Germany, Heer. A Wehrmacht Heer (Army) Africa Corps Pith Helmet, C. 1942

(Deutsches Afrika Korps Tropenhelm). Instituted 1940. Second Pattern. Constructed of dried pith, with an olive green felt exterior and red felt interior. It consists of a large dome with a large vented squatchee at the top, and with a large brim around the helmet. The brim is trimmed with a thin strip of dark green faux leather, and is covered on the underside by a green cotton liner. It is decorated by a matching olive green trim surrounding the edge of helmet with a dark green leather chin strap that is fastened to the interior core, as well as two insignia on the sides of the helmet, consisting of a shield depicting a national eagle with open wings clutching a mobile swastika. The other side with a shield decorated in the colours of a German tri-colour cockade. Besides the red vented felt liner, this cap also has a faux leather sweatband. It measures 268 mm (w) x 350 mm (h). A worn example, with the crown of the helmet lightly crushed from storage, in overall near very fine condition.

Footnote: Pith helmets are lightweight cloth-covered (1st pattern) or felt-covered (2nd pattern) helmets used by the German Afrika Korps (Deutsches Afrikakorps). The Deutsche Afrikakorps was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of WWII. Erwin Rommel was in command of the DAK to support the Italian army who had been faced with heavy Commonwealth Force counter-offensives of the British Eighth Army. Most of these pith helmets (not this one) are marked “Germany” on the sweatband. Due to Rommel’s Afrika Korps early in the war, supply depots were jam-packed with these helmets to supply German occupation forces after the war. After Rommel’s failure, with supply depots full of these helmets, a British entrepreneur bought the whole lot of surplus helmets from the British Government, and shipped them out of Germany to dealers in England and America. However, the requirement was that these surplus helmets must say “Germany” in them before being exported outside of Germany. Since this helmet does not say “Germany” on the inside, it is safe to assume that this helmet once belonged to a German DAK soldier and was sent home as war booty.