General Information: This is one of a number of commercially made Model 1918 clones manufactured in Germany in the 1930s. Ludwig Baer identified this helmet type as one used by the SA Feldjägerkorp 1933-1936[1] and the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler 1933/34[2]. We may presume that this helmet type was used by other Nazi era organizations as well. Unlike many of the M18 clones, this one is not lightweight; it is approximately the same weight as a wartime produced M16/18.
Displayed Example: This helmet was at one time painted olive green and you can see some of this residual paint around the chinstrap lugs. There are no stamps, lot numbers, or other markings anywhere on this piece. At some point the helmet was refurbished with a new liner, chinstrap and chinstrap hardware. This appears to be a foreign reissue. Some of the features of the liner suggest Polish interwar era reissue. These include rounded split pins for the liner band and chinstrap lugs, and brown German WWI style leather liner pads with leather liner string. Positive identification of this helmet, however, is still pending. I would welcome any input the collector community to help me nail down the identification of this piece.
A veteran collector characterized this shell type as “super rare.”[3] The reissue configuration is also quite rare, but what is it?
Collector Notes: There were a great number of German commercially made helmets from the 1930s. There were also many countries that refurbished and reissued German helmets in the post-WWI era. While rare, they tend not to command the higher prices of German combat helmets. They are also not very well documented in collector literature which can make identification sometimes challenging.
[1] Baer. 1994
[2] Baer. 1975
[3] aka “ogpsycho.”M16 Mystery Clone.” German Helmet Walhalla II. Post #4. Posted June 29, 2024. https://www.germanhelmetwalhalla.com/topic/71057-m16-clone-mystery-helmet/. Accessed July 6, 2024
Steel Helmets of the World Wars 