Jocks' M16 stahlhelm with odd inside

J

Jock

New member
I have an M1916 Stahlhelm which is puzzling me.
It has the old Pickelhelm chinstrap mounts which seem fine to me, given what little I have learnt thus far.
It has the "horns" at the front which seem fine too.
However, It is fitted with what appears to me to be an early allied WW11 inner. It was not sold as anything special, in fact I got it for pennies few and really took it off the guys' hands as he thought it was junk. It may well be.
But the question is, why would anyone go to the bother of fitting (and well fitting at that ) a Brit or Canadian inner liner to an old Stahlhelm in the first place. Not to put it on the market that is for sure.
Any thoughts from the wise ones out there ??
2nd question. Would there be any point in trying to restore this ? Is there a market for WW1 helmets ? If so what should be done to make it presentable and possibly collectable ?
Again, all thoughts and opinions would be very much appreciated.
Regards from the new addict,
Jock.
 
Just a guess, somebody's Dad fixing up Grandpa's trophy helmet from WWI for a child to wear after the original leather liner crapped out?

When I was a kid everybodies Dad was either a WWII, Korean War, and a couple even Viet Nam War Vet's, and G.I. M1 helmets were a dime a dozen. Most everybodies Granpa was a WWI Vet back then.

I can remember one of my playmates getting what was either a M16 or M18 stahlhelm from his Grand Dad. What this kid did was spray paint the helmet GOLD and wore it as part of his halloween costume. :cry:
 
Hi there,
Yes, I could see that, except I bought this in Germany 25 some years ago and kids playing with anything military was " Streng Verboten". That is why I can't figure this out. Definitely not a plaything, I feel.
Regards,
Jock.
 
Another guess - when I was an exchange student in W.Germany in '76(remember that country?), the younger West Germans who were riding motorrads WERE wearing surplus helmets. I even saw some sporting EK's on their dungeree vests not unlike bikers back home in the States. I'd say that there were probably numerous British, G.I. helmets & helmet liners floating around as they were always around the flohmarkts. Anyhow, knowing how thrifty & resourceful Germans can be, it would have been a reasonable way to make a helmet wearable to use a US liner. I also remember seeing a biker or two sporting a chromed US helmet, which was to me humerous, as back in the 60's & 70's I remember seeing more than a couple bikers riding around with chromed German helmets, and I even remember one guy who rode a chopper and wore a "spiked helmet". Probably the first real one I remember ever seeing.

You are right about how that was frowned upon back then. I traded a Politzei gemutze from WWII at a flea market in Hannover for a bunch of 50's era USAF patches and some DM's. One of my buddies, who was a German, asked to see my purchase. He placed the hat on his head and was doing a silly little jig, when a women came from out of no where and whaled on him with an umbrella. It would have been funny had it not been my hat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top