Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good all original example of a German WWII M35 helmet as issued to the Heer, or Army, with a desirable period textured camouflage repaint and an early 1st Pattern liner.

The exterior shows a very attractive service used appearance, with a substantial amount of the textured camouflage finish still present. There are areas of wear through to the steel shell, along with sections that appear to have been overpainted in a tan shade. The left side also appears to show traces where a decal may once have been present, although it is now gone. Altogether, the layered paint, wear, and exposed areas give the helmet a convincing period appearance that would be extremely difficult to reproduce naturally.

The rear interior skirt is batch stamped:

20982

The left interior skirt is marked:

E.F.62

This identifies the shell as a size 62 helmet manufactured by Emaillierwerke AG of Fulda, Germany.

A size 62 shell typically accommodates liners in the 54cm to 55cm range, approximately U.S. hat sizes 6 3/4 to 6 7/8.

All three original liner split pins remain present and retain their paint quite well, with only minor chipping and finish loss.

The helmet retains its original M31 leather liner with all eight fingers intact, complete with the upper securing tie. The leather remains relatively supple but clearly shows considerable service use. It is stained overall and has taken on an attractive chestnut brown appearance, with several small tears and areas of damage around the edge.

The liner band is the early aluminum type and features square aluminum chinstrap loops without the later side reinforcement plates. This is the configuration collectors generally associate with the early 1st Pattern M31 liner. Later prewar aluminum bands incorporated additional reinforcement at the sides to reduce bending.

The left outer side of the band is marked:

62

There are also very faint markings on the opposite side, although they are too worn to read with confidence.

There is no chinstrap presently attached.

The M35 represented a major redesign of the earlier German M16 and M18 steel helmets of WWI. Development began during the early 1930s, with the goal of producing a helmet that was lighter, more compact, and more comfortable while retaining good protection against shell fragments and battlefield debris.

The new helmet was pressed from molybdenum steel and featured a reduced visor and skirt, rolled shell edge, separate ventilation bushings, and the newly developed M31 liner system. The German Army formally adopted the new helmet in 1935.

The M35 remained in production until manufacturing was simplified with the introduction of the M40. On the M40, the separate vent bushings were eliminated and the ventilation openings were stamped directly into the shell. A further simplification came with the M42, which eliminated the rolled lower edge.

This example is especially appealing because it combines an early M35 shell, 1st Pattern aluminum liner band, complete leather liner, and a heavily patinated textured camouflage repaint. The tan overpaint, exposed areas of shell, surviving liner components, and overall wear all contribute to a strong service used appearance.

A very attractive early M35 Heer helmet with excellent period character and the kind of layered finish that makes original camouflage helmets especially desirable to collectors.