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Stahlhelm (plural, Stahlhelme) is German for "steel helmet." The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional leather Pickelhaube (spiked helmet) with the Stahlhelm during the First World War in 1916. The term Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet, and more specifically to the distinctive (and symbolic) German design.

History

At the beginning of World War I, none of the combatants were issued with any form of protection for the head other than cloth and leather caps. As the war entered the trench warfare phase, the number of casualties on all sides suffering from severe head wounds (often caused by shrapnel) increased dramatically. The French were the first to see a real need for more effective protection — in late 1915 they began to issue Adrian Helmets to their troops. The British followed with the Brodie helmet, which was also worn by U.S. forces, and the Germans with the Stahlhelm. In the Second World War, a Stahlhelm variant without the visor and rim was issued to Fallschirmjäger (German paratrooper) units.

The Stahlhelm with its distinctive "coal scuttle" shape was an excellent symbol for military imagery. It was a common element of military propaganda on both sides, just like the Pickelhaube before. After the Second World War, West Germany abandoned the distinctive Stahlhelm, which had become a symbol of German military aggression, using a variant of the more harmless-looking United States Army "GI pot" helmet instead. In the 1990s, a Kevlar helmet was adopted. East Germany used a helmet modelled on a late Second World War German design with a more conical shape. After the war, the Bundesgrenzschutz border guards and some West German police units kept the Stahlhelm in their inventories, though it was seldom worn, and the Fallschirmjäger variant was used for some time by the GSG 9. German fire brigades today still use Stahlhelm-shaped helmets in a fluorescent color. The Chilean Army still uses the Stahlhelm design for ceremonial purposes.

The different Stahlhelm designs are named for their year of introduction. For example, Modell 1942 was introduced in 1942, but more commonly known as M1942 or simply M42. Here, they are referred to by their M19XX names.

First World War variants

M1916 and M1917

The M1916 was the first production model of the Stahlhelm design and was developed by Hauptmann Friedrich Schwerd, a professor of the Hanover Technical Institute. The helmet was first issued to the 1st Assault Battalion for evaluation, in December 1915. It was introduced in regular service during the Verdun campaign in early 1916.

The M1916 design had two large, horn-like ventilator lugs on the front of the helmet. These lugs were meant to support an optional shield, the Stirnpanzer, that would attach to the front of the helmet. However, the shield was too heavy for practical use, and was normally used only by snipers. The M1916 also used M1891 chinstrap lugs, the same kind used in the Pickelhaube, to attach the one-piece leather chinstrap directly to the steel shell. The shell came in different sizes, from 60 to 68, with some size 70s reported. The leather suspension, or liner, consisted of a headband with three segmented leather pouches, each holding padding materials, and leather or fabric cords could be adjusted to provide a comfortable fit.

The M1916 design provided excellent protection, but it was not without its flaws. The ventilator horns often let cold air in during the winter, requiring the wearer to block the vents with mud or fabric. The large, flared skirt tended to make it difficult for soldiers to hear, distorting surrounding sounds and creating an echo when the wearer spoke.

Factory-issue helmets were generally field gray (Feldgrau) in color. Troops often repainted their helmets in camouflage colors, although factory-applied camouflage paint was documented. German Army Order II, No 91 366, signed by General Erich Ludendorff on 7 July 1918, outlined official standards for helmet camouflage. The order stipulated that helmets should be painted in several colors, separated by a finger-wide black line. The colors should be relevant to the season, such as using green, brown and ochre in summer.

After the effectiveness of the M1916 design was validated during the 1916 campaigns, incremental improvements were subsequently made. The M1917 version saw improvements to the liner, but was otherwise identical to the original design.

M1918

Extensive redesigns were made for the M1918 model. A new two-piece chin strap was introduced, and was attached directly to the helmet liner rather than the shell. Certain examples of the M1918 had cutouts in the rim along the sides of the helmet. It has incorrectly been said that these cutouts were to accommodate using headphones while wearing the helmet. These cutouts were actually done to improve hearing and to reduce echo created by the large, flared skirt.

The M1918 Stahlhelm can be distinguished from the M1916, as the M1918 shell lacks the chinstrap rivet on the lower side of the helmet skirt found on earlier models.

Central Power variants

Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire used or had commissioned, variations of the Stahlhelm design. The Austrians' M1917 helmet was similar to the German M1916, but had a cloth webbing chinstrap and had the chinstrap rivet located higher up on the steel shell. The Hungarians produced their own M1917 version that was similar to the Austrian design, but the chinstrap rivet was smaller in size and located even higher up than the Austrian version. The Austro-Hungarian helmets were manufactured by Krupp Berndorfer Metalwarenfabrik, and were brown in color.

Germany produced 5,400 visorless versions of the M1918 helmet for Turkey. It is often said that this visorless version was created to allow Turkish soldiers to touch their foreheads to the ground during prayer, without removing their helmets. However, this story has been disputed. Ultimately, the Turkish version of the Stahlhelm was never delivered, but instead was used by German Freikorps units after the war.

Inter-war and Second World War variants

M1935/1940

The Stahlhelm was completely redesigned in the 1930s. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armour shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, however, but were set in smaller fittings mounted to the M1935 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. With these improvements, the new M1935 helmet became lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the First World War-era designs.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts onto the shell, rather than utilize separate fittings that had to be added to the shell. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935.

Fallschirmjäger version

A variant of the M1935 helmet that was a shell were the projecting visor and deep, flared rim had been removed to reduce drag during jumps was issued to Fallschirmjäger (German paratrooper) units. The modified shell also incorporated a completely different and more substantial liner and chinstrap design that provided far more protection for German airborne troops.

Decal insignia

After Stahlhelm shells were painted, the colours of which varied by organization, small identification or insignia decals usually were affixed to one or both sides of the helmet. Almost every military, naval, and political organization had its own distinctive insignia, which was applied as decals to the sides of helmets. The right side of early M35 helmets bore the tricolored shield of red, black, and white stripes, the traditional national colors of Imperial Germany (cf. the black, red, and gold of today's Germany, harking back to the 1848 Student Revolt). The left side of the shell often received decal insignia denoting the branch of the armed forces, or Wehrmacht, or an organization within the Nazi Party.

The Wehrmacht consisted of the army (Heer), the navy (Kriegsmarine), the air force (Luftwaffe), and the Waffen-SS ("Armed-SS"), with Sturmabteilung (SA) units occasionally added. These Wehrmacht branches typically displayed distinctive emblems in the form of decals on their helmets. The Heer, or army, displayed a black shield bearing the frontal view of a silver-colored German eagle holding a swastika in its talons, while the navy used the same eagle emblem in gold. Luftwaffe decals displayed the side view of an eagle in flight, also holding a swastika. The SS was both a military and a political organization, and its notorious, black runic initials on a silver-colored shield (normally applied to the right side of the shell) looked like twin lightning bolts. Other military, political, and civil or defense organizations used similar decal insignia to distinguish their helmets. Such visible identification devices were gradually abandoned as the war progressed, however, so that by war's end most Wehrmacht helmet insignia had been eliminated to reduce the wearer's visibility in combat.

M1942

The M1942 design was a result of wartime demands. The rolled edge on the shell was eliminated, creating an unfinished edge along the rim. This edge slightly flared out, along the base of the skirt. The elimination of the rolled edge expedited the manufacturing process and reduced the amount of metal used in each helmet. Shell paint colors towards the end of the war typically ran to matte gray-green, and the decals were gradually eliminated to speed up production and reduce the helmet's combat visibility. Greater manufacturing flaws were also observed in M42 helmets made late in the war.

M1945

There have been reports of a variant manufactured in the last months of the war. The M1945 was reported to have been similar to the M1942 design, but did away with ventilator completely. These helmets are reported to be extremely rare.

Stahlhelm use in other countries

Germany exported versions of the M1935 helmet to various countries. Versions of the M1935 Stahlhelm were sent to Nationalist China in 1935 and 1936. Spain also received shipments of the helmet. The exported M1935 helmets were similar to the German issue, except for a different liner. Hungary used a variation of the M1942 helmet, that had a metal belt loop on the back of the shell. Some countries manufactured their own helmets using the M1935 design, and this basic design was in use in various nations as late as the 1970s.

After the end of World War I Poland also seized large quantities of M1918 helmets. Most of those were later sold to various countries, including Spain. However, at the end of 1930's it was discovered that the standard Polish wz. 31 helmet was unsuitable for tank troops and motorized units. While offering decent protection, it was too large and heavy. As a stop-gap measure before a new helmet was developed, the General Staff decided to issue the M1918 helmets to the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade, which used them during the Polish Defensive War.

During the inter-war years, the Republic of Ireland equipped their Army with a British-made copy of the M1918 helmet manufactured by Vickers, and a German-type tunic. At the outbreak of World War Two, Ireland remained neutral, but in 1940 accepted the British offer to replace the German-like uniforms with British-style battle dress and Brodie pattern helmets.

Countries that used Stahlhelm-type helmets included: Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Venezuela. Switzerland used a helmet that was roughly similar to the M1916, but had a shallower, more rounded crown and skirt.

Popular culture

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Stahlhelm became available on the surplus market in the United States and was soon picked up by outlaw bikers, and has since, through various books and films, also become associated with biker gangs such as the Hells Angels. Known as the "German style", fiberglass replicas have since been manufactured for both for novelty purposes and DOT-approved head protection.

In a more peaceful setting, in the late 1990's, moulded fibreglass copies of the classic WW2 German Stahlhelm were seen in the streets of Indonesia. Available in gaudy colours, such as 'sparkly' red, green or purple, they became popular with the country's numerous moped riders. Inexpensively made, they had a simple nylon-strap liner and foam headband, with nylon Y-chinstrap and black rubber or nylon rim-edging. Whilst possibly better than no headgear at all, it is doubtful whether this headgear would protect its wearer in an accident.

Parody

A Dutch company created a parody on the German helmet to be worn at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, in Orange, the national colour of the Netherlands. The KNVB, the Dutch football association, said they find it in rather bad taste and discouraged the helmet to be worn at the event. Nevertheless, the helmet was a common sight among Dutch supporters in Germany.

The helmet is called "Helmpje", which is Dutch for little helmet, and has a number of versions with different texts written on the helmet itself. They are:

• Jetzt Geht's Los(ssss). Loosely translated from German it means "here we go(oooo)"
• Aanvalluh! Means "charge!" in Dutch.
• Hup Holland Hup! "Go Holland Go!"

There is also a "flower power" version, which has flowers instead of letters painted on it.

See also

• The U.S. Army's kevlar Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops Helmet, sometimes called the "Fritz helmet" for its resemblence to the Stahlhelm

External links

• A brief history of the German Stahlhelm 1916-1945
• The German Stahlhelm, M1916
• German version of plastic Stahlhelm
• Article about plastic Pickelhaube as a fan gadget (German)

• Helmets
• German loanwords