Category Archives: Stahlhelm Postwar

Norwegian M18 Reissue*

General Information: Norwegian armed forces reused helmets and other equipment left behind by surrendering German forces at the end of the Second World War. Most of the reissued helmets were the Model 1935/40/42 type, but some were World War One Model 1916/17/18 type that were reissued to German soldiers during World War Two. The NorwegiansContinue reading “Norwegian M18 Reissue*”

Austrian M17*

General Information: After the First World War the newly independent country of Austria continued to produce Austro-Hungarian Model 1917 type helmets. These helmets were nearly identical to their wartime counterparts. A quick differentiator for the collector is that the earlier helmets had cloth chinstraps whereas the later versions had leather chinstraps. The thick headed rearContinue reading “Austrian M17*”

Afghan*

updated 5/29/2025 General Information: The Afghan army equipped soldiers with reissued German First World War helmets starting in the 1930s. They used a variety of German manufactured types including M16, M17, M18, and M18 ear cut out types. They also used Austro-Hungarian M17 and postwar Czechoslovakian vz20s.[1] These helmets were affixed with a badge consisting ofContinue reading “Afghan*”

Freikorps*

General Information: Many Freikorps units famously used reissued First World War helmets adorned with swastikas or white painted Totenkof (death’s head), symbols. Less well known is that some units also used painted horizontal bands around the circumference of the helmet to identify themselves. This type of helmet with painted bands can be seen in someContinue reading “Freikorps*”

Finnish/KuK M17*

General Information: The German WWI style helmets were the main type used by the Finnish army in the 1920s and 30s and through the First Winter War. After this period a surprising variety of other helmets were secured, but the German WWI models continued to be used throughout the war and into the post-war periodContinue reading “Finnish/KuK M17*”