter or ceremonial wear in the IDF. In excellent condition, the set features a 4 front-button British-styled tunic/blouse with pleated front pockets with angular pocket flaps which hide the buttons and a waist-strap (with metal loop); the pants have a double-button front flap, button-down fly with hidden buttons, two slit side pockets and two back pockets - one with a small button-down flap, and 7 belt-loop waist. Inside is a lable with the IDF's quartermaster emblem (a "Tzadi" in a circle), the year 61/62, the size, and a place for the manufacturer's name (left blank). There is also a tag in English indicating that the pants were mothproofed with Miten pesticide. The name "Shoham" is pen written in Hebrew on the inside pant liner. The uniform may have been manufactured domestically as neither component conforms to the standard appearance of either British or Canadian P37, P40, or P49 uniforms.
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Item Code: 0010210 Price: $125
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Israeli pioneering memorabilia: Israeli-made light green shorts made by "ATA" (possibly 1953), with British army styled brown plastic buttons - 3 concealed as a button-down fly and a two-button front fastening along the waist (with an extra button inside). The shorts have two side slit pockets and one integrated buttoned back pocket with angular flap, and 5 belt loops along the waist. In excellent condition. There is a label inside saying "Saniforized" in English and Hebrew, the ATA emblem in English and Hebrew, and the logo for the ATA "Kurdaneh" factory in Kiryat Motzkin, in English, Hebrew and Arabic. There are a few other stamps inside, probably regarding size and supply codes (i.e. in regards to the era's auterity period - "Tzena" - rationing of consumer goods), plus a less legible round stamp with the number "535" and some Hebrew text - possibly the production date (May 1953) and location of manufacture.
ATA - an acronym for "Organizations of Produce from Our Land", a name given by Nobel Laureate Shay Agnon - was a factory which produced a series of day-wear and work clothes for civilians and youth movements, reflecting the pioneering Zionist spirit of the times, mostly khaki and gray for pants, and light blue and white for shirts; it eventually set up a chain of stores called "Khanuyot Ata" - Ata Stores - which sold its goods, mostly in the 1950's and '60s.
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Item Code: 0110035 Price: $45
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Rare Palestine Police Gendarmerie (PPG) breeches, circa. 1920-1926: an excellently preserved set of dark blue and purple pants reinforced along the inside-facing lengths of the pant legs to make them breeches worn above jack boots and made suitable for horse-riding (i.e. cavalry). The pants are made of thick, coarse corduroy-like fabric, well tailored and stitched, and stamped inside above the lining of the left pocket with the Gendarmerie emblem of a horizontal diamond featuring the Royal Crown above the initials "PPG"; on the rear are the remains of a paper tag - possibly that of the manufacturer. The pants feature tall belt loops (for webbing), a button-down fly, two front slit pockets, reinforced back construction and extension swatches of purple fabric around the leg cuffs (for extra width). The breeches are near mint, with only the very lightest wear along the leg cuffs (the anomalies in the photos are from shadows in the poor light) and no wear at all along the waistline; all the buttons missing - standard dark brown British-styled buttons with a dip in the center and "+" styled stitching in the middle - however it may be deliberate as the threads to hold the buttons are tied into knots, and it may be that these pants were a surplus piece.
Although the Palestine Police existed from 1920 to 1948, the Gendarmerie was short-lived, existing side by side with the "British Gendarmerie" in Eretz Israel/Palestine and both being disbanded in 1926; their members afterward transfering either to the Palestine Police itself or to the newly created Transjordan Frontier Force.
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Item Code: 0110041 Price: $250
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Wooden police truncheon, Palestine; with bolted leather strap and handle-grips formed out of the truncheon's base. Used by the Palestine Police and British army in preserving order.
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Item Code: 0010211 Price: $65
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Italian M-15 steel helmet, in dark green paint; circa. 1921-1933: based on the French Adrian helmet design, this is a post-World War I two-piece shell construction (the actual shell with crimped edge, and the separate air-vent piece), without double rivets on the side or holes on the front (there are two rivets spaced 3 centimeters apart, one above the other, on the front). The air-vent strip ends about one centimeter from the rear visor. The helmet is missing the liner though inside are visible the strap loops and rippled-metal liner supports. The helmet bears light wear and tear, with scratches and a few light dents but overall a lovely display piece.
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Item Code: 0010224 Price: $100
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Jordanian Army (National Guard) helmet, circa 1950-60's: a black corked helmet with black cloth side flaps, leather chin-strap and metal spike, made in Britain by the famous uniform maker Hobson & Sons of London. Helmets of this type were usually worn on ceremonial occasions and date back to the Arab Legion (which merged with the Jordanian National Guard to form the Jordanian Army in 1956), which wore a similar styled spiked helmet though in khaki and with the Legion's (and later the National Guard's) emblem on front. In excellent, preserved condition; with some Arabic writing inside in pencil. For a related item see 0010200.
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Item Code: 0120019 Price: $125
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Norwegian Free Forces British steel helmet, 1940-45. This is a black-painted MKII helmet, with the Norwegian flag painted on the right-hand side (stencil marks still visible). The inside rim of the helmet is stamped "BMB 0701940" and was manufactured by Briggs Motor Bodies. It appears to be from British and not Norwegian stocks as it bears the MKII 1938 chinstrap and what appears to be the 71/4 TTC 2 1940 liner, and not the Dutch chinstrap that existed on Norwegian stocks of this helmet. However, the liner lacks a rubber 'donut' cushion at the top and the helmet's top screw to hold the liner in place is missing.
This helmet would have been worn by Norwegian soldiers serving in the "Free Forces" organized in the United Kingdom during World War II. With reference to Skotte Vol.1 p. 110, this example may have been worn by the Norwegian Free Army (2500-men strong) rather than Free Navy (7366-men strong), and lacking the decal of the royal arms which is prominent on many Norwegian helmets of that time, this one may have been used earlier in the war, around 1940-41. A unique artifact of the allied free forces armies - and of Norwegian militaria no less (for a related item, please see 0010046).
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Item Code: 0010086 Price: $600
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Portuguese M940 steel helmet with 1963 fabric liner and chin-strap (Dagnas et. al., Casques Vol II., p. 262-3). These helmets were originally produced in 1940 by the armaments firm Braco de Prata, with a leather liner. Later, finding leather unsuitable for hot and humid climates, the liner was replaced by a canvas fabric liner and chin-strap. The original helmet was khaki-brown, although this one is army-green; with these changes in effect, it is possible that this helmet was used in a Portuguese colony, possibly Mozambique, whose armed struggle for independence began in 1963.
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Item Code: 0010084 Price: $60
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Syrian Army cloth service cap with infantry insignia, circa 1960's: a thick khaki colored visored hat with double layered front flaps, and drop-down side flaps which can be fastened back in place (khaki-green colored buttons). Similar in color and style to the Israeli 'hitelmacher' visored hat. The emblem is a cloth insignia of crossed swords on a green background, behind protective pastic covering and fastened on either side by metal pins. There is light pencilled lettering inside which looks like the number "59" in Arabic numerals. Well manufactured and handsome; in excellent, preserved condition.
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Item Code: 0120020 Price: $60
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