WW1 GERMAN M17 CAMO PAINTED STEEL HELMET

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

WW1 GERMAN M17 CAMO PAINTED STEEL HELMET This listing is for a WW1 German M17 helmet with most of its original camouflage paint, albeit a little faded. The ochre/green/brown colors are the typical ones used for camouflage with black separation lines running between the colors. The shell is a size 64, with the maker mark "ET" (Eisenhüttenwerk Thale). Since this is the M17 shell, it has a steel liner instead of the leather one found in the M16. As seen in one of the photos, the leather pillow pads are not in the best of shape (not intact), but the 3 pillows are definitely useable. One of the front split-pins is missing (replaced with a modern repro to keep the liner from shifting) but the other two are tight. Obvious defects include various scratches and spots of missing paint on the helmet's exterior, as well as some rusting on the helmet's interior. Overall condition is fair and should be fairly obvious by the included photos. This was formerly owned by Ernest Loucks (see biography below), who served in France during WW1 as a member of the 44th and 31st Railway Engineers. Please email if you have any questions and thanks for looking! BIOGRAPHY OF ERNEST LOUCKS: Ernest Leroy Loucks was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania on August 2, 1878 to Charles Loucks and Ida Belle Chase. His father was a Union soldier in the Civil War and was a part of the cleanup/burial effort after General Custer's Last Stand. When his mother and brother went west to join his father, young Ernest was sent to live with his grandparents. His grandfather immediately indentured the ten year-old boy to a local farmer and was himself so abusive that young Ernest ran away, ending up in North Dakota. He was befriended by F.W. Scott, a railroad engineer, who took him under his wing and kindled his lifelong love of steam powered locomotives. His colorful railroad career began in August, 1895, when he took a job with the Northern Pacific Railroad in North Dakota as a water boy with the extra gang. Shortly after that he became a section hand with the same company. He was transferred to Livingston, Montana w he worked in the roundhouse as a hostler's helper and eventually was promoted to fireman. In 1903 he was a fireman aboard Teddy Roosevelt's special train when Roosevelt visited Yellowstone Park. Soon after this he was promoted to engineer and worked for a brief time with Great Northern, Chicago Rock Island & Pacific, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. He came to California in November 1906, and was employed as engineer by the Southern Pacific. One year after the United States officially entered the conflict of the First World War, he enlisted in the Army, serving one year, four months and seven days. While sailing to Brest, France in Mid-August of 1918, his ship was attacked by a German U- boat, which resulted in several injuries that affected him for the rest of his life. His service included almost a year in France as a member of the 44th and 31st Railway Engineers, and during the final Allied assault against the Hindenburg Line, he was at the throttle of an American locomotive rushing soldiers to the Argonne. He is said to have pulled more men across France than any other engineer in the American Expeditionary Force. On every Armistice Day after the Great War, he would stand at attention, hand on the whistle cord, sounding an 11th hour salute with a stiff blast on the whistle of his locomotive. Upon his return to the States, he was re-employed by Southern Pacific and in 1924 was transferred to passenger trains, continuing this work until his retirement in 1946. His last run was the Coast Daylight, pulled by one of the most famous steam engines of all time, the 4449. He was with the Southern Pacific for a total of 39 years and 2 months. He lived out his days in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Evelyn (married 1920) until his death on March 25, 1968. Other highlights of his career included being engineer of the Frontier, the train that spanned the rails to Mojave when Southern Pacifi... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.