A little help please...

R

richesz28

Member
I have a Garde helmet shell that I'm starting a restoration on soon and I have a couple of questions. No photos at this point, but I don't really need any for the following questions:

First, there are two stamps on the rear visor - Fd.A.R. (field artillery regiment I believe) on one side and K.B.A.G. 1915 on the other side. No other marks at all. Does this indicate a Garde artillery regiment?

Second, the M91 side posts are brass as are the grommets around the holes for the front plate. Is brass acceptable on a 1915 dated helmet? I think the answer is yes but I want other opinions. There are no double-holes or other obvious "doctored" problems that I can see.

Third, if it is an artillery helmet then which rear spine is correct - vented or non-vented? I know most artillery 'haubes' are non-vented but I seem to recall a change toward the end of pickelhaube production that allowed for vents on all issued helmets.

Thanks in advance for your opinions/help.

Richard
 
I'll give it a go.

KBAG = Kriegs Bekleidungsamt Garde

Not at all unusual to find an M15 (grey fittings) with brass M91 side posts and grommets. They used up old stocks after the 1915 and 1916 AKO. Often, however, that indicates a pre-1915 made helmet that has been refurbished to the 1915 regulations. I like these.

The rear spines in brass it seems were standardized in 1914, and all eventually had rear vents. If its steel, then of course, it will have a vent.
 
Thanks Tony and Joe. That clears it up a little. I should note a garde eagle fits perfectly. So I am confident it is from a garde unit. I suppose my last questions are: spike or kugel? Brass or steel fittings? I do my best to put a helmet back to its original configuration because I abhor fakes.
 
richesz28 said:
Thanks Tony and Joe. That clears it up a little. I should note a garde eagle fits perfectly. So I am confident it is from a garde unit. I suppose my last questions are: spike or kugel? Brass or steel fittings? I do my best to put a helmet back to its original configuration because I abhor fakes.
Click to expand...

Other than the Kugel question, some photos would be helpful for the rest.

:D Ron
 
I'm beginning a restoration of this helmet this weekend, so I will take photos as it moves along. It's going to require a lot of work (I'm looking forward to it). My question about brass or steel fittings really relates to the AKO of September 21, 1915. My helmet is marked KBAG 1915. Does the 1915 date indicate this helmet was retrofitted to steel by the Garde repair depot? Or, were brass helmets still in use up to this AKO date. I'm trying to figure this out because I have almost all of the pieces for this helmet in brass and it would be awfully nice use them instead of beginning a search for steel fittings, which will be harder to find.

I do need a kugel for it though, so if anyone has one for sale or trade please let me know.
 
I would suggest that you look at the grommets in the wappen holes....are they brass, steel or have they been removed entirely? The grommet is perhaps the best thing to look at when deciding on fittings. These are not easily removed without damaging the helmet and they are original to the helmet when manufactured.. The rule I use is.... steel grommets, then Steel M15 fittings. Brass grommets and M15 fittings, still acceptable as they converted many M95 to M15 especially if they were repaired. No grommets then steel fittings apply. Brass grommets were often removed when the M95 was converted to M15 fittings. Steel grommets with brass M95 fittings is unacceptable and tells me the piece has been "doctored" by some dealer or collector in order to increase sale price or make it look nicer. In my experience, no M95 or earlier haube was ever produced without brass grommets and this includes the ones with neusilber fittings. For our newer collectors....there were 3 reasons for the German Army to convert M95's to M15 fittings..... the brass shortage, the dismountable M15 spike to reduce one's profile and the grey M15 matte finish does not "shine" like brass.
 
I have a helmet (actually a shell, no fittings) that has brass grommets and is dated 1918.
 
Wow, that is a rarity! I always get nervous when making these "pickelhaube declarations", I try to begin with....in my opinion, in my experience etc because as sure as anything, someone is going to come up with an exception just as you have done. I think we all know by now, that the only certainty in haube collecting is that....nothing is certain. My thanks for your reply. :)
 
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