Stahlhelm

edwin

edwin

Active member
Dear all,

Today I would like to present my M17 stahlhelm. It has been part of my collection for some years now, and the main reason why I purchased it is because of its battle damage, viz. bullet hole at the front and some (shrapnel?) holes at the top, including a small drilled one. According to the previous owner, this helmet is a vet bring back and that may explain the small hole at the top because the vet had it on display to show a kill. Perhaps its true or maybe not. In addition, a lot of the original feldgrau paint appears to be present as well.


View from the front



Side views



This side also appears to have sustained some battle damage.



Top view


Back



The inside



The liner appears still intact and the padded cushions are still present.





Si 66 is stamped on the inside (Eisenhütte Silesia size 66)


Best regards,

Edwin
 
Nice M17 Edwin; lots of character there! It also looks huge when displayed on your stove :D
But how come the liner doesn't seem to have been damaged by the bullet or the shrapnel?
Regarding that drilled hole; lots of vets displayed their captured stahlhelms with an actual pickelhaube spike on top. This could be another explanation...
 
Excellent, reminds me of mine with the holes....entry and exit. Someone had a real headache after this at the very least.
 
Another explanation for the drilled hole could be a lamp or similar. I had one that the liner was spattered with blood still (brownish black spots). I left it on the floor, only to return to find my hound dog had flipped the helmet over and eaten the pad! I was NOT happy. :-x

Ron
 
RON said:
Nice M17 Edwin; lots of character there! It also looks huge when displayed on your stove :D
But how come the liner doesn't seem to have been damaged by the bullet or the shrapnel?
Regarding that drilled hole; lots of vets displayed their captured stahlhelms with an actual pickelhaube spike on top. This could be another explanation...
Click to expand...


That's indeed an interesting question. I can not exclude that the original liner was replaced because I am not sure about the authenticity of this helmet or its parts. However, it looks ok to me and it nicely shows the wear and tear that one may expect on such a helmet. Upon closer inspection of the liner, it seems conceivable to me that it was very lucky to escape damage as the leather tongues or other parts of the liner do not seem to fall exactly over these shrapnel and bullet holes.

Regards,

Edwin
 
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