Steve Nick
Well-known member
This helmet is the result of my correcting a mistake I made over 25 years ago when I purchased an Oldenburg Artillery NCO’s helmet from a fellow collector. The helmet had sat on my shelf quite happily since then. A couple years ago, demonstrating that collecting knowledge is always improving, I discovered that something was amiss with my “Oldenburg” helmet.
When the 1895 pattern Pickelhaubes were introduced one of the new features was a re-design of the rear spine which was provided with a sliding cover over a ventilation opening. We now know that the Artillery did not adopt this new feature for reasons unknown until early in the Great War. So, Artillery helmets made prior to late 1914 utilized the M91 solid rear spine.
The “Oldenburg” helmet also had an earlier pattern 1871 Wappen (130 mm height) which is slightly larger than the 1895 model and was secured to the helmet using threaded posts as opposed to the loops used on the 1895 pattern. These inconsistencies convinced me that my “Oldenburg” helmet had likely been cobbled together using original parts in an unconventional configuration.
So, luckily, as I’m in the process of restoring a pattern 1891 helmet that is a legitimate Artillery helmet and requires a legitimate Wappen, I’ve converted my “Oldenburg” helmet into a legitimate regulation 1895 Prussian Infantry helmet by replacing the original Artillery Kugel with an original Infantry Spitze and installing a privately purchased M95 Reserve Infantry Wappen along with a set of Prussian NCO Kokarden.
The Oldenburg NCO Kokarden will be used on my Artillery restoration helmet along with the correct M71 Oldenburg Wappen. Since it is a Private Purchase helmet and consequently isn’t unit marked it will be able to sit on my shelf in good conscience.
As we all know, many Pickelhaubes have been “played with” over the years for a variety of reasons not all of which were inspired by ill intentions. Fortunately, our understanding of the evolution of these helmets through the vastly improved communication of knowledge provided through forums such as this now allows us to recognize many of these errors and put them right.
When the 1895 pattern Pickelhaubes were introduced one of the new features was a re-design of the rear spine which was provided with a sliding cover over a ventilation opening. We now know that the Artillery did not adopt this new feature for reasons unknown until early in the Great War. So, Artillery helmets made prior to late 1914 utilized the M91 solid rear spine.
The “Oldenburg” helmet also had an earlier pattern 1871 Wappen (130 mm height) which is slightly larger than the 1895 model and was secured to the helmet using threaded posts as opposed to the loops used on the 1895 pattern. These inconsistencies convinced me that my “Oldenburg” helmet had likely been cobbled together using original parts in an unconventional configuration.
So, luckily, as I’m in the process of restoring a pattern 1891 helmet that is a legitimate Artillery helmet and requires a legitimate Wappen, I’ve converted my “Oldenburg” helmet into a legitimate regulation 1895 Prussian Infantry helmet by replacing the original Artillery Kugel with an original Infantry Spitze and installing a privately purchased M95 Reserve Infantry Wappen along with a set of Prussian NCO Kokarden.
The Oldenburg NCO Kokarden will be used on my Artillery restoration helmet along with the correct M71 Oldenburg Wappen. Since it is a Private Purchase helmet and consequently isn’t unit marked it will be able to sit on my shelf in good conscience.
As we all know, many Pickelhaubes have been “played with” over the years for a variety of reasons not all of which were inspired by ill intentions. Fortunately, our understanding of the evolution of these helmets through the vastly improved communication of knowledge provided through forums such as this now allows us to recognize many of these errors and put them right.
