SkipperJohn
Well-known member
Here is a Baden privately purchased helmet made of leather with Vulkanfiber visor and neck guard:
The helmet has held it's shape well:
The spike is excessively tall, typical for private purchased helmets of the time:
The rear spine is the enlisted, non-vented, type:
The Wappen is highly detailed, extremely thin stamped brass, that retains most of it's original gilding:
From viewing the photos of the outside of the helmet most of the cost cutbacks cannot be seen; however, when one looks at the inside it becomes more evident:
The rear neck guard is not sewn around the outside edge as most privately purchased helmets would be. There is no leatherette lining on the front visor (would be green) or on the neck guard (would be red). The Vulkanfiber itself is only about 1/3 to 1/2 as thick as that on my other fiber helmets. The fiber may be some material other than Vulkanfiber since it is brown/tan on the underside instead of black. The spike studs are the bent pin type instead of screw posts which are more typical. The overall weight of this helmet is substantially less than my other fiber helmets.
The silk skull is missing, but it was most likely cotton on this helmet. Obvious cost reductions were used in this helmet's manufacture.
This is an enlisted man's helmet and it seems that very little thought was given to ever upgrading it to an officer's model. I would imagine that this would be typical of a OYV helmet. Someone who had the means could serve for one year, at an earlier age, and then go directly to the reserves rather than spending two to three years of a normal enlistment.
A very informative article on One Year Volunteers can be found here:
John
The helmet has held it's shape well:
The spike is excessively tall, typical for private purchased helmets of the time:
The rear spine is the enlisted, non-vented, type:
The Wappen is highly detailed, extremely thin stamped brass, that retains most of it's original gilding:
From viewing the photos of the outside of the helmet most of the cost cutbacks cannot be seen; however, when one looks at the inside it becomes more evident:
The rear neck guard is not sewn around the outside edge as most privately purchased helmets would be. There is no leatherette lining on the front visor (would be green) or on the neck guard (would be red). The Vulkanfiber itself is only about 1/3 to 1/2 as thick as that on my other fiber helmets. The fiber may be some material other than Vulkanfiber since it is brown/tan on the underside instead of black. The spike studs are the bent pin type instead of screw posts which are more typical. The overall weight of this helmet is substantially less than my other fiber helmets.
The silk skull is missing, but it was most likely cotton on this helmet. Obvious cost reductions were used in this helmet's manufacture.
This is an enlisted man's helmet and it seems that very little thought was given to ever upgrading it to an officer's model. I would imagine that this would be typical of a OYV helmet. Someone who had the means could serve for one year, at an earlier age, and then go directly to the reserves rather than spending two to three years of a normal enlistment.
A very informative article on One Year Volunteers can be found here:
John
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