A Prussian M15 officer's spiked helmet

[CLOVIS 57]

I've been looking for one for a while, with all the details that go with it.
As is often the case with this model, the schell is made of rubber-coated leather, while the visor and neck cover are made of vulkanfiber.
The gilded brass fittings are intact, but the gilding has disappeared from the zinc (Kriegsmetal) fittings. The sweatband is made of varnished cardboard.





For completeness, here are close-ups of the M15 0fficier's special features:
---Retractable M15 tip as for troops, doubled with the unscrewable tip as on M71 0fficier models.
---Jugular 0fficier with M91/M15 side posts and female boot.
---Cocades 0fficier with large central hole for side post. This is the removable model. There was a fixed model, pinned between the side post and the schell.


J


I have another M15 0fficier, where the gilded zinc elements are made of gilded iron. It is much more patinated, and the fittings are in gilded iron.

 

[J.LeBrasseur]

Love it, nice find!

James

 

[JzPf]

Great find, congrats!

 

[Amybellars]

They are hard to get. Congrats

 

[KAGGR#1]

I've been looking for one for a while, with all the details that go with it.View attachment 39180View attachment 39181View attachment 39182View attachment 39183
As is often the case with this model, the schell is made of rubber-coated leather, while the visor and neck cover are made of vulkanfiber.
The gilded brass fittings are intact, but the gilding has disappeared from the zinc (Kriegsmetal) fittings. The sweatband is made of varnished cardboard.



View attachment 39185

For completeness, here are close-ups of the M15 0fficier's special features:
---Retractable M15 tip as for troops, doubled with the unscrewable tip as on M71 0fficier models.
---Jugular 0fficier with M91/M15 side posts and female boot.
---Cocades 0fficier with large central hole for side post. This is the removable model. There was a fixed model, pinned between the side post and the schell.


J

View attachment 39186
I have another M15 0fficier, where the gilded zinc elements are made of gilded iron. It is much more patinated, and the fittings are in gilded iron.

Very nice
Steve

 

[b.loree]

A classic example of the M15 officer helme. The interior is in excellent condition. Congratulations Clovis.

 

[Sandmann]

Congratulations Thierry, a beautiful helmet and thank you for sharing

 

[ccj]

Nice one

 

[John Josef]

Thats about as mint an interior as you will ever see, I don't think its ever been worn. The slight marks on the outside are most likely just from being over a hundred years old.

A beautiful helmet, Congratulations

 

[argonne]

Thank you for sharing, Cloclo
As you know, I also am a great fan of those relatively scarce M15 officer helmets
Philippe

 

[Stosstrupp]

very nice helmet congrats

 

[tigerwitha88]

Definitely has the look, I like it. How uncommon is the socket type attachment for the spike on officers?

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Definitely has the look, I like it. How uncommon is the socket type attachment for the spike on officers?

The 1915 for officer are very difficult to find. Only a very short period to the 1916 Stahlhelm introduction. VERY nice.

 

[tigerwitha88]

Thanks, didn’t want to take away from the subject helmet but I had one in my collection and had never run across another so I knew they had to be uncommon.

 

[lach470]

What a great helmet!! Congrats on this recent score!

Rob

 

[argonne]

I had one in my collection .

So do I

As Tony S. said, only a very short period. In this case, the wearer was a young bavarian Leutnant (born May 1896) who was mobilized in the Ersatz Bataillon of the KBJR19 on the 21.7.15 as a "Fahnenjunker-Anwärter"(probationary officer cadet). He was promoted Leutnant in the bavarian 19th Infantery Regiment (KBJR19) on the 26.10.16 (retroactive to 18.10.14),
Philippe

 

[Steve Nick]

Thanks, didn’t want to take away from the subject helmet but I had one in my collection and had never run across another so I knew they had to be uncommon.

These helmets are very hard to find. I've had one of the wartime gilt washed bayonet mount spikes in my "parts drawer" for over 20 years and never found a helmet that required it.

 

[CLOVIS 57]

Thank you all for your kind reviews.
Indeed, as the model 15 "officer's" spiked helmet was a "Field" helmet, i.e. to be worn during the war, it was replaced by the Stahlhelm16, the following year. So very few were produced, bearing in mind that many officers kept their model 1871/99 until 1918, or had a new, higher-quality M71 built for ceremonies, parades etc...
For the sake of completeness, here are the 2 systems for retracting the tip, on officers' models 15 :
---The bayonet (as above)
---Screw thread (more rare) :

 

[CLOVIS 57]

There are 2 types of roundels for M15 officers:
---The troop system, which is attached to the side post.
---The M71 system has a small central hole, enlarged laterally to form a line, and is fitted between the side post and the leather or vulkanfiber shell. In this case, the side post is not fixed as for the troop, but by 2 folding half-moon-shaped brackets (see photos).