Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Bundesgrenzschutz Stahlhelm Tarnnetz, BGS Helmet Net


I finally got the winning "low bid" on an original Bundesgrenzschutz Helmet Net............ otherwise known in German as a "Bundesgrenzschutz Stahlhelm Tarnnetz".  It arrived yesterday, and I didn't waste a moment putting it on my BGS helmet and snapping a few pictures for the blog.

These helmet nets were standard issue for the BGS from the 1950's all the way through the 1980's.  I have no way to tell how old this net is, but I can say that it is in excellent condition.  These nets were used when the troops were on maneuvers in the field, but not by  all of the soldiers.  In the old pictures, it is common to see some helmets with the nets and some without.  There does not seem to be a standard way to install the net on the helmet and I have seen the six clips evenly spread out around the rim with one clip in the front and some without a clip in the front.


The nets are held on with small, steel hooks that clip over the lower rim of the helmet and a drawstring at the very top to close the netting into a form-fitted shape.  Foliage was often inserted into the nets and I have seen one photograph where pieces of white paper were inserted under the nets for snow camo (the photo is shown in the archive photo section at the end of the post), but most often, the nets seem to have been worn on their own.

There's not much more to say about these nets, so I'll let the photos tell their story:


Here are the archive photos of these nets in use by the BGS in the field:

In this photo, you can see the use of white paper used under the nets.

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