Stahlhelm by PSDuck
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Description
As the First World War continued into trench warfare, head wounds increased. 1915 saw steel helmets introduced by the French and the British forces. Other countries adopted those general shapes for their own. In Germany, a doctor designed a helmet based on a medieval "sallet" helmet that gave head and neck protection. Due to production delays, the helmet was brought into service in 1916.
In not only shape, the German helmet was different from the French and British. The production process was more expensive, as the helmet had to be molded in several steps. (Instead of one, as with the British, and an flimsy, stamped sheet metal approach with the French.) The steel was harder than that used by the Allies, as well. In comparison, the British helmet was a metal Bowler or Boater hat. It gave little protection, but was better than a soft cap. The French design gave more head coverage, but the metal was thin and flimsy. (I have owned both kinds, and handled many more. I would have had little confidence in either to stop shrapnel. They really did not stop bullets, but they were not designed to.) The Stahlhelm gave the best protection of the three. It was better designed and the materials were better.
This particular helmet has nearly all of its camouflage paint left intact, the helmet liner is in wonderful condition, and the chinstrap is an original brass-lugged pre-war spiked helmet strap. It is arsenal marked : BA XIII / 1917. This is the XIII Corps of the Royal Wuerttemburg Army Corps. It saw action in the West, then the East, then back to the Western Front. The owner's name is written in smudged pencil in the inside of the neckguard, then scratched into the inside rear in Kursif (old Grrman style writing). Karl Guess (umlaut over the u) was the
Wuerttemburger who wore this helmet. I will follow with a photo of his name for my next entry.
As a final note, the Stahlhelm design proved so effective and popular, that with a little modification, the design was re-introduced to the new German Wehrmacht (armed forces) as the M1934. Then, it was further redesigned by the United States in the 1980s as the Kevlar helmet (better known as the K-Pot or "Fritz" helmet). In the end, critical analysis followed by slight modification has kept the Stahlhelm design alive and well nearly 100 years after its initial birth in battle. The other designs have fallen away, to be retired into museums and collectors' displays.
Comments (14)
shadownet
That is very interesting history. Seems like a lot of folks owe a debt of gratitude to this unnamed doctor.
UteBigSmile
Great, I did not knew this, thanks for that great info Allen!!!
mininessie
original helmet!
renecyberdoc
actually i am trying to get one of these helmets to fit the kids 4 to picture a little bit shithead-adolphe as a kid hehehe. nice bit of info as well on the story. and the stahlhelm will probably never die.
flavia49
Fantastic picture!
debbielove
Excellent shot of a perfect example.. Great history for us to.. It always has amazed me how much the current (and I doubt, very little to change) U.S. Helmet, is almost exactly the same as this and even more like the WW2 design.. The can't better, best! Only by adding Kevlar I S'pose! lol Great shot.. Rob
Osper
Great shot. It's neat that it still wears it's original colors after all these years.
PSDuck
I will post a photo of a Kevlar Helmet, soon. It will be a good companion piece to the Stahlhelm. As a note of interest to those of you who are collecting militaria, especially helmets. If you want to bring back a bit of the original color(s) of a painted helmet, use this method. It works especially well on WWI and WWII German, American, British and French steel helmets. Get a stand for the helmet. Cover the helmet's exterior in vaseline for a week to ten days. Wipe off with a scrap cloth (that won't leave lint). Continue to wipe off, until all of the jelly that can be is removed. Use no other chemicals. The jelly acts as a restorative to the "bleached out", sun faded colors. This has been a "secret process", not known to many. I have seen wonderful examples of helmet colors "restored" in this manner. It really makes camouflage colors stand out. Since the helmet and paint are in no way damaged or altered, the collector value remains the same, if not inreased just a tad. Some curators tell me they leave the interior paint of the helmets alone and in "natural, aged" condition. Granted, some collectors will want "pure and untouched" pieces. To each their own. I only tell you what can be done to give a faded helmet's colors a bit of "life".
mariogiannecchini
Very beautiful shot of this Helmet. Very interesting history !
NetWorthy
Wonderfully clear photo with a fabulous history narrative. Wonderful work here Allen!
bmac62
What a great read underneath this fine photo of a classic German WWI helmet. As an aside, I got very interested in European armor c1300-1650 awhile back and found that one of the best displays (after the Metropolitan Museum of Art) in the USA is in/next to the old factory building in Worcester, Massachusetts where most of the WWI helmets for US troops were made. Higgins Armory Museum
Buffalo1
A fine photo study and commentary on the pattern 1916 stahlhelm. It is amazing how the WWI designers went back to Middle Ages designs.
brewgirlca
Great research. You have the passion of a true collector. And you are a darn good photographer to boot.
UVDan
Nice picture and historical comment. Back in the 70's I was given a steel US Army issue helmet by my scoutmaster, but it has disappeared down through the years and my many moves.