German Helmet - M43?

[Charlie303]

I was given this helmet when I was a kid, that was about 50 years ago! I realise that I don't actually know much about it, I don't want to sell it or anything, but if possible I would like to know a little more about its origin. Looks like an M43, but is it a German WWII helmet? Can anything be gleaned from the stamps? Any information very much appreciated!








Ink Stamp, inside on the crown.


Embossed stamp on the liner band.


Second embossed stamp on the liner band, opposite side.


Stamp in nape of the helmet shell.

Many Thanks,
Charlie

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Peter Laidler]

Nothing to do with this helmet but zillions of soldiers must have taken enemy steel helmets back home with them as souvenirs. But I wonder how many German soldiers in France '39/'40 took a British helmet or another souvenir, such as a bayonet, back to Germany with them after we'd left. Do they ever turn up in Germany as their helmets turn up in the USA and UK?

My friends dad was captured in late May '40 while laying out a demolition cable. The German Cpl (who incidentally spoke fairly good broken English) took his bayonet and helmet as a souvenir. He escaped later that day and made it back to Dunkirk - and home.........

[mmppres]

Just think if the equipment could talk no matter what language

[Charlie303]

More likely (having done a bit of looking on the internet), its a Model 1942 (M42), the most common type. But the air-vents don't seem to be embossed, as they should be?

[Kozowy1967]

The helmet is indeed an M-42 with a later war second pattern zinc M-1931 liner band as stated the air vents are rather odd and looks to have been pressed in reverse perhaps this section of the dye was missing and it went un-noticed as at this point in the war helmets were being produced through the method of hot pressing and was nearly completley automated by this point it could have slipped through the final inspection process and or was given a pass as other than that the helmet looks servicable.
Your helmet was produced at the Eisenhüttenwerke in Thale manufacturers began marking their helmet shells with the initials of the factory or company names over the course of time, several of these changed making it initially appear as though there were more than five manufacturers the company would have formaly used the initials ET before changing to CKL the change in the factory designated name and marking had to do with the fact that the company names changed.

Regards Mark

[Flying10uk]

Charlie303, could you please confirm if the edge is rolled over on the rim to form what some would describe as a "safety edge"; I can't quite tell if there is from the photos. I understood it should have this if WW2???

[Kozowy1967]

There were three models of German combat grade helmets produced from 1935-1944 the first was the M-35 which had a rolled edge the air vents in this particular model were produced separately and then inserted into the helmet body.
The next variation of helmet was the M-40 the rolled edge was still incorporated into this model with a few small changes in the way they were produced most notably would be that the air vents were now directly pressed into the helmet body using heavy presses and a dye.
The last variation of German helmet that was produced was the M-42 which had a raw flared out rim by eliminating the rolled edge they were able to elimanate a step in the manufacturing process and in essance speed up production.

Regards Mark

[Charlie303]

Many thanks Mark for the info on my M42 and for answering the rolled edge question.

Another source I found stated that the manufacturer was 'Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz', is this a mistake, or maybe just another way of naming them?

I showed the helmet to a collector of German WW2 militaria I know, he thought that the chinstrap was possibly a post war replacement. Might you be able to offer an opinion?

Lastly, since I posted the pics above, I've cleaned the outside of the helmet. I recall, as a young lad (this being an excuse) I darkened the outside with black boot polish! This presumably to make it look like the German helmets I'd seen in Commando Magazine. Anyway, its all gone and the helmet looks better for it I think:

Attachment 66353

Regards,

Charlie

[browningautorifle]

The straps were routinely replaced because these helmets saw use in various countries right up to a short time ago. South American type armies...they had to keep them in nick for actual use...yours may not be one of these though. That's why you can find these with replacement parts that are years old and look great. They actually are original replacement...but not German.

[Flying10uk]

I have a WW2 German helmet which I picked up a year or 2 ago and has been repainted, black and detailed with post war Norwegian insignia. Thanks to Kozowy1967's info above I can identify it as a M40. Apparently, Norway used German helmets post war.
During the mid war period my father who was a child at the time and some friends found a German helmet and a pair of Jackboots in a hedgerow near Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Unfortunately, my Grandfather insisted on handing these items in to the authorities. I have often pondered how they came to be in a hedgerow in England during the war but all I can think is that they were discarded/hidden there by a British soldier who had "obtained" them as a souvenir perhaps with the intention of retrieving them later. On the recent series of Combat Dealers it was suggested that British Soldiers were officially banned from bringing souvenirs home in WW2 although we all know that they often did. Can any-one, please, confirm that there was such a ban on British soldiers in WW2 and also what the current policy is within the U.K. armed forces regarding souvenirs.