Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice and somewhat rare genuine steel construction M35 "Beaded" Third Reich helmet, outfitted for German WWII Ostbau Werke Factory Guard use. These helmets were essentially like the Military issue, however the steel was not as thick or as high quality. They were given a "bead" around the edge, to avoid mixing them up with the military version.

The exterior of this German helmet retains about 95% of the original black paint, with light wear, and no dents. The helmet retains the original split pin rivets, with most of their original paint.

The best feature of this helmet is the OST/BAU decal painted on the front in a light OD green color. The decal is in the shape of a Flakpanzer IV “Wirbelwind” and is retained almost completely. This is truly a wonderful example and one we have never seen before!

Ostbau Werke was a German vehicle manufacturer from the late second world war. Ostbau Werke was formed in June 1944, at the Panzer-Ersatz und Ausbildungs Abteilung 15 facilities at Sagan in Schlesien, Germany. They produced Self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns such as the Flakpanzer IV Ostwind, Flakpanzer IV Ostwind II, Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind and Flakpanzer IV Zerstörer 45. The fate of the factory is unknown and is believed to have been closed after the unconditional surrender of Germany.

Comes with a complete leather liner in size 59, with the cork washers still intact and tight with all split pins. The liner does have some wear and dry rot around the edge, but it is still supple. The top tie strap is not present, and the leather chin strap is present, but is cracked throughout the finish.

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is serial number stamped DN523 and just above it has the stamped manufacturer's code and size, Q64 indicating that it was manufactured by Quist in the German city of Esslingen. Size 64 is a nice smaller size that can accommodate liners from 56cm to 57cm or US 7 to 7 1/8. Size 64 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector.

M35 Beaded helmets are the rarest of all the “Luftschutz” style and very hard to find, especially a factory guard used one! This is a great example, and sure to appreciate in value over the years.

Flakpanzer is a German term for "anti-aircraft tanks". These vehicles are modified tanks whose armament was intended to engage aircraft, rather than targets on the ground.

Several vehicles with this name were used by the German Army during World War II. After the war, others were used by both the West German Bundeswehr and the East German National People's Army.

Wirbelwind
The Flakpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" (Whirlwind in English) was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier Möbelwagen self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.

In the first years of World War II, the German military forces had less interest in developing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, but as the Allies began to gain air superiority, the need for more mobile and better-armed self-propelled anti-aircraft guns increased. During the early summer of 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Wilhelm Krause with the 12th SS Panzer Division HJ came up with the concept of the Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind. He presented the concept to SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche, commanding officer of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment and it was approved by Adolf H.

The Panzer IV's turret was removed and replaced with an open-top, nine-sided turret that housed a 2 cm Flakvierling 38, a quadruple mount of 20 mm cannon. A closed-top design would have been preferable, but this was not possible due to the heavy smoke generated by the four anti-aircraft guns. The shape of the turret earned it the nickname Keksdose ("biscuit tin"). Production of the tank was carried out by Ostbau Werke in Sagan, Silesia. However, in combat the 2 cm shells, while being able to be fired at a high rate and devastating to any aircraft in a precise burst, the guns lacked range and were sometimes ineffective if several shells did not hit an aircraft at once. Thus, a more powerful successor, with an armament that hit harder and had a longer range, was produced which eventually replaced it. Known as the Flakpanzer IV Ostwind ("East Wind"), the successor was equipped with a single 3.7 cm Flak 43.

The combination of armor and rapid fire from the four guns of the Wirbelwind made it very effective against lightly armored ground targets, such as trucks and armored cars; infantry were particularly vulnerable.

Between 87 and 105 Wirbelwinds were converted from repaired Panzer IV chassis, but due to discrepancies between the recorded production numbers at Ostbau Werke and Wehrmacht service records, the actual number may never be known.