Condition: Near Mint
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Product Description: This SD Heer Transitional Helmet is a very appealing example of a helmet that saw service in both World Wars, that would be hard to upgrade. The shell is a German M18 type. The exterior of the helmet is gorgeous, and retains nearly all of the original WWII textured field gray paint. There are only a couple of small chips in the paint, and 98 percent remains, with only an extremely slight age patina. The decal is a typical gray lined type that is commonly seen on these WWI reissues, and rates an astonishing 100 percent intact, with a factory fresh look. Inside, this SD Heer Transitional Helmet is nice and complete. The liner band is a wartime steel type. The leather liner is complete, with some separations around the edges from the inner metal band. The liner is size stamped “57.” The original chin strap is complete, and is maker marked and dated 1942, with a correct wartime steel buckle. The reissue paint inside the shell is all intact, and obscures the maker and size markings in the skirt. This is a choice helmet, with a perfect decal; it displays extremely well. It is in outstanding, near mint condition.
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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