Original German WWII Named M38 Luftschutz Beaded Gladiator Air Defense Helmet with Siemens & Halske Decals and 54cm Liner

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very interesting M1938 Beaded Luftschutz Gladiator German helmet, which looks to have seen moderate service during the WWII era. The exterior of this German helmet retains about 80% of the original dark blue paint, showing light overall wear, and there are areas of paint loss and oxidation on the exterior. The rolled edge is missing a good amount of the paint, which is not uncommon, and gives it a great "been there" look.

The helmet has all of the three original liner attachment hollow rivets, all showing light wear, and all three retain the cork spacers on the outside of the liner. The LUFTSCHUTZ decal is in good condition, retained at over 90%, showing just a bit of chipping and wear. There are also two decals on the sides of the helmet, which are the conjoined SH logo of Siemens & Halske AG, a German electrical engineering company. Their factory produced a lot of the Field Telephones used by the Heer Army as well as the avionics used by the Luftwaffe, and were very important for the war effort. We assume that they had their own Luftschutz detachment, and this would have been issued to them. The top of the front visor has the name Reimann painted on it, the name of the wearer during WWII.

The inner skirt is maker marked with stamping into the steel with RL 2 - 38 / 28. These markings would seem to indicate that the helmet was made in 1938, though we do not know if any records were kept of the maker. It may be that it was made under a 1938 contract. Below is a original Luftschutz helmet information decal / paint stamp, which is mostly complete:

Vertrieb genehmigt
gemäß § 8 Luftschutzgesetz
Kopfweite: 54
Höchstpreis RM 8.—

This indicates the distribution information and size: Distribution approved according to Section 8 Air protection legislation. Head Width 54. Highest Price 8.00 Reichsmark.

The liner in the helmet is three panel imperial style, with two "fingers" on each panel, and padding behind. In this case the panels are made from oilcloth faux leather, and are attached to an oilcloth covered fiber band, with the top tie strap missing. The oilcloth is in very good shape, without any cracking or major damage. The chinstrap is still intact, and is made from "Preßstoff", an imitation leather, which shows some delamination.

Overall a very good condition German WWII M38 Luftschutz helmet with a great lightly used look and interesting history. Ready to research and display!

Formed in late 1932 the Deutsches Luftschutzverband, (German Air Protection League), was a voluntary organization designed to provide civil air raid protection in large civilian centers. Shortly after AH ascension to power the Deutsches Luftschutzverband was restructured and placed under the supervision of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, (National Air Ministry), under the control of Hermann Göring. On April 29TH 1933 the Deutsches Luftschutzverband was renamed RLB, Reichs Luftschutz Bund, (National Air Raid Protection League) and was given status as an official national organization tasked with all aspects of civil air raid defense. The RLB remained a voluntary organization with a small cadre of paid, full-time uniformed officials to oversee the organization's functions until June 1935 when obligatory service was introduced. Only the most basic uniform and equipment items were supplied to the cadre personnel, with the rest having to be bought personally by members. On September 26TH 1938 a specific helmet for RLB personnel was introduced that incorporated a raised horizontal "bead" between the visors and crown. These helmets commonly called the "Gladiator" style were supplemented with M35, M40 and M42 helmets that also incorporated a raised horizontal "bead" between the visors and crown. The Luftschutz also utilized a variety of captured helmets.