Original German WWII Luftwaffe M42 Single Decal Helmet with Post War Replaced Liner Leather - Size 66 Shell

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice service used all original example of a Model 1942 German WWII helmet with a single Luftwaffe Eagle decal and original liner bands, which had some low quality leather fitted post war. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet still retains much of the original lightly textured Luftwaffe Fliegerblau (flyer's blue) paint, which utilized aluminum oxide as a texturing agent. The top of the helmet shows some small dents as well as a good amount of missing paint due to wear, which has allowed the shell to oxidize. The interior has hat the paint wear away under the skirt, with a lot inside the dome as well, so it possibly had water sit in it for a while. The original Luftwaffe eagle decal is still retained at about 40%, showing overall wear and degradation due to weathering. It has a beautiful pattern of checking and crazing that would be impossible to duplicate.

The inside of the shell where the markings would be has been abraded and degraded a bit, so while we can see that there are markings under the rear neck guard apron and interior left side over the ear, we cannot make out what they say, except for a number 6 on the left side. We did however measure the shell, and it measures 67cm on the exterior, so it is definitely a size 66 shell. This 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 much harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector.

All three liner retaining pins are intact, and look to have been pre-painted during manufacture, so they do not match the color of the helmet exactly, but do match each other very well They do show wear on all three, particularly the left front. There is an original inner and outer liner band on the interior, however the original leather is completely gone, and instead someone installed some hand cut thick light blue leather, which was partly rivetted to the inner band. We have left it in place to preserve the history of the helmet, and leave it up to the new owner to decide whether or not to remove it.

Overall a lovely genuine M42 Single Decal Luftwaffe helmet, with a great service used patina that is impossible to duplicate! 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.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation were given by collectors.