The Stahlhelm
The Imperial German M16, M17 & M18 Stahlhelme
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| The M16 Stahlhelm |
Although Imperial Germany may
have been the last of the major powers to introduce a steel helmet, the Stahlhelm
was undoubtedly the best-designed helmet of the Great War. While other helmets
can sometimes give the impression of war
hats, the Stahlhelm is truly a helm
in every sense of the word. Reminiscent of the samurai kabuto, it is also not difficult to see more than a little inspiration
for a certain well-known Sith Lord. Perhaps no other helmet is as intimidating,
dramatic and thoroughly evocative. The market for German helmets has always
been strong, which in other words means that as a new collector you’re about to
have your mettle tested –and in more ways than one.
To begin with, there are actually
7 distinct variants of the German Stahlhelm possible to encounter and that you
should be aware of, but in practice you will really only ever see three. These
are the M16, the M17 and M18. These are collector designations, as the M16 and
M17 are identical, save for the liner, and also transitional, i.e., their
introduction did not necessarily coincide exactly with a certain calendar year.
This is also true somewhat for the M18, although this helmet is easy to
recognize even from its outward appearance, which we will discuss later.
Furthermore, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also manufactured their own versions
of the Stahlhelm: the Austro-Hungarian
Models 17 and 18. While these helmets will not be described in detail in
this section, I have noted where they differ significantly from the German
models.
Vestiges
Militaria provides an excellent overview of the history, design, manufacture and variants of the Stahlhelm (en français once again). An example of this helmet is also displayed in the Great War Gallery.
The Manufacturers &
Their Sizes
Manufacturer and size information was cold-stamped
on the helmet interior and can be found opposite the wearer’s left ear. The
following table gives a list of known manufactures, their code, location, sizes
produced and approximate production numbers, including their percentage produced
as a part of the total production. Note: the validity of the production figures
is unverified at this time. (For example, I myself own a Bell L helmet and I feel they are encountered more frequently than these numbers would seem to indicate.)
Stahlhelm
Manufacturers and Production Figures, 1916-1918
Code
|
Manufacturer
|
Location
|
Sizes
|
Production
|
E.T.
|
Eisenhüttenwerke Thale A.G.
|
Thale/Harz
|
60-68
|
~ 2.3M (30.9%)
|
B.F.
|
F.C. Bellinger
|
Fulda
|
62,64
|
~ 1.4M (18.8%)
|
Si
|
Eisenhütte Silesia
|
Paruschowitz
|
62,66
|
~ 1M (14.4%)
|
T.J.
|
C. Thiel & Söhne
|
Lübeck
|
66,68
|
~ 660K (8.3%)
|
Q
|
Firma F.W. Quist
|
Esslingen/Neckar
|
66
|
~ 540K (7.2%)
|
G
|
Gebrüder Gnüchtel A.G.
|
Lauter i./Sa.
|
62
|
~ 500K (6.6%)
|
W
|
Hermann Weissenburger & Co.
|
Stuttgart-Cannstatt
|
66
|
~ 290K (3.9%)
|
G.B.N.
|
Gebrüder Bing A.G.
|
Nürnberg
|
64
|
~ 250K (3.3%)
|
S/H
|
Siemens & Halske A.G.
|
Siemenstadt Berlin
|
60
|
~ 83K (1.1%)
|
K
|
J. & H. Kerkmann
|
Ahlen/Westphalen
|
64
|
~ 125K (1.7%)
|
N.J.
|
Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke
|
Schwerte i/Westf.
|
62
|
~ 50K (0.7%)
|
“Bell” L
|
Richard Lindenberg A.G.
|
Remscheid-Hasten
|
64
|
< 50K (< 0.5%)
|
K&M
|
Körting & Mathiesen
|
Leutsch/Leipzig
|
68
|
< 50K (< 0.5%)
|
Eisenhüttenwerke
Thale A.G. (E.T.), F.C. Bellinger (B.F.), and
Eisenhütte Silesia (Si) are together known as the Big Three amongst helmet collectors and it seems that 80-90% of
helmets you will encounter will be from one of these three manufacturers.
Slight variations in form exist between manufacturers, some of which can be
quite distinctive, e.g., the longer “duckbill” visor of Gebrüder Bing helmets and the elegantly rounded vent lugs of Lindenberg “Bell L” helmets. As a
collector, you may wish to focus on some of the rarer manufacturers or on those
whose form you find most appealing. With practice, you may be able to recognize
the manufacturer of a given helmet, as well as its size (see Lug Size below)
and whether it is an M16/17 or M18, or if it is of Austro-Hungarian origin merely
from its visual form.
Lug Size
A defining feature of the
Stalhelm are its ventilation lugs, which were meant to serve a dual purpose as
an attachment point for a heavy steel front plate known as a Stirnpanzer. As the Stirnpanzer was only
manufactured in a single size, the vent lugs needed to be the same distance
apart on all helmets, regardless of size. Consequently, these lugs will appear
to stick out much farther on helmets of a smaller size; the lugs having more or
less of a base until reaching size 66, at which point only the lug itself will
be present. Therefore, one can quite easily determine the size of a helmet (i.e.,
for sizes 60, 62, or 64) from observing the vent lugs.
The Liner
The liner style determines
whether a given helmet is designated an M16 or M17 by collectors. M16 helmets
have a liner consisting of a band of either a single or double-thickness of
brown leather (the latter having 3 seams of stitching holding it together), with
liner pads of vegetable-tanned brown leather. M17 (and M18) helmets instead
have a band of pressed steel with liner pads generally of white or
cream-colored rabbit skin crimped into the liner band.
Behind these leather pads on all
models is a canvas pocket containing a small pillow, usually filled with
horsehair. They were often removed by the soldiers themselves to adjust the
size of the helmet. However, personally, I don’t consider a liner to be truly
complete unless they are present.
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| Liner band stitching: Original (left); Probable fake (right) |
Take note that when Stahlhelm
liners are faked –and they are– it is most often the single-thickness, leather
M16 variety. Examine the leather carefully. After a hundred years, the pad leather
will very often have become thin and possess a somewhat paper-like quality. The
leather of the liner band will usually be extremely stiff and will probably
have shrunk and pulled away slightly from the helmet interior. Liners that have
been artificially aged are dirtied-up and sometimes appear to have been brushed
with a kind of dye. However, this paper-like quality of old leather is
difficult to replicate. If the leather appears too thick or too robust, if none of the tie-string holes have ripped through and especially
if the liner band looks too good, it’s a safe bet that it is not an original
piece. Also, pay particular attention to the stitching that joins the band to
itself, forming the circle. On the inside
of the band, this stitching should be horizontal. On the outside of the band, this stitching
should criss-cross. This is a detail that is sometimes (though not always) overlooked on faked
liners. Austro-Hungarian helmets never utilized a leather liner
band, being pressed steel only.
The Chinstrap
Chinstraps were of brown or
black leather with buckles and fittings in either brass (earlier helmets) or
steel (later helmets). Austro-Hungarian helmets had chinstraps of woven cloth
with stitched leather ends. Rather uncharacteristically for the Germans, the
chinstrap attachment of the Stahlhelm was poorly designed. The M91
Pickelhaube-style posts proved wholly inadequate for the steel helmet and the
chinstrap was frequently lost as a result. Consequently, Stahlhelme with surviving
chinstraps are rare, with probably fewer than 5% of M16 and M17 helmets you
will find having their original chinstrap and perhaps a slightly higher
percentage for M18 helmets, due to their abandonment of this system in favor of
direct attachment to the liner. The M91 post rivets are visible on either side
of the exterior of the helmet, near the bottom edge of the helmet skirt.
Stahlhelme of Austro-Hungarian manufacture are easily distinguished by their
much higher positioning of these rivets, nearer the wearer’s temple and it is by
the lack of these exterior post rivets that one can easily differentiate the
M18 from the M16 and M17 helmets.
The Stahlhelm Variants
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| The rare Katzenhelm |
- The M18 Ear Cut-out: The variant most often encountered is the M18 ear cut-out. Watch out for fakes made from authentic helmets that have been altered. The only manufacturer to produce this helmet was Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (E.T.), only in size 64 and it should be marked as such.
- The “Square-Dip”: The second-most encountered variant you will probably come across is known amongst collectors as the Square-Dip, named for its extremely steep visor-to-skirt transition angle. It was found that this design produced an unacceptable number of structural failures and was therefore quickly amended. As above, the sole manufacturer was Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (E.T.).
- The Visor-less: Visor-less helmets are often referred to as the Turkish model, which may have been their originally-intended destination. However, very strong evidence suggests that none were ever sent to Turkey, instead being distributed to the Freicorps beginning in 1919. Production is rumored to be 5,400 examples. They do come up for sale from time to time, often with post-war liners and paint.
- The Full-Visor: Probably the rarest of all German helmets is the so-called Full-visor variant. Essentially, it is the familiar Stahlhelm form, but from the immediate front-edge, the visor takes a steep angle of attack (approximately 70 degrees) to the top of the helmet, rather than the flat-visor-to-90-degree-angled brow on the common helmet. The reasons for the change are not entirely clear, although there is speculation that it could have allowed better clearance for the use of a gasmask or that the increased angle may have better deflected projectiles. There is some discussion regarding this helmet being set to become the standard form had the War continued. This was also the form used as the basis for the Turkish Model 1918 helmet.
Feldgrau & Camouflage
Helmets
All German helmets were painted feldgrau –a medium greyish-green color,
while Austro-Hungarian helmets were painted brown. Photographic evidence unquestionably
supports the use of camouflage-painted helmets by the soldiers of Imperial
Germany during the Great War. As the presence of camouflage painting can
increase the value of a helmet significantly, any camouflage helmet presented
today must be viewed with a healthy degree of skepticism. There is also ample
evidence for the painting of captured German helmets as take-home trophies by
the victorious Allied troops. In my opinion, camouflage-painted Stahlhelme are
generally to be avoided by the new collector for a number of reasons, despite
their “wow-factor”. First, a helmet with basic feldgrau paint is important to
have as a representative of the piece as it was originally issued and it can
allow you to better appreciate its form as a whole. Second, basic feldgrau is
not so basic anymore! By that I mean, finding a Stahlhelm with a good, original
feldgrau finish is becoming increasingly difficult and these helmets are
expensive enough as it is. Lastly, as you become more experienced, you will be
in a far better position to be able to distinguish an authentic piece from a
modern repaint should you eventually wish to acquire a camouflage helmet.
A Few Words About Latvia
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| A classic Latvian. Note dull, pitted surface. |
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| Reproduction shell. Note low stance and odd visor. |
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| "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger; and what kills me makes me incredibly strong." |