JR92 said:
hello,
were intialy issued for the attacks on Verdun in 1916
I fand no proof about it, and wrote something about it here :
http://lagrandeguerre.cultureforum.net/parcours-de-divisions-de-regiments-de-soldats-f3/le-fort-de-douaumont-ce-25-fevrier-1916-t27884.htm#195889
Mle 17 is not an official pattern.
There were :
M 16 1rst pattern (leather band)
M 16 2nd pattern (steel band)
M 18
M 18 Mit Ohrenauschnitt.
The use of the first steel helmets during the opening stages of the Verdun Offensive is well documented. P.C. Ettighoffer mentions this in his book
Verdun, Das grosse Gericht, stating that small numbers of assault units were issued the first Stahlhelme in time for the opening offensive. The best source on the subject I have found is Ludwig Baer's
Vom Stahlhelm zum Gefechtshelm Volume I. It contains very valuable information on the subject (and many others) drawn from surviving contemporary sources.
30 000 steel helmets were ordered in November 1915 to be ready by the end of January 1916 specifically for Verdun. These were earmarked for selected units - mostly assault units and specialists such as Pioniere, Fammenwerfer units, etc., but elements of at least one Landwehr formation, the 6. Bay. Landwehr Div., was issued with 250 of these first helmets. Initial trials had already been successfully conducted under Hauptmann Rohr in December 1915, and Verdun was to be the final large scale testing ground prior to the helmet's approval for large scale production. Questionnaires were handed out to the soldiers issued with helmets, and the responses analyzed. This information can be found in Baer's book in much greater detail, and it is a very interesting read.
The Stahlhelme used at this early stage were the pre-production model known as the "square dip" to collectors. Full production of the M16 only began after April 1916. The square dip was manufactured exclusively by Eisenhuettewerke Thale. A thread showing an example of this helmet and a brief overview can be seen here:
http://www.pickelhaubes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4301
Regarding the designation M17, I think it's a very valid one as it effectively distinguishes the helmet as a 1916 model shell with a 1917 introduced steel liner band, which was in response to the ever increasing shortage of leather. It should be remembered that in Hauptmann Schwerdt's January 18 1916 patent, the liner band is described as being made of either leather or metal.
There are a few variants alone in the M16 liner which seem to follow a specific time-line, due either to improvements in design (the prototype liner pads in early square dips vs in the production model pads) or to combat the increasing leather shortage (thick liner bands in earlier M16s vs. the two-ply leather bands in later M16s).
The main helmet shell models as I see them are:
1. Pre-production M16 "square dip" (30 000 manufactured from the beginning of Dec. '15 - the end of Jan. '16.)
2. Production model 1916 (April '16 - August 1918)
3. & 4. M18 and M18 mit Ohrenausschnitt - aka 'M18 ear cut-out' (both introduced in August 1918.) The ear cut-out M18 was an experimental model in that it was designed to improve hearing and was issued with a felt textured paint to cut glare. Like the "square dip", only Thale was involved in the production of this model.
There's one other model on which I can find very little information, the so-called "full visor variant" mentioned in Baer's book. Outside of the one pictured in his book, I've never seen another example in any collection. These were apparently made in both M16 and M18 models.
~Hans
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