Helmet marking

Amybellars

Amybellars

Well-known member
Hi guys,
Need help on this marking which is stamped on the rear visor.

I can roughly figure out that's RBA? Am I somehow right?

Thank you
 
Hi Bruno,

Hmm, I mean I could only able to figure out RBA with an X as in question mark, which I don't know if I am right with it.

The whole marking is very hard to decipher.

Thanks for the effort though, really appreciate it.
 
I had not looked closely at your picture. Then you real question is: is it really X? Probably not. It seems that there are two roman characters. It could be IX or something else. Sure about RBA though. What kind of helmet is it?
 
Well that would mean the helmet in question is Hessen. We need a photo Amy to confirm this. My Hessen JR 115 has the same markings.
 
b.loree said:
Well that would mean the helmet in question is Hessen. We need a photo Amy to confirm this. My Hessen JR 115 has the same markings.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, Brian, since the XVIII Reserve Korps included many non-Hessian regiments. This is why I asked Amy about the helmet identity.
 
Am pretty sure it's not 18.

Here's the pic of the helmet front. It doesn't come with the plates.

I tried all my prussian ones and it didn't fix and surprisingly one of my baden fixed well. Wurttemberg was just half inch off.

Thank you for all your help
 

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Amybellars said:
Am pretty sure it's not 18.

Here's the pic of the helmet front. It doesn't come with the plates.

I tried all my prussian ones and it didn't fix and surprisingly one of my baden fixed well. Wurttemberg was just half inch off.

Thank you for all your help
Click to expand...

Amy, I am pretty sure this is RBA 18.
This helmet may have worn a gard Wappen too! The ER 2 and ER 3 in Hanau (Eisenbahnregiment) were parts of the XVIII AK since 1910. I already saw 2 or 3 M15 helmets marked RBA18 and ER2 /ER3 with a guard wappen. I am sure this will fit there too :wink:

The member Coert has such a helmet in his collection. It is marked ER3 and RBA XVIII (another variation of this AK RBA stamp):

https://www.pickelhaubes.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=13956

Philippe
:wink:
 
Hi Amy,
There were only three R.B.A.: XVIII (also marked as "18"), XX and XXI (which I have never seen marked as "20" or "21", but that doesn't mean they don't exist).
Looking at your stamp I can clearly read "R.B.A.", and the number behind seems to start with a "1" or "I", so imo RBA 18 is the most likely.
Regards, Lars
 
Philippe, Bruno and Lars, thank you for the advice.

I tried the 4 guard plates, 4 hessian plates, 1 wurttemberg plate but none fixed.

Will research more tomorrow.

Thank you and Lars, yes you are right witht hat R.B.A. 1 ?? there.
 
There are all kinds of reasons why the "correct" Wappen may not fit. I've got a fiber M'15 helmet marked to a unit that wore a line eagle. The "ghost" image on the front of the helmet is a line eagle. Being a fiber helmet there shouldn't be any real shrinkage, but I've tried a half dozen plates none of which really fit. All have had the loops too far apart.
What is the measurement of the distance between the holes (measure from the rights side of one hole to the right side of the other)?
 
Have you tried a prussian plate? 8 cm will usually fit a prussian or baden plate and I have a pickelhaube with the RBA 18 stamp in my collection and it has a prussian wappen on it
 
The one I have that I can't find a plate to fit measured 7.7cm -I have an 8 cm plate on the helmet, but only one loop fits in.
 
Amy, "Bekleidung" means "clothing".
The "Bekleidungsamt" (BA) was the army service (store) in charge of soldier clothing. There was one by Armee Korps (AK).
R stands for Reserve, of course.
 
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