Author Archives: maplecreekmilitaria

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*

Revised 12/4/2025 General Information[1]: The Polish wz.31 was produced from 1932 to 1939 by three factories which bore large font black ink stamps identifying the manufacturer as follows: Below the manufacturer stamp, the wz.31 helmets have typically had a two-digit serial number used for quality control. Below that there is normally a two-digit number representingContinue 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*”

Chinese M35*

General Information: Why is a Nazi helmet in the World War Two Allied Powers section? It is one of the ironies of the Second World War that the Republic of China was supported by both the Germans and the Allies, although German support wound down after the Second Sino Japanese War in 1937 and endedContinue reading “Chinese M35*”

USMC*

General Information: The application of US Marine Corps cap badges to steel helmets was a common practice in the post-World War One period, but was this was also done, to a lesser extent, during the conflict. The debate among collectors about whether EGA (Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) badges were used during the First World WarContinue reading “USMC*”