This extremely rare and desirable helmet was painted over with a combination of tan and green paint, partially obscuring the Luftwaffe Eagle decal on the left side, with a net of chicken wire applied over top. Chicken wire nets were a popular field modification, as it helped break up the profile of the helmet and provided a handy mounting point for additional camouflage material, such as canvas strips and local plant life, and Nazi helmets with multi-colored camouflage and chicken wire are often associated with the defenders of Normandy and Occupied France during D-Day. The skirt is marked "75" and "ET63", and the interior harness is secured with a set of four "standard head" spanner bolts, with a gray leather chinstrap, size markings of "57" and "88", a faded Berlin makers mark, and "Bott" hand-signed on the interior. No documentation is included, and Bott has not been identified; he may have been the owner, or a GI who captured the helmet and marked his war loot. Brief research has turned up no Fallschirmjaeger Bott, but shows at least two Botts among the American forces on D-Day, including a combat engineer on Utah Beach and a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. Provenance: Chris James, later Bill Shea.

Good as field worn, with some cracking and material loss on the leather and around half of the camouflage paint. The chicken wire appears correct in age, and the exterior shows proper wear from contact with the wire. The stitching inside the crown of the harness is stretched but does not appear broken. A fine Nazi Fallschirmjaegerhelm showing honest wear, with intriguing historical potential.