Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. This is only the fourth example that we have ever had the pleasure of offering! A complete Greek Army M1934/39 Combat Helmet in wartime configuration! One of the seldom seen European Helmets from the Axis “Blitzkrieg Enemies” (Denmark, Poland, Holland, Greece, France, etc). This would make for an excellent representative example for the Greek armed forces during WWII.
The helmet is complete but does have a broken chinstrap which appears to have been repaired, and correct complete seven-finger leather liner, which is marked with a Greek Crown over a Cross, surrounded by ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ("Greek Army"). Under this it is size marked 57. The leather is a bit dried out and stretched, with the stitching around the band starting to pull out and two of the thin steel tabs are broken. The helmet exhibits most of its original olive green paint, with wear commensurate with service.
This is a seldom found helmet, especially in original wartime configuration, as most were refitted following WWII with British-style liners. Ready for display!
The Greek M1934/39
The M1934/39 helmet was the primary combat helmet used by the Greek Armed Forces during the Second World War. Greece purchased these helmets from Italy prior to the conflict as a replacement for their World War I-era Adrian helmets and refitted them with locally manufactured liners.
The M1934/39 was initially produced and tested in Italy as a possible replacement for the Italian military's Adrian helmets. The helmet did not meet their standards however, and they were sold to Greece as bare shells just before the outbreak of World War II. Once the Greeks received the M1934/39's they painted them green and added their own liners and chin straps. These liners were made from leather and featured seven 'tongues'. One of the 'tongues' was marked with a crown and the words ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ("Greek Army"). Due to the sudden onset of hostilities between Greece and Italy, Greece did not receive the total number of helmets ordered and as a result, was unable to equip their entire army with the M1934/39.
After Italian and German forces overran Greece in 1941 many captured M1934/39's were reissued to occupying troops and used within the country until the end of the war. Once hostilities ceased in 1945 however, Greek authorities refitted a large number of these helmets with British-style leather liners and put them back into service with various police units until the 1960s.
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