Very rare German M40 single decal steel helmet with complete liner,lots of paintwork worn by soldier in 15th Luftwaffe field division recovered from the Mius River north of Taganrog defended by them in fighting at Rostov in 1943 near Stalingrad.

This is a very rare to find German Luftwaffe M40 pattern Helmet with single decal remains but not much but the very rare bit a totally complete leather liner still attached to the inside of the helmet on its liner ring which is very solid not braking up at all still its nice original brown colour. The helmet has lots of its original blue paintwork on the outside and the inside but does have some discolor from being in the water it has been nicely cleaned but would clean up more as well. The helmet which has 6 small rust holes and a bit of damage to one side other then that it is perfect it has been very well cleaned it is overall in a fantastic and solid condition helmet which is not braking up or falling apart at all and is perfect for display or any collection and so very rare to get in this condition with so much paintwork and complete liner this is wonderful condition for a relic. This helmet was worn by soldier of the 15th Luftwaffe field division and was recovered from the river on from the battlefield at the Mius River north of Taganrog the area defended by them during fighting outside the City of Rostov in February- July 1943 South of Stalingrad. The helmet comes with 2x A5 laminated information sheets with pictures.

The newly formed 15th Luftwaffe field division took up a position along the Mius River front in early 1943.This Division also known as Division Sudost was organized at the front from airforce personnel already stationed in Southern Russia and from the remnants of the 7th Luftwaffe field Division. To command the new division Generalleutnant Sprang the former chief of the Luftwaffe weather service in Berlin he arrived in early 1943.With only a minimum of training the division fought around the Rostov area in early January and suffered heavily under Russian assaults. On the 15th February 1943 they pulled back to the Mius River North of Taganrog which is the area they defended for around 6 months. The division in April 1943 received a artillery regiment from France the division fought many battles in the area until July 1943 when the division was finally surrounded by the Russians, but broke out leaving most of its heavy weapons behind. Hauptmann Eitel in the 15th Luftwaffe field division won a posthumous Knights Cross leading 30th Luftwaffe Jäger regiment through enemy lines to the safety of the German lines.