Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 471:
Description
WWII German Luftwaffe M35 Double Decal Stahlhelm Shell by Eisenhuettenwerke Thale, marked ET64/4282, dated 1937, with Fliegerhorst Leipheim ink acceptance stamps and the soldier’s name "Seufert" Offered here is a Model 1935 Stahlhelm shell of Luftwaffe issue, manufactured by Eisenhuettenwerke Thale (ET) and stamped ET64 with lot number 4282 to the interior skirt. The dome interior retains a factory/unit ink stamp dated 1937 alongside a boxed acceptance mark reading "Fl.G.Kdo. II/255, Leipheim, " identifying issue through Fliegerhorst Leipheim, a Luftwaffe airfield command in Bavaria, and the handwritten surname "Seufert" in period ink, presumably the soldier to whom the helmet was issued. No separate published biography for this individual has been located; the identification rests entirely on these surviving interior markings. The M35 pattern was formally adopted on 25 June 1935, its separately-inserted vent bushings and rolled rim edge distinguishing it from the M16 and M18 shells that preceded it. Early production across the branches of the Wehrmacht carried a double decal scheme, the branch eagle to the wearer’s left and the national tricolor shield to the right. Regulations ordered the removal of the tricolor shield from 1940 and the branch eagle from 1943, as combat experience showed the decals could betray a soldier’s position at range, making surviving double-decal examples with legible factory and unit markings a comparatively narrow and earlier window of manufacture and issue. This example’s 1937 date and Leipheim acceptance stamps place it squarely within Luftwaffe ground establishment service in the years immediately preceding the outbreak of war. The steel shell retains its rolled edge and separately inserted vent bushings, with the ET64 and 4282 stampings to the lower skirt remaining crisp and fully legible. The right-side national tricolor decal, in black, yellow, and red, survives approximately 75-80% intact, showing honest age crazing, edge lifting, and small chips consistent with decades of storage. The left-side Luftwaffe eagle-and-swastika decal is considerably more degraded, with only fragments of the wings and lower emblem visible, estimated at 20-25% remaining. The interior dome retains the ink-stamped Leipheim acceptance mark, the 1937 date stamp, and the handwritten surname "Seufert, " all exceptionally legible for a wartime ink application of this age. The exterior surface shows extensive age-related patina running from smoky grey to mottled ochre and rust-brown, with associated oxidation, scattered minor pitting, scuffing, and paint loss to the high points and rim, all consistent with age. A genuinely early Luftwaffe M35 shell whose surviving double decal, crisp ET64/4282 factory stamps, and named Fliegerhorst Leipheim ink markings combine to document both its manufacture and its original field issue.
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