Original Item: Only One Available. The German Army M1934 Panzer Schutzmütze (Armor Protective Hat) is one of the most iconic and sought after pieces of headgear from WWII. Often referred to as the "Panzer Beret", in actuality it is a special protective headdress comprising two parts: The inner crash helmet and the outer black cover, which gives the hat the distinctive beret look. Previously we had the cover, but this is the complete helmet! We have only had one complete example before, and it's unlikely we will have another any time soon, especially from the famous EREL brand!
The inner crash helmet is domed-shaped and made of rubber, faced with a black wool covering. Six black rubber ventilation grommets were originally fitted around the sides of the helmet, and the inside is lined with black oilskin cloth, with a tan leather sweatband sewn to the liner. The inner helmet is in good condition, though it does have wear to the interior. One of the grommets is missing, though we cannot tell if it broke and fell off, or whether it ended up inside the helmet. Unfortunately the red foam rubber used to make the interior of the helmet is notoriously unstable in the long run, and has completely deteriorated into a crumbled mess on the interior. The missing grommet has allowed some of this to escape, as can be seen in the photos.
The leather sweatband is still in very good shape, showing moderate wear, and no major tears or other damage. We did not look underneath, as the fiber band under the sweatband is also in delicate shape, and we wanted to avoid any further damage to the interior helmet.
This helmet was made by Robert Lubstein under their very desirable EREL brand, a top class maker of headwear during the war. It still has the complete maker label present in the center top of the helmet:
Robert Lubstein
ges. gesch.
EREL
Sonderklasse
Berlin N.W. 21
The abbreviation "ges. gesch." is short Gesetzlich Geschützt (By-law Protected), indicating it was a protected design of the Lubstein company. There is a size 56 stamped on the leather sweatband at the rear of the helmet.
The black wool cover or 'beret' has an external tail attached to the crown, and features a BeVO style machine embroidered cloth Wehrmachtadler eagle and swas badge above a separate cockade, within a double-spray of oak-leaves, both badges being in white on black. The central cockade is in the usual National red/white/black colors. Condition is very good, with the expected light pilling seen on felt, and there are no major moth issues.
This is a fantastic opportunity to pick up an exceedingly rare piece of German WWII Headgear, made by the famous EREL company. Panzer items always are highly sought after, especially items like this, where so few have survived. Ready to add to your collection!
