Share your favorites on Show & Tell

East German M1956 I/71 Helmet

In Military and Wartime > Military Helmets > Show & Tell.
Military Helmets20 of 356West German M1A1 helmet 1980sWW2 German Luftschutz helmet 1940s
9
Love it
0
Like it

elanskielanski loves this.
Rooster123Rooster123 loves this.
RichmondLoriRichmondLori loves this.
kwqdkwqd loves this.
blunderbuss2blunderbuss2 loves this.
fattytailfattytail loves this.
MilitaristMilitarist loves this.
vetraio50vetraio50 loves this.
fortapachefortapache loves this.
See 7 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 4 years ago

    elanski
    (97 items)

    After WW2, defeated Germany was split into 4 sections to be controlled by the 4 main allies. These were later condensed into 2, becoming the soviet influenced East Germany and the US influenced West Germany.

    This helmet is from East Germany.
    When the the East German leadership started looking for a helmet that could be mass produced for their new army they deliberately chose a design that was distinctly different from the old Nazi 'coal scuttle' helmets. What they chose in the end was in fact still a Nazi design, having been conceived and tested by the third reich in 1942 but never used by the wehrmacht during the war. This design was likely chosen because it was the most similar to the recognizable Soviet helmets, in particular the iconic SSh-40 design. Indeed, the M-56 was similar enough in appearance to the SSh-40 that some Westerners failed to realize its German origins altogether and assumed the East Germans had adopted a Soviet design.

    This helmet was used by the army and the Volkspolizei all the way through the cold war up until East Germany's demise in 1990. The only noticeable difference in design over the years being changes to the liner and chinstrap and two rivets that are no longer visible on the later version, the outer shell remaining consistent. This one is the later version, from 1971.

    logo
    Military Helmets
    See all
    Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militaria Leather Prussian Vintage Imperial German
    Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militar...
    $71
    Leather Prussian Vintage Imperial German Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militaria
    Leather Prussian Vintage Imperial G...
    $75
    ORIGINAL RARE 1942 DATED MARK 1 BRITISH ARMY WW2 PARATROOP PARA HELMET
    ORIGINAL RARE 1942 DATED MARK 1 BRI...
    $806
    Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militaria Leather Prussian Vintage Imperial German
    Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militar...
    $57
    logo
    Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militaria Leather Prussian Vintage Imperial German
    Officers Pickelhaube Helmet Militar...
    $71
    See all

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.