M34 Fire Police Helmet, Square Dip with Double Decals

Product Description: This M34 Fire Police Helmet is a very nice steel construction “Square Dip” Third Reich helmet, outfitted for German WWII Fire Police issue, as they were issued very early during NSDAP rule in Germany. Nearly all of the original smooth black paint is present on the exterior, with only extremely slight wear, some small chips and scratches, and age patina. This helmet retains its original genuine double decals, with a large and striking looking swastika on the right, and a tilted national colors decal on the left. The swastika decal is over 90% complete, and the national colors decal is about 85%, with some scratching removing small portions, as well as toning from age. This helmet also does have the three holes on the top for mounting of a comb, but they are filled with rivets, definitely showing it is a fire helmet, that was issued without the comb. Inside, this M34 Fire Police helmet remains complete, with the original leather liner and head pad still intact, showing some minor wear and age. The four cork pads between the liner and shell are all present, and the liner is size stamped “58.” The liner still retains the three leather “tabs” that would allow attachment of a leather flap to protect the neck. The civil style double buckle chin strap is present, but does have wear, as expected for a helmet of this age. There is a faint DRP/THALE stamp on the rear skirt under a “Lion” logo, indicating production by the Eisenhüttenwerke, Thale factory. This is the same factory that developed the M35 lineage of helmets. Next to the marking is a large letter “Z”. Overall, this a great opportunity to get a truly excellent example of a WW2 Civic Police helmet. Ready to display!

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 edges. 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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