Austrian World War 1 Reissue Helmet

Product Description: This Austrian World War 1 Reissue Helmet is one that has lived many lives over the years. Originally painted brown for use by the Austro-Hungarian military in WWI, this helmet was reissued, probably in the 1930s, for use by the German military. The smooth, light green paint of this period is visible inside the shell and on much of the exterior. It appears that the exterior of the helmet was later overpainted with a wartime darker green paint, and no traces of any decals remain. The helmet was then again overpainted on the exterior with yellow paint, presumably after WWII. This yellow paint was later scraped off, leaving traces behind. There is a lot number stamped on the top, in typical Austrian fashion. The inside of this helmet retains the WWII paint, and has a nice M31 pattern liner. The liner is a prewar type, with a reinforced aluminum band. The leather is nice, and complete, with slight traces of age and wear. There is no draw string. It is not clear if the liner is original to the helmet, or if this was put together from parts. In any case, this is an interesting example of a relatively seldom seen Austrian World War 1 Reissue Helmet, in very good overall condition.

Historical Description: Steel helmets were a development of the first World War. French military planners seemed to be the first to recognize the need for this type of protective headgear, with the first helmets being issued in 1915. British and German armies later introduced their own helmets. The military of Austria-Hungary chose to adopt the German design. Initially, beginning in November 1916, the Austro-Hungarians purchased German-made helmets; about 416,000 helmets had been purchased by the end of the war. In May, 1917, they began their own production. There were only 10 known factories that made Austro-Hungarian WWI helmets. These were different from the German-made versions in that they had a different chin strap rivet placement, were fitted with cloth chin straps, and were painted a golden brown color. After WWI, these helmets were used by some paramilitary formations, and starting in 1931 some Austro-Hungarian WWI helmets were reworked and reissued to the German armed forces. Some even were used by the German Wehrmacht up until the end of WWII.

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