Dutch M38 helmet, WW2 survivor.

coert65

coert65

Well-known member
Hi friends, I'd like to show you all my latest addition to my collection, a Dutch M38 steel helmet, issued just before the start of WW2.
It is still in original condition, liner, chinstrap, even the felt pads behind the liner are still present.
It also still has the original olive green paint on it, on some spots some damage or touching up, in matching paint.
This helmet has a stamp in the shell, 39P, which means it was produced in 1939.
The standard issue Dutch steel helmet at that time, and often seen in pictures of the start of WW2 in our country.
We had not much of a chance against the Germans invading us, what with our obsolete equipment and weapons, and being quite a small army.
But we fought like lions, and held the German army back for a while, remember the Grebbenberg, Kornwerderzand, and other things.
The Germans, after we capitulated, spoke highly of our little army, they never expected so much resistance from us.
M38 1.jpg
M38 2.jpg
M38 3.jpg
M38 4.jpg
M38 5.jpg
M38 6.jpg
M38 7.jpg
M38 8.jpg
I wasn't even looking for one, but got a PM from @Peter B , who was wondering if it might be a helmet for me, which it was.
I once helped him out, with finding a nice example of a Dutch WW2 helmet for his collection, and thought of me when he saw it for sale on e-bay.
I realized, that, being Dutch, I was missing a piece of history in my collection, and made an offer to the seller, also a Dutch guy, and he accepted my offer.
So, many thanks to @Peter B for thinking of me! I am glad to have the helmet here in my collection!

Thanks in advance for looking at the helmet,

Regards, Coert.
 
Dear Coert this is not a german ww1 helmet, neverless I like it very much.
I have a couple of dutch helmet in my early collection. I'll show you.
Zeb
 
A very nice piece. I always find the difference in design between the steel helmets of different nations to be very puzzling. I thought ‘form follows function’?!

One for Peter Suciu?

Patrick
 
Very nice example. These had never been "common" but today they're practically in the rare category, especially in nice condition.

The interesting thing is that the neutral nations of the First World War, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland actually seemed to devise more "modern" designs in the interwar era than France and the UK, which essentially updated their helmets. I venture part of it was not to be tied to a "bloc" and an attempt to maintain their own identity. We had seen in the 19th century, nations followed the lead of other major powers - and sometimes that didn't always work out.

The Dutch certainly sought to maintain neutrality in 1940 as they did in 1914, but Germany had other plans.

Another consideration when you look at the helmets of the Netherlands and Denmark is that they had far smaller armies, so maybe that speaks to why their helmets were more robust. The French and British may have thought, "we're going to need a million of these!"
 
Excellent helmet, congratulations ! We had a lot of Dutch people emigrate to Canada after WW2 and we are glad they did. 👍
 
Peter_Suciu said:
Very nice example. These had never been "common" but today they're practically in the rare category, especially in nice condition.

The interesting thing is that the neutral nations of the First World War, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland actually seemed to devise more "modern" designs in the interwar era than France and the UK, which essentially updated their helmets. I venture part of it was not to be tied to a "bloc" and an attempt to maintain their own identity. We had seen in the 19th century, nations followed the lead of other major powers - and sometimes that didn't always work out.

The Dutch certainly sought to maintain neutrality in 1940 as they did in 1914, but Germany had other plans.

Another consideration when you look at the helmets of the Netherlands and Denmark is that they had far smaller armies, so maybe that speaks to why their helmets were more robust. The French and British may have thought, "we're going to need a million of these!"
Click to expand...
I wonder if there was also a conscious aim to differentiate by shape in order to be able to more easily identify friend or foe?
 
Excellent helmets Zeb and Schupo! Thanks for sharing them here!
And all, thanks for the nice comments on my helmet. :) (y)
 
That's a rare one Zeb, even in my country they do not show up very often. And can be very pricey, with the original M16 liner still present like your helmet has.
 
As long as we're discussing Dutch helmets, here's my M41 Milsco KNIL example with a painted insignia and cloth neck guard. The cloth liner is of the same material (although different color) to one used in a para training helmet shown on the Dutch helmet site dutchhelmets.nl
 

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