Description
Physical description
Helmet: Model 1916 steel helmet, complete with leather three-pad liner attached to a leather headband. The inside is painted regulation dark apple green and externally is hand-painted in camouflage segments of red-brown, light-green and dark yellow, all outlined with a black border, 15mm in width.
To the upper right front crown is an impact dent that has fractured the metal 40mm in length.
History note
First World War period German Army issue steel helmet. Prior to the introduction of the Model 1916 helmet, most German troops had continued to wear their pre-war headdress which afforded little real protection against head injury from small arms fire, shell splinters and shrapnel. Consequently a steel helmet was introduced which provided much-improved protection not only for the head but for the neck and temple. Following the conclusion of preliminary research work in Berlin, the 1st Assault Battalion under the command of a Captain Rohr received the first shipment of helmets in December 1915 for field testing. These helmets proved so successful that by the end of January 1916, the first 30,000 helmets were issued from the factory in Thale. The frontal plate was primarily designed to protect the wearer against infantry small arms fire from a distance of about 50 meters and beyond. Because of its considerable weight, the frontal plate could only be worn for short periods and was unsuited for wear by troops required to move rapidly. It therefore became mainly worn by 'static' troops, including sentries, forward observers and the like. For this reason it is commonly known as the 'sniper' plate. The shape allowed it to be worn on all sizes of helmets. It hooked onto the ventilation lugs on either side of the helmet and was secured in position by a leather strap with a metal buckle (see UNI 162B for frontal plate).
Increasingly in 1918 steel helmets were painted in a variety of camouflage styles, the effectiveness of which reflected the skills of the painter. Other helmets (of which this is an example), conforming more to a regulated standard of camouflage design, are sometimes referred to as 'lozenge' pattern.
Stamped (under right side of brim)
E.T.34