Posted 13 years ago
stepback_a…
(363 items)
Shown is a WW I German M-16 steel helmet. The M-16 helmet was designed to take the place of the leather Pickelhaube in the front lines because it afforded the wearer more protection against splinters and bullets if they were fired from a distance. The only difference between the M-16 helmet and the M-17 was in the liner design. The large protruding lugs on the sides of the helmet served two purposes. The first was ventilation, the lugs allowed air to circulate through the helmet. The second was to support the weight of a heavy steel frontal plate which added more protection, and would hang on the lugs. In addition, a leather strap went around the helmet to help secure it in place. The frontal plates are nearly impossible to find and were used mainly by machine gunners and snipers. This helmet has the original liner and chinstrap. If you notice, the helmet still has the original camouflage paint which was applied nearly 100 years ago. The photo shows this type of helmet being worn by a young soldier in a period photo.
Nice helmet - so many of these were destroyed at the end of the war, and many surviving helmets often re-painted and used post-war and even re-issued during WWII. The one in my collection has the old cammo paint job showing through a second coat of paint that has partially worn off. I've been wondering how to get the rest of the second coat off without ruining the paint beneath.
I also like that the chinstrap uses the same attachment as the older pikelhaube.