M15 Cockades

M

Mike9999

Member
I was wondering (as I attempt to put together an example of an M15 enlisted pickelhaube), given the timeframe and the abandonment of brass for reasons of salvage and 'safety' on the front lines, were cockades worn on the M15 helmets? Or was it determined by their use, in the trenches vs. secondary non-combat units.

Thanks!
Mike
 
Sorry Mike. You need to buy Kokarden (nice try though!). :thumbright: Only Baden Kokarden were brass, the rest were all stamped metal. And Kokarden were as important to the helmet as the Wappen. I have a Filz Ersatz that has never had Kokadren, but it may be because the M91 posts were placed too low on the shell. But that is an oddity. By regulation, they should all have them.
 
Mike,

They wore cockades with M15 helmets. The idea was to cover the helmet with an Uberzug like the picture below. If worn properly, you could not see the cockades. There were holes to thread the chinstrap through and attach the endings to the M91 post. The big difference for security was the requirement to have a removable top on the helmet. Known as a bayonet spike, they were frequently worn without any spike at all. Most collectors insist on having spikes or balls on the helmets -- I'm not sure they were issued in all cases.

The removable tops were required by AKO on 15 June 1915. There is supposedly an AKO from 27 October 1916 that eliminated the numbers on the covers. :)

Hope this helps!

Goodness, Tony gave you a great answer while I was typing this. His response brought to mind the famous "scroll" helmets -- no cockades but then they were not M15 helmets either.

spikeless27.jpg
 
Tony & Kaiser said:
Sorry Mike. You need to buy Kokarden (nice try though!). :thumbright:
Click to expand...

Oh, all right... :(

No wonder they lost..., wandering around with targets on their helmets. Serves 'em right! :)

So here I go, looking for some cockards!!

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top