Original German WWII Double Decal NSDAP Civic Police M35 Steel Combat Helmet with Dome Stamp, 1938 Dated 59cm Liner, and Chinstrap - NS66

Original Item: Only One Available. This lovely double decal Police helmet is a great example of pre-war (circa 1939-1940) M35 helmet that continued to be used when WWII broke out a year or so later. Polizei helmets like this were used by civil police as well as by paramilitary police forces who were deployed as combatants during the war. It retains it's original feldgrau gray green paint, and has the Double Decals of the NSDAP Civic Police!

This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains much of its original paint but does show light wear from use, so the paint is probably in the 85-90% range. It has the correct pre-war Apfel-grün (apple green) finish very well retained, showing some areas worn down to the darker base layers. The helmet features genuine double decals of the NSDAP civic police eagle on the left side and the NSDAP swas in a white circle on a red shield national emblem on the right. The latter is very well retained, at over 90%, while the police eagle has unfortunately had about 40% of the surface removed by a large scrape / chip on the lower right. Both have a lovely yellowed color from the enamel top coat aging over the decades.

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is serial number stamped, D156 and the interior, left side, apron has a stamped manufacturer's code and size, N.S.66 indicating that Vereinigte Deutsche Nikelwerke, of Schwerte, Germany manufactured it in size 66. Size 66 is a nice large size that can accommodate liners from 58cm to 59cm or US 7 1/4 to 7 3/8. Size 66 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. The interior of the helmet also still has the original "Dome Stamp" inspection mark, which is almost completely legible, reading:

Abgenommen
IV
1938
Beschaffungsamt
für Heer und Marine

This translates basically to "Accepted, 1939, Procurement Office for Army and Navy." Dome stamps are seldom still visible on the inside of helmets, and ones this clear are exceedingly rare!

All three liner retaining pins are intact, with exterior paint retained to a varying degree, as they look like they may be plated steel, which does not retain paint well. The interior of the helmet still has the original M31 leather liner, which is in very good condition, showing only light use. All 8 fingers are intact, with an original top tie string, and the leather is still supple, with just a bit of splitting over the edge. The liner band is aluminum, with square aluminum chin strap loops attached to reinforced sides. This is the last pattern before the move to galvanized steel bands. The left exterior of the liner band is marked 66 n.A / 59, indicating that the liner band is a size 56, intended for a 64 shell, and the leather itself is also stamped with a 59 marking. It is also maker marked and dated on the right side:

D.R.P.
SCHUBERTH - WERK
K.-G.
BRAUNSCHWEIG
1938

This indicates production by the metal and leather working company Werner Zahn, based in Berlin - Charlottenburg. The chinstrap is intact, still retaining all thirteen size adjustment holds, and it has the correct early war aluminum buckle and aluminum attachment studs. The leather is still supple, but it does show some wear and dry rot on the edges.

Overall a very nice 100% genuine rare M35 Double Decal NSDAP Civic Police Combat helmet, correct in every way! M35 helmets of this quality are always the hardest to find on the market. This is an item that will only continue to appreciate in value over time.

The first "modern" steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, ("Gaede" helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet's shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet's safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army's Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

More than 1 million M1935 helmets were manufactured in the first two years after its introduction, and millions more were produced until 1940 when the basic design and production methods were changed, replacing the multi-piece riveted vent with one stamped directly into the steel. Later, in 1942 the rolled steel rim was removed from the pattern to further expedite production.