General Information: The badge with the rod of Asclepius was for medical services (service de santé). (See French Model 1915). This badge was one of eight statutory badges authorized for use by different branches of the French armed forces. An interesting side note is that the French medical services used the rod of Asclepius, theContinue reading “French M15 Medical*”
Monthly Archives: April 2022
German M42*
General Information: In August of 1942 the German Army High Command announced that the inward crimping of the helmet rim was to be abandoned.[1] This presumedly was done to eliminate a step in the manufacturing process in order to increase efficiency and reduce cost. The helmets produced following this order are referred to by collectorsContinue reading “German M42*”
Serbian M15
$1,995 SOLD
British MKIII
General Information: The British Mark III was designed to address deficiencies of its predecessor, the Mark II, which was basically the same helmet used in the First World War. That helmet had been effective in preventing injuries in trench warfare conditions where shrapnel falling from above was the main hazard. From the earliest stages ofContinue reading “British MKIII”
Belgian M15*
General Information: Starting in November of 1915 the French supplied the Belgians with brown painted Model 1915 helmets.[1] These had lion head badges attached to the front. Unlike the French armed forces, which used helmets with different badges to represent distinct service branches, the Belgians had only one badge. According to one source, the BelgiansContinue reading “Belgian M15*”
Polish wz.31*
General Information: I have a wonderful reference book that tells us everything there is to know about the Polish wz.31. Unfortunately, it is in Polish and I do not know what is says. I have to rely, therefore, on the scant resources available to me at the moment. Based on my personal observation, most ofContinue reading “Polish wz.31*”
Russian M15*
General Information: The French shipped 1,977,000 Model 1915 helmets to Russians for use in the First World War.[1] The helmets were painted khaki brown and had an Imperial Russian badge affixed to the front. This headgear was subsequently used extensively by both sides during the Russian Civil War. The Red Army used modified, reissued versionsContinue reading “Russian M15*”
SSh-39*
General Information: The SSh-39 replaced the SSh-36. Together with the SSh-40 it was the main helmet used by the Soviet soldier during the Second World War. The liner design carried over from the SSh-40, although early-production versions of the helmet had a black oil cloth liner. The helmets initially had Red Army stars stenciled onContinue reading “SSh-39*”
SSH-36*
General Information: The SSh-36 was the first full production military helmet of the Soviet era. Production began in 1936 and ended in 1939 when the SSh-39 was introduced. The helmet was first used in combat by Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. The first major use of the helmet by the Soviets was inContinue reading “SSH-36*”
Italian M15*
General Information: The first steel helmet widely distributed to Italian soldiers was the French Model 1915. Deliveries of these helmets began in the fall of 1915 and were the standard type painted blue with French infantry badges. Subsequently, the French produced for export to Italy helmets without badges or badge holes. The earliest versions ofContinue reading “Italian M15*”
Steel Helmets of the World Wars 