Steve Nick
Well-known member
A little over a year ago I purchased this helmet which was advertised as a Prussian Pioneers helmet.
I purchased it knowing that it had an incorrect Wappen on it as all Pioneer troops wore helmets with silver fittings.
Prussian Wappens for line troops are the most easily found so I figured I'd find a nice silver Wappen and a silver base plate stud, a silver fitted chinstrap (not common) and a set of Kokarden and I'd have myself a nice Prussian Pioneers helmet.
In hand it turned out that the brass Prussian Wappen had been played with by re-soldering the mounting loops to fit a smaller hole spacing in the shell of the helmet. The smaller spacing told me the helmet was probably Bavarian. Checking inside the shell showed that the manufacturer was in Neu Ulm in Bavaria. There are no issue marks but there is the name of the owner penciled (Kinzelmann?) on the rear visor. I'm concluding that the helmet was a private purchase item.
The Bavarian Pioneers as well as the Eisenbahn and Telegraph Battalions plus the the Bavarian Life Guards Regiment wore Silver fittings.
At this point I have sourced a Silver Bavarian OR's Wappen (from Germany) , a NCO's Reich Kokarde and silver base plate stud (from the parts box), and a chinstrap with original silver fittings salvaged from the battlefields of Tannenberg (via Wojtek who does a superb job conditioning the leather). Just need to find a Bavarian NCO's Kokarde and the transition back to originality will be complete.
I purchased it knowing that it had an incorrect Wappen on it as all Pioneer troops wore helmets with silver fittings.
Prussian Wappens for line troops are the most easily found so I figured I'd find a nice silver Wappen and a silver base plate stud, a silver fitted chinstrap (not common) and a set of Kokarden and I'd have myself a nice Prussian Pioneers helmet.
In hand it turned out that the brass Prussian Wappen had been played with by re-soldering the mounting loops to fit a smaller hole spacing in the shell of the helmet. The smaller spacing told me the helmet was probably Bavarian. Checking inside the shell showed that the manufacturer was in Neu Ulm in Bavaria. There are no issue marks but there is the name of the owner penciled (Kinzelmann?) on the rear visor. I'm concluding that the helmet was a private purchase item.
The Bavarian Pioneers as well as the Eisenbahn and Telegraph Battalions plus the the Bavarian Life Guards Regiment wore Silver fittings.
At this point I have sourced a Silver Bavarian OR's Wappen (from Germany) , a NCO's Reich Kokarde and silver base plate stud (from the parts box), and a chinstrap with original silver fittings salvaged from the battlefields of Tannenberg (via Wojtek who does a superb job conditioning the leather). Just need to find a Bavarian NCO's Kokarde and the transition back to originality will be complete.