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Rare ID'd Malta Rubble Camo Helmet, Chaplain Muspratt

Bugme

By Bugme,
in Uniforms, Insignia, Equipment & Medals

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Bugme

Bugme

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About 3 years ago. I secured a helmet of the style I'd been hunting for, for over 5 years. The rarity of it is beyond compare for me since it involves my three focus area's: Helmets, Malta Militaria & Chaplains.

 

This is the WWII helmet of a British Chaplain by the name of Oscar Muspratt, painted in the very hard to find Malta "Rubble Camo". It was attained directly from the estate of the Muspratt family. Thus, I am excited to be the first collector to own this.

 

Chaplin Muspratt's history and helmet are incredible:

* He was posted to the 1st Battalion the Rifle Brigade of the 1st Armoured division recovering from Dunkirk.

 

* In 2 1/2 years of war service in the Middle East he tended the wounded and dying from both the first and the second battles of El Alamein.

 

* He then volunteered to replace casualties at the height of the blitz on Malta(where the rubble camo pattern was applied).

 

* In Malta, he became the anti-aircraft gunners Chaplain and was said to be preaching while loading.

 

* During the invasion of Sicily, he was posted to the famous 51st Highland division and then returned with them for the Normandy Invasion.

 

* After his wife took ill in late 1944 he was released from service to tend to his family and become the Vicar of Penn Church in Buckinghamshire.

 

* When an 8th Air Force B-17 of the 398th crashed, killing it's 9 crew members near his church, he went directly to General Doolittle and asked for the names and address of the 9 members families. He wanted to write to each one to honor them for their loss and thank them for the sacrifice they had made. Till the day he died in March of 2000 he maintained 9 U.S. flags at the place where the crash occurred.

 

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Bugme

Bugme

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Thanks everyone, it is one of my favorite helmets and has a place of honor in the collection. Here is a wartime shot of this camo in use.

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Bugme

Bugme

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Thanks guys, I believe the history on this one along with the rarity of the camo pattern just make this thing very likeable. Here are a few more period shots with these in use.

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Bugme

Bugme

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Cool! Never heard of this before. Do you have any background info on this style of camo?

Mikie

There is a living history group on Malta that put together a short historical page concerning the rubble camo. They give a great explanation of this camo pattern:

_________________

Malta Camouflage

 

maltacommand.com

 

The Pattern

 

The pattern, which was only used in Malta, had two main variations;

Light vehicles, guns, generators, motorcycles, tanks, etc. which had an irregular outline were painted in a pattern resembling the rubble walls which bordered each and every field. This consisted of shapeless blotches of light stone paint, with a darker colour (dark green or dark brown mostly, but sometimes any dark shade available) between the blotches.

 

Larger vehicles, especially those that had a squarish outline had the stone-coloured paint applied in rectangular blocks to resemble walls of buildings. The darker colour would thus be in straight lines to mimic the mortar and the gaps between the blocks. These vehicles would be parked next to a farmhouse and camouflaged further to resemble an extension of the building.

 

If the vehicle to be painted was in light stone colour, the dark pattern only was applied.

If on the other hand it was in green or dark earth, the light stone blotches would be painted on, leaving the original colour showing between them. In this case the census ( or WD ) number would not be painted over, leaving a dark patch with the white numbers on it.

 

Sometimes it is possible to tell from photos how the pattern was applied. If the stones had rounded corners, the stone colour was probably applied over a dark background, whilst if they had sharp angular corners the dark paint was probably applied on a stone-coloured background.

 

Introduction

 

For such a small country, Malta has an amazing wealth of history. Due to its geographical position, Maltas importance in the battle for the Mediterranean and North Africa was inversely proportional to its size!

Malta was awarded the George Cross for not only enduring the heaviest bombing campaign of WW2, but also for taking the fight back to the enemy.

 

In such a scenario, camouflage was of vital importance for survival. For this reason a camouflage scheme was devised for Malta, and was applied to all equipment destined to be exposed to the enemy. All cars, trucks, motorcycles, field guns, tanks etc. were given the treatment. Even steel helmets were painted, and not only those used by the services but also those issued to the ARP, the Police, the Public Works, and others.

 

The Painting

 

This would usually be done by hand, and various factors, such as the availability of paint in suitable colours, the ability of the individual entrusted with the job, and his interpretation of the official instructions would all be working against any uniformity of results.

The rubble wall effect sometimes ended up resembling pebbles, while the building block pattern could give one the impression that the builder was completely ignorant of his trade! A wartime photo even shows a truck with the blocks painted in VERTICAL courses! Another photo shows square blocks placed in a grid pattern. So much for blending in with buildings..

 

Smaller items were usually not camouflaged but only painted in light stone to show their military ownership. Bicycles, petrol cans, tools, etc. did not have enough area to take the camouflage pattern, so were just left in light stone colour.

 

In an effort to further improve the effect, sand was sometimes sprinkled over the freshly-painted surface, especially on steel helmets. This eliminated glinting in the harsh Mediterranean sun, which would often be enough to give away ones position.

 

Many objects which would not usually be taken into the field would be left in their original paint, but if obtained from the North African theatre of operations they would invariably be in light stone (or sand, as it was called over there).

 

Many photos of anti-aircraft guns show that the pattern was not applied, possibly because it is difficult for a pilot not to spot a gun that happens to be firing away at him, even if it is camouflaged!

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  • 2 months later...
Old Marine

Old Marine

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That is a great piece of history congratulations on getting it. That photo of the Matilda tank is pretty interesting. That camo pattern is so unique that I think I am going to have to build a Matilda kit and paint it with that camo pattern.

 

Thanks for posting the helmet and the other photos.

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Bugme

Bugme

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Thanks guys, it is still one of my favorites and, I recently found another Malta rubble camo that I'll post soon. Not ID'd but still really nice.

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Bugme

Bugme

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That is a great piece of history congratulations on getting it. That photo of the Matilda tank is pretty interesting. That camo pattern is so unique that I think I am going to have to build a Matilda kit and paint it with that camo pattern.

I would like to see when you finish it!

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  • 7 months later...
Bugme

Bugme

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This is one of my all time favorite Chaplain helmets and the story behind it is even better.

 

 

Marty

Thanks Marty! It is in my top 5 of my collection.
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