close call
german soldier looks over helmet after nearly being killed.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/german-forces/19055/close-call
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/german-forces/19055/close-call
That must have hurt, the way the edge of the helmet pushed inwards. Still he could be lucky to be alive.
Wow, 1cm lower and he would not have been able to pose for this picture I bet.
i wouldnt have ever removed my helmet outdoors again till the war was over,and i was in my front yard if that happened to me
There was a show on the History Channel in the US that talked about how superior the stahlhelm (sp?) was (even in WW1) to every other helmet design until the Kevlar K-Pots came out. The WW2 varieties made with better steel gave German soldiers something like a 60% better chance of surviving a head shot than even the US steelpot. This fact was known for decades, but political pressure and fear of "nazifying" US soldiers cost thousands their lives. There was even strong pressure not to introduce the K-pot for the same reason. Fear is truly the enemy.
I watched one about the various helmet designs from the WW1 and it said the way the German steel helmets were manufactured gave them a uniform thickness and therefore even strength all over. Compared to other countries that used a single press technique to manufacture theirs resulting in the helmet becoming thinner towards the crown and therefore weaker.