Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition WWII German Flying Helmet. It is constructed of tan cloth, rayon silk lined with leather covered earphones and integral throat microphone. Introduced in 1937, it has improved electronics, sound proof rubber ear cups covered in leather and throat microphone, marked Ln 26779. The inner label unfortunately has no date present. This is a superb condition original helmet with all of its straps, electronics and buckles. There is no sign of moth damage or repair. See page 24 of Prodger's book Luftwaffe vs RAF (flying clothing of the air war 1939-45) for further information.

The helmet is in excellent condition. It still has the original manufacturers tag on the interior rear:

FL. Kopfhaube Gr. 57
Baumuster LKp S101
Gerät - Nr 124-436 B
Werk - Nr   - / Köster
Anf. Z     Ln 26617
Siemens
Lieferer: Luftfahrt-
gerätewerk Hakenfelde
GmbH

Siemens looks to have been the designer or master contractor, with the supplier information underneath.

Offered in truly excellent condition.

The Luftwaffe was the aerial-warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the Luftstreitkräfte of the Imperial Army and the Marine-Fliegerabteilung of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force.

During the interwar period, the German armed forces secretly trained pilots - in violation of the Treaty - at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the NSDAP (in power from 1933) and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe's existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through the announcement of German rearmament and conscription on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing-ground for new tactics and aircraft. Partially as a result of this combat experience, the Luftwaffe had become one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II broke out in 1939. By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had twenty.