M35 SS Double Decal Helmet

Product Description: Gorgeous example of the incredibly desirable M35 SS Double Decal Helmet, as used by the SS-VT and Waffen-SS before the war and early on during the war. This M35 SS Double Decal Helmet was found as a shell at a gun show in Wisconsin, USA. The owner then sent this shell to German Helmets Inc. to have it completed with a correct period original liner and split pins. All of the components used are original and are 100 percent correct for this period of helmet. The helmet still retains well over 90 percent of its original smooth finish in the desirable pre-war “apple green” color. It is extremely clean and exhibits zero rust. The decals are absolutely spectacular on this SS Double Decal Helmet. The SS runic decal has a high metallic content resulting in an eye-catching bright appearance. It has a couple of chips but I would rate it as 95 percent intact. The party shield is incredibly well preserved, and is 98 percent intact, with only some extremely minor scratches and some minor yellowing of the original lacquer visible on the white part. The split pins that were used to install the liner have original apple green paint that is an extremely close visual match to the shell paint (they did not always match when issued during the war because the pins were painted separately from the shells). The inside of the helmet is also very clean, the inside skirt is size and maker stamped “ET60” indicating manufacture by Eisenhüttenwerk in Thale, the most productive WWII helmet shell manufacturer. The lot number stamped in the rear is 4306. The liner features an unreinforced aluminum pre-war liner band with square chin strap bales, perfect for this early helmet. The liner leather shows only minor age and use. The visual appeal of this helmet is simply extraordinary. This apple green M35 SS Double Decal Helmet is much harder to find than their wartime single decal SS counterparts. This one is killer!

Historical Description:  When the German Army first marched into war in 1914 it went to the front lines wearing the traditional “Picklehaube” helmets.  The war soon developed to necessitate the need for an improved headgear to protect the wearer.  The German Army developed the M16 helmet in 1915 and began issuing it in mass quantity to its fighting troops in 1916.  The M16 underwent changes to bring about the next model, the M18.  Both the M16 and M18 saw use by the German Army during WW1, as well as the interwar years by the Reichswehr and Freikorps.  In 1931, a new liner system was developed. The M16 and M18 helmets were in mass supply right up to the time the Nazi Party took control of the German government.  During Adolf Hitler’s rearming of the German military in the early 1930’s, the M16 and M18 helmets saw extensive refitting with the newer liner system, fresh paint, and the addition of a centralized decal system for the newly formed Wehrmacht’s respective branches. Decals were generally placed on each side of the helmet, one side being the branch and the other the national colors shield or party shield.  In 1935, the M35 helmet was introduced.  This new design was lighter and more streamlined than the older style helmets and is what the world now recognizes as the iconic helmet of the German Military. M35 helmets can most easily be identified from the separate rivet ventholes and rolled eadges. With the outbreak of war, some changes were made to bring in a new model, the M40.  The changes made to this new model was the use of a more matte field grey finish and the vent holes were now integral to the helmets shell. In 1940, the national colors decals and party shields were ordered to be removed. It should be noted that many M35 helmets were brought up to date by repainting them with the matte field grey finish and/or other modifications if necessary.  These refitted helmets are what collectors now term “reissue helmets”.  The next model helmet to evolve was the M42. The model M42 has the same features of the M40 with the exception of the edges of the helmet not being rolled and remain flared.  This was to speed up production and lower cost as the war dragged on and the German economy began changing to a total war economy.  In 1943 all decals were ordered to be removed from combat helmets.  

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