| German Paratrooper 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment Carentan - Normandy France June 1944 |
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| Carentan lies at the base of the Cotentin peninsula, Normandy France. This city was a crucial objective of the American 101st Airborne Division and a concern of the German 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment (FJR). Carentan was essential to linking up the beachhead inland between the beaches codenamed Omaha and Utah. The German Army believed that driving through Carentan to the coast would create a significant wedge between the two American beachheads. Carentan was captured by the 101st Airborne Division on June 12th 1944. The helmet shown below is a Second Model German Fallschirmjager Helmet found near Carentan. This helmet had been buried for almost 60 years. |
| The photos shown below indicate the entrance and exit holes in the helmet. There are at least five entrance and exit holes from shrapnel and bullets. The bullet holes are .30 caliber in diameter. Note that the exit holes in the helmet are larger than the entrance holes which would indicate that the bullet expanded inside the helmet due to penetrating tissue and bone. The rear area of the helmet is also missing, which could indicate a large penetration which exposed the steel to the elements causing drastic oxidation. The drastic oxidation could have also been caused by a combination of a large penetration and precipitation collecting in the helmet while sitting inverted on the ground. |
| Map of Normandy France, above photo. |