Strange Helmet.

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

What is this helmet? At first glance, it looks like a WWI German Imperial Helmet, but if you look at it closely, it isn’t.

Here are a list of things that look wrong:

-It isn’t factory stamped. The edges are rolled.

-The helmet liner pins are located behind the ventilation devices instead of infront of them like other German helmets.

-The chinstrap in the helmet is not a buckle strap. It has a hook in which it straps.

The other weird thing is that the helmet has the National Symbols for Nazi Germany. So this states its WWII. But the helmet itself isn’t a German helmet; I thought it was Finnish. But if the Finns used this helmet, they wouldn’t put the Nazi National Symbols on it, would they?

Please help me out

–Photos:

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

(And no, this is not a quiz )

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

[Gen_Sandworm]

Just guessing but it could be a very early version of a German Helmet. Like you said it rings of the WW1 style. However it looks similar to this

[b][b]
http://www.johnnyg.westhost.com/helmets-germany-part4.html
Bottom of the page!

Description:
[/b][/b]
[b][b]H-G451. WWII German Police Transitional Helmet, early Double Decal issue…The Police decal is about 65% intact with no damage to the swastika, the swastika shield decal is about 80% intact with most of the damage to the center of the swastika. Early Police issue green paint with those large lugs sticking out on each side, Inside the size mark is covered by the Police green paint, it has an early three pad leather band liner, on this leather band is marked (( Bath & Wagawa Metahwarenfabrlk Dresden A.16 Vernrat 66262 )) Scarce Police 1930s Transitional

[/b]
[/b]

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

It looks right with the liner rivits, but the edges are stamped instead of rolled. Supposedely this was ‘relieved’ of a German POW durign the Ardennes offensive.

[Gen_Sandworm]

Maybe the Germans towards the end of the war were scraping the bottom of the barrel for certain supplies. If you have a boatload of old helmets…might as well use them than spend the effort to make new ones. This could be a helmet that never made it into mass production? Part of a series of prototypes!!!

[Amrit]

Looks like it might have been another re-issued helmet:

http://www.german-helmets.com/HEER%20WWI%20Reissued%20Helmets.htm

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

It can’t be, because compare the liner rivits.

[Purple96]

Help me out here Germanophiles of WWII.
I collect a lot of Kaiserzeit stuff from WWI and have MANY authentic WWI German helmets to include hauben. I bought this from a guy in Riga, Latvia, who said it came from a former Soviet Museum. This was on e-Bay europe, and it only showed the back, insides and very forward portion of the helmet. It did NOT have a complete side view, but that didn’t matter to me because I felt lucky using my own expertise that this was a Wehrmacht re-lined size 66 “Cut-Out”, and could be restored to its original 1918 glory. Low and behold when it finally arrived, it had an SS decal on one-side and a Swastika decal on the other. The white color in both decals are a golden color now but appear to be authentic. The liner is marked 59, and appears to be an M1935 liner, but I am no expert there. The chinstrap appears authentic. Now, before you go there, this helmet IS NOT one of those Indian knock-offs just due to it having size 66 stirnpanzer lugs. I have an Indian fake at home, and as stated before, many WWI helmets and reference material. I know the shell is for real, what I don’t know is this: Is this helmet historically valuble as is, or should I turn it back to its former M1918 self. Help me here as I do NOT want to screw up what could be a relatively rare Nazi era piece, though I do not collect very much Hitlerzeit stuff.

[Purple96]

What you have is an M1918 helmet using an early to mid 1930s liner. The M1918 did not use the M1891 chinstrap set-up, but was the first German helmet to use the integral liner/chinstrap setup as seen on later helmets of the 30’s and 40’s. As stated bu others, this could be a bottom of the barrel helmet, but I believe it is from the early 1930s Wehrmacht who used the old WWI shells and put new 1930 era liners in them. Hope this helps.

[Purple96]

Then again

The Weimar Republic was using the old M1918 formers up to about 1931, and utilizing Mod. 1928 liner systems, thus the pin placement wouldn’t jive with the old M1918. The Mod. 1928/30 helmet if you want to call it that was being made in small numbers in the late 20s to early thirties and did use the rolling technique around the helmet rim by that time. Hope this helps some more.

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

Thats not possible because…

Compare these photos…

My helmet and an M18 Helmet…

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

My helmet… (Sorry, post got messed up)

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

Thats not possible, because of the rivits. (And there is not stamping of any kind inside)

M18 Helmet:

[ww2admin]

Wow nice helmet. HOpefully someone can chime in.

[Wolfgang_Von_Gottber]

I think you should keep it as it is, because more further collectors go for WWII stuff, and also WWI helmets in the Third Reich were semi-rare.

Also, I believe the ear cut-out was used so that who ever was wearing it could use a field phone.

[Purple96]

I say Cavalry helmet because this type was popular with mounted troops at the end of WWI. The helmet WAS designed to allow troops to hear better and allowed the telephone sets at the time to be used without the soldier removing his helmet.