I must confess I have a soft spot for Tschapkas. Arguably one of the most impractical helmets to be worn at war, but also an interesting example of adaptation to "modern" warfare of an obsolete piece of headgear. It was realized in 1915 that the encumbering and useless - albeit pretty in parade - "mortarboard" could be made removable. Since April 1915 also saw the adoption of pewter gray metal fittings, these are seen on the vast majority of M15 Tschapkas. However, some escaped the April AKO and retained silver or gold metal fittings.