Original German WWII M34 Civic Square Dip Bright Aluminum Fire Police Helmet in 55cm with Double Decals and Neck Shield - Feuerwehr Helmet

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice rare all aluminum construction M34 "Square Dip" Third Reich helmet, outfitted for German WWII Fire police (Feuerwehr) issue. Almost all of these that we have seen have a steel shell, however this shell is aluminum, with an aluminum comb on top. Even more unusual is that the shell was left bright aluminum, and was not painted black as we often see. We do not know if this was to indicate rank, for parade use, or simply an option available, however we cannot recall seeing another anytime recently. It features genuine double decals of a NSDAP Party Shield on the right, and NSDAP Civic Police Eagle on the left. Comes with a leather liner and partial chinstrap, as well a hard to find leather neck shield.

The bright finish on the aluminum is still very well retained, showing the expected scuffing, dust, and areas of light oxidation, which are more present on the interior. The aluminum comb is in great shape, still bright and shiny with the padding underneath mostly intact, only showing some at the very back mssing. The NSDAP Party Shield decal is about 90% complete with some small chips, and the NSDAP Civic Police Eagle is about the same. Both have some nice yellowing due to age and really look great.

The helmet bears a manufacturer stamp, which is stamped under the right side over the ear.

Vorschrfts m.
Leichtmetall PD.
n. M. d. J.

This most likely indicates it was made according to the regulations for lightweight police helmets.

The helmet still has all four liner split pins present, with their internal cork spacer washers. The liner is the standard civic issue, similar to those in the military issue but made using a fiber band. It still retains the leather crown pad, though the securing string for the liner is missing, and the leather also shows a good amount of degradation. There is a small 55 stamp near the rear, and unfortunately most the left side of the four point chinstrap is gone, while the right side is present but in delicate condition. Four of the five leather "tabs" for the neck guard are still present, and are attached to the black finished leather shield.

Overall a great opportunity to get a very interesting example of an All-Aluminum WWII Civic Police Fire helmet, complete with a rare leather neck shield. Ready to display!

More on the Fire Protection Police:

On June 17TH 1936, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was appointed to the newly created position of Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern (Chief of the German Police in the National Ministry of the Interior), effectively giving him full control of all police agencies within Germany including the Feuerschutzpolizei, (Fire Protection Police). As a result of this appointment and the restructuring of all the separate German state police into a single national police force new regulations were instituted on June 25TH 1936 to bring about uniformity in dress for all police through-out the country. The Police were divided into eight assorted branches of service with each branch being assigned a specific identifying, Truppenfarbe, (branch of service color), with the Feuerschutzpolizei being allocated carmine truppenfarbe. The Feuerschutzpolizei were further distinguished from the other police branches of service with blue uniforms and headgear instead of the typical police green uniforms.

Types of Helmets Used:
Prior to 1929 many fire-fighting units used leather helmets in various styles with most appearing similar to the leather spiked helmet (Pickelhaube) of World War I. These helmets bore a stamped metal crest on the front depicting the province or township to which the fire-fighting unit belonged.

In 1929 a light-weight plastic fiber (Vulkanfiber) helmet was prototyped for general use by all fire-fighting units. The first models were issued in 1932 and proved unworthy of further consideration. As a result a second prototype was explored using light-weight steel alloy known as "Edelstahl." During this time leather fire-fighting helmets were slowly replaced with a combination of surplus World War I model steel helmets and privately manufactured versions in the “Austrian” pattern shell. These early helmets were generally painted black although some were left in their original field-gray World War I color.

In 1934 the light-weight steel alloy prototype helmet was approved for general use by all fire-fighting units. This helmet is designated the “M1934” by modern collectors because of the year of its introduction. Several different versions of the M1934 helmet exist with many variations resulting from subtle differences in the air vents or visors. The M1934 helmet was painted semi-gloss black inside and out with two insignia placed one on each side.

Fire Protection Police helmets were manufactured with and without an aluminum metal comb. In some cases the metal comb was also painted black. As a result of a large surplus, M1934 helmets without combs were issued in 1940 for general wear by all fire-fighting personnel. The helmets used typical civilian style liner systems and chinstraps. The liners were made so that they could accommodate a removable black leather neck shield.