General Information: During the First World War the French equipped Polish volunteers with French equipment including Model 1915 Adrian style helmets. These were fitted with pressed metal badges following the pattern of French chasseurs units, but with a Polish eagle in the center of the disk rather than “RF.” A less common badge was larger and oval shaped with a Polish eagle.
Displayed Example: I bought this at the Show of Shows in Louisville, Kentucky in 2015 from the UK-based militaria dealer Regimentals. It has the more common chasseur type badge. On the interior dome is an anchor stamp with the initials “CC” for Compagnie Coloniale, one of the leading manufacturers of Adrian helmet during the First World War. There is a black stamp “B” on the dome indicating the shell size which is a medium.
Collector Notes: This is an exceedingly rare helmet. There are few surviving genuine examples of this type, but many fakes, so beware. Look carefully for signs of tampering around the edges of the frontal badge and the prongs in the interior of the helmet.
* Citation pending
Steel Helmets of the World Wars 