Chicken Wire on WW2 German Helmets?

[@MikeUSA67]

"Chicken wire" is called "Hasendraht" in Germany - which in turn translates to "rabbit wire".

[@smu1129]

That's Hühnerdraht on his helmet, Kaninchendraht (Rabbit wire) is the smaller variant. Not kidding, not smartassing. Greeting from germany.

[@MikeUSA67]

@@smu1129 Den Begriff "Hühnerdraht" habe ich noch nie gehört - ich kenne nur "Hasendraht". Schon wieder was gelernt, danke dir!

[@celticperspective5183]

I haven’t noticed until you said it but yeah it is weird how it seems to be unique to the Germans in WW2. Not sure why that is either. Perhaps the Allied helmets were too rounded for this to work? I can’t imagine a “half basket” style working on a Brodie for example. Interesting topic for discussion.

[@rjohnson1690]

People are going to ask my helmet for autographs! So some thoughts on chicken wire; I don’t think I’ve ever seen an SS guy with chicken wire. (I need to go look through my books) It seems super common with Luft guys. Another cool thing done by German troops, was wrapping twine around the helmet.

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

The Marine Raiders in WW2 used burlap and weaved rope, which is more like a net than the chicken wire but it is pretty close in terms of looks to an M1 with chicken wire looks pretty cool regardless.

[@tmmccormick86]

My stalhelm has the bread bag strap wrapped around it, because I wanted a nice, authentic Normandy era camo system for paintball. Most of what the Germans seemed to use was ad hoc or improvised, whereas the US and UK issued a wide variety of helmet covers, but that's just my impression, it could be incorrect.

[@MikeB128]

Yeah that's another style I really like. Normandy-VE day you see a TON of cool designs that were improvised.

[@mateoocampo3165]

​@@MikeB128What's state of the art in camouflage in the Ukraine?

[@tmmccormick86]

@mateoocampo3165 state of the art for Ukraine and modern battlefields is going to be a thermal blanket or tarp spread out over a fighting hole- both sides are using thermal imaging devices in unprecedented numbers, especially via small drones for artillery targeting. Aside from that, nobody is really using anything new- Russians are using camo patterns and gear that is more or less Cold War era and the Ukrianians are using a mix of things like Pencott Badlands/Greenzone, M81, and Multicam. I've seen a couple helmets with scrim or netting akin to Beez Combat Systems' laser cut scrim as well.

[@tmmccormick86]

@@AdamMann3D nobody used that term.

[@mateoocampo3165]

@@tmmccormick86 thermal blankets/aluminum coated survival blankets have been used to thwart thermal for a couple of decades now. Not exactly meeting up to the phrase "state of the art". But if you mean that they haven't come up with anything new, I guess by default emergency blankets and such would be it. Thermal imaging has been in use since WWII on Okinawa with the M3 carbine. Its been on drones since 2000, maybe even earlier.

[@michaelsudsysutherland5353]

"Well, ackchuwally..." Just kidding. I'm learning here! Thank you!

[@RM97800]

I theorize that the answer why they used chicken wire lies in logistics, among other things. When you look at Germans in Normandy, you see equipment shortages, different iterations of uniforms and gear, use of captured weapons from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Belgium, France, etc. - They have what they get. They have to improvise and care for longevity of their gear more. The Allies - they would just go to their quartermaster to get a replacement if they feel something is sufficiently damaged, so instead of spending their time fixing it, they could do a multitude of other things - They were fighting an offensive invasion, had less time to wrap a wire on their helmets, compared to defenders. Also by the time of Normandy, the Germany is at war for nearly 5 years - wear & tear is nothing new for them, and with late war shortages, they'd introduce simple ways to limit the wear. The second assumption, I have, is that maybe the Allies didn't need to protect their helmets as much. The defense is all about concealment. Use and knowledge of the terrain is a principle of defense! That would mean being closer / more exposed to "Bocage" hedgerows - ambushes, firing positions inside hedgerows, pathways through hedgerows, emergency crawlspaces, hiding from planes in bushes, etc. The more interaction with Bocage, the more widespread the problem was, and more effort went into inventing a solution to it - somebody found the "chicken wire solution" and it gained popularity. Next, Camo - Camouflage was used by Germans from the start of WW2. The use of any and every mean of concealing yourself was more in the German soldier mindset than on the Allied side (at least I feel like it was). As you said, Normandy / France defenders were an Ad Hoc force created to stop-gap the invasion. They had the second-grade equipment, with equipment shortages to top it off. They knew cloth cover and nets existed and were effective, but simply didn't have access to them, so they figured it's better to have something they could make themselves than have nothing. Cutting off part of a fence from a nearby farm and bending the ends of wire to fit the helmet firmly was, by far, simpler and more effective than braiding a camo net yourself in combat conditions. And my last assumption: the Germans used chicken wire in Normandy, but what thing that Allies used Germans didn't? Tank dozer blades and shrubbery cutting blades in front of Sherman tanks. Allies might simply have had a different way around this problem, a more heavyweight and destructive one?

[@420PeterGriffin]

I like watching videos on topics I’m already familiar with just see if there things I didn’t know and even thought it seemed so obvious you never really think about the different types of chicken wire for the helmet, I made a chicken wire M35 helmet 3 years ago and I’m finally planning on painting it with Normandy camouflage to get that chicken wire effect with the paint.

[@javierquiroga2812]

Amazing video. You clarified some doubts I had. Thanks 😁🤟

[@brucermarino]

One of your best videos ever! Thanks!

[@originalnative5745]

I like your videos👍🏽

[@MikeB128]

Thanks much!

[@alvmahn]

" What ? No tuxedo? how informal ! " Thanks for making more great vids !

[@1armijo]

Those European chickens must have So Big and Strong:)

[@ClancyWoodard-yw6tg]

After my Uncle died in 2016 I almost got an M42 helmet. That his dad brought back from Europe after the war, but one of my cousins wanted that.

[@mr.pickles810]

Damn atleast its still in the family. My mothers dad from what my one uncle said brought home alot but his brothers sold alot of it. Rifles bayonets clothing medals. All I have of from my grandfather stash is an armband and a German ww1 medal few nsdap pins and a golden eagle and swastika lapel pin. I couldnt believe they sold off his stuff like that. Especially the rifles. On my dads side. His dad was in the pacific has few flags and banners also on my fathers motherside my dad was supposed to have inherited our ancestors saber and uniform from the civil war but some family moved the elders to different parts of the country taking those items and selling them most likely. Kills me to think they just sold families uniform and saber 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ I have a buddy that has his ancestors medal of honor from the civil war.

[@xConstipatedPandax]

Dammit Mike, love the content, keep it up! Much support from Wisco!

[@imperialweimarball]

Imagine a combination of the cloth cover and chicken wire or camo nets.

[@MikeB128]

Haven't seen a cover/chicken wire combo or the nets.

[@imperialweimarball]

@@MikeB128 I was just thinking of how cool it would look to make a combo of them if you know what I mean.

[@MikeB128]

It would be pointless. The covers usually had foliage loops.

[@imperialweimarball]

@@MikeB128 I’m not saying it would be practical or not I’m just saying that the concept sounds cool and possibly looks cool, but I understand your opinion on the matter of it not being practical or useful.

[@TheTarantulaking]

​@@MikeB128can i just ask you a question? I have a 1968-70 m1 pot and the liner (firestone 62) sticks out a lot like +1/4inch all the way around. so to fix this would getting a later issue liner make it sit flush?

[@masudashizue777]

Some collectors are wild about chicken wire on helmets, but they don't interest me at all. They are usually rusted and rust is what I would like to avoid at all cost. I prefer either helmets as issued or Normandy camouflage.

[@MikeB128]

Most of which are real, genuine, 100% accurate fakes. But hey, what would I know?

[@PBI45]

how common were the German "ropey" looking nets? I have chicken wire on my helmet but my group is primarily the Italian front as Gebirgsjager from 1943 onwards.

[@MikeB128]

Very common starting in 1943.

[@paulsaivideos]

Hey Mike, great channel, i heard in a different video your from around Eau Claire Wi, do you have a retail store in the area? if so id like to come and say Hi

[@MikeB128]

I don't have a retail store.

[@walkercustoms]

Thank you

[@jamesbodnarchuk3322]

In the movie Captain Cornellie ‘s mandolin there is a scene of a German trooper wearing chicken wire in Greece

[@MikeB128]

Who's Cornellie?

[@RazgrizCypheR]

Awesome video!

[@MikeB128]

Thanks!

[@lebronyeimsv3974]

Hey Mike you should get the spanish helmet model marte I and review it. There's almost no info anywhere about that helmet in internet

[@MikeB128]

I don't have the money to buy one at the moment.

[@lebronyeimsv3974]

@@MikeB128 I hope one day you get it... I really enjoy your videos bro

[@outsidertank]

Very interesting thank you for sharing 👌

[@spurrthefur8938]

I have an m40 you did the rough texture paint job on I believe you labeled it as “Italy”. Badass helmet absolutely love it, would you do a video on how to paint helmets in rough out texture?

[@MikeB128]

Trade secret :)

[@Grammar_Police1]

Hey friend, i live in new Zealand and i really want to get a stahlhelm, a m35 honestly where do oyu get your helmets from? For a record im really cheap

[@MikeB128]

Cheap and Stahlhelms don't fit in the same sentence. Good luck being cheap and getting an original.

[@TripleAlfafa]

Perhaps there simply is a different standard of chicken wire between the continents. Though, that bigger chickenwire also is used by pig farms and other such places that also have animals.

[@Alphadog1975]

We have still used and are using that kind of camouflage in the german army...that is something you learn in basic camouflage till today. The name of the wire mesh is "Hasendraht" or "Kaninchendraht" or "Hasenzaun", "Kaninchenzaun". That also depends where you live in germany, how that wire is named. There are also the "Tarnfächer" made of chicken-wire...or the "Schützenloch"/Foxhole-cover. Greetings from an ex "Kommandosoldat".

[@MikeB128]

Nice. It's an effective method of camouflage attaching.

[@Alphadog1975]

@@MikeB128 I still have a book from my military time where the "Hasendraht" is mentioned...from the late 90ies.

[@MikeB128]

If it works it works. Wish I would have brought some of this shit with me to Iraq in 2009 lol.

[@lawindacera7219]

It looks kinda neat actually

[@CaptainBlackBread]

Hey I know it has nothing to do with this video but I was just wondering whether or not you carried anything civil war related, or if that was even possible considering how long ago that was.

[@MikeB128]

Not at all close to surplus. That shit is highly collectible and super expensive....

[@brucermarino]

Also, how far do camouflage nets for helmets go back in history? Thanks again, Mike!

[@MikeB128]

Watch the first vid. I explain it in there.

[@brucermarino]

@@MikeB128 Great, thanks!

[@michaelsudsysutherland5353]

My theory as to why the Allies didn't use Continental Euro chicken wire: "Jerry uses chicken wire, so if you see it, shoot it!" Thus, it might have been an indication of 'friend and foe' identification. Maybe. Perhaps. Hopefully someone has a member of the Greatest Generation they can ask.

[@realistthinker]

You are a genius. You tell the nothing that everyone is wondering about at such length. You could have also talked about pig feed, which was completely different in Germany, the Soviet Union, France and the United States...

[@MikeB128]

Then don't watch, don't bitch, and move along, you fucking dweeb.

[@brittakriep2938]

Out of context: Hen/ Henne,, Cock/ Hahn ( Gockel). Chicken - cognate Küken.

[@MikeB128]

Leave it to a pedantic German-Speaker to correct everything. If you can send me a recording of you saying "Squirrel" with zero accent, I'll take you seriously.....

[@brittakriep2938]

@@MikeB128 : I simply noted, that some words in context of farm animals are rather similar in german and english. It seems, you missinterpreted my comment?

[@MikeB128]

Probably. Typing is never a good way to communicate. I'm just used to Germans constantly "correcting" things that are not important.

[@brittakriep2938]

@@MikeB128 : No problem! After Latin, italian and french, for the first time in history, with english a language, related to german is international language. So i often revognize english words, which are similar and mean either the same, or something in context, this was the reason for my first comment. Have a nice time!

[@fishyfish6050]

Do you know if Finland ever used any sort of camoflauge covers during ww2 or any chicken wires on their helmets? I have only seen the fencing wire that you showed later in the video from the Kevyt osasto 4 battalion at most Great video btw

[@MikeB128]

From what I've found in my research of Finnish helmets, they would use field-expedient white covers in the winter, but more commonly would white-wash their helmets. To be honest though, most of the time in the winter, I see Finnish soldiers just putting their hoods up over their helmets with the helmets being the standard gray or green most of them were. During the summer, I really haven't seen covers of any sort being used by Finns to be honest. Doesn't mean it couldn't have happened, but out of the thousands of pics I've seen of the Winter/Continuation Wars, that's what I've come up with. Thanks!

[@michaelnakai]

How come, they have chicken wires?

[@MikeB128]

Did you watch the video before commenting? My guess is no.

[@DD-qw4fz]

Nobody should be apologizing for stating correct info...Better to be annoying than ignorant, tired of ppl that chose ignorance because "muh some ppl will bitch i am not fun" The alternative is ppl will just repeat lazy myths over and over again until it becomes widely known as a "facts"...

[@MikeB128]

I just make fun of the imminent moron comments and call them out. It especially gets good when I KNOW they didn't watch the vid and comment anyway even though I addressed it in the vid. And yes, the lazy ass myths are something I'm always out to destroy.

[@DD-qw4fz]

@@MikeB128 ah ok thats more than fair, sry i was kinda abrasive because lately i see this trend of ppl bitching more about being corrected by someone, than being ok when given good/corrected info.

[@MikeB128]

If someone actually corrects me, and can back it up with evidence, I'm always more than happy to learn. When someone regurgitates bullshit and speaks from a "position of authority", I fucking hate that and will light them up. I love learning, I don't love hearing dumb-fucks regurgitate "facts" from other dumb-fucks without actually doing the research.

[@jooosAREevil]

Camouflage story A old Vietnam 🇻🇳 vet 10th grade shop teacher told us everyone picked a bunch of marajuana stalks after trooping through a weed patch starting to pick it and shoving it in there pants helmets 🪖 and shirts to save for later and as they were done picking their weed the old ww2 troop commander came around and said that he was happy his men were getting into camouflaging not realizing they just wanted to smoke weed 😂

[@MikeB128]

Hahaha that's awesome!

[@jooosAREevil]

@@MikeB128 it was funny how he said the old commander was oblivious 😂and happy with them ….. he also said that if there was a dead NVA soldier in there camp that they would shoot and unload on the body so much that wen they were done you could hold the VC up by their hair and the rest of the body would be like a wet rag …. Great stuff to tell the boys in 10th grade

[@irondog068]

Didn't the Britsh use chicken wire? Thought I saw pictures of that

[@MikeB128]

Not that I'm aware of, that's why I said if you can find them, please send them to me.

[@uncleaddie]

o/

[@yesthecrumbs5806]

Bro really has to explain the fact he's not a Nazi

[@MikeB128]

Yeah, to the clowns at KZbin. Are you a content creator? You'd understand if you were.

[@yesthecrumbs5806]

@@MikeB128 I'm not but im a huge military historian, especially small arms development and such. I hate seeing defaced or destroyed artifacts, content being sensored, it's horrible to see it done.

[@yesthecrumbs5806]

​@@MikeB128also first time you popped in my feed. Never seen you before, got a new viewer and another subscriber, keep going!

[@MikeB128]

I chose to not censor the windmill of peace on the uniform, but I still have to make a stupid fucking disclaimer because autistic douchebags report vids and they get removed and you get a strike if you don't make it abundantly clear that it's just a prop. It sucks, but having my channel that I've worked my ass off on for over a decade removed for something benign would suck worse. Thanks for subbing!

[@robertschweppenhauser9891]

🎉aaaaaaahhhh no not a good video get to the point 😅😅😅😅😅

[@MikeB128]

Are you being serious?

[@tonybedford3311]

Great video, but doesn't it feel uncomfortable to wear a swastika even during re-enactment? I'd be thinking "Man, I've got a swastika on my chest right now" the whole time. I'd have to just replace it with "Hugo Boss" or something

[@MikeB128]

I can't roll my eyes enough at this stupid comment..... Wow.

[@Justin-rq6kf]

Simply grow up

[@oiitzME1266]

What about your cell phone Tony? Doesn't it feel uncomfortable knowing the only reason you even have a phone is because there are hoards of 3rd world economic slaves mining the elements needed to make your phone battery with a stick for hours on end for less than 5$ a day .. doesn't it feel uncomfortable?? Pfft