Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice all original service used example of a German Model 42 Steel helmet, as issued to the Wehrmacht Heer (army). This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains about 75% of its original paint, with flaking paint and oxidation consistent with use in service, particularly on the top of the crown, which shows scuffing and other marks. The left side of the helmet features a very nice Heer Silver Eagle decal, which is retained at about 85%, showing some chipping and wear. This is a very nice example of the M42 helmet, with a great service used look!

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is batch number stamped, 1986 and the interior, left side, apron has a stamped manufacturer's code and size, ET66 indicating that it was manufactured by Eisenhüttenwerk of Thale, located in the Harz district in Saxony, Germany. Size 66 is a rather large size that can accommodate liners from 58cm to 59cm or US 7 1/4 to 7 5/8. Size 66 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. There is also a very faint "dome stamp" on the inside of the shell, however as with most it is no longer clear enough to read.

All three liner retaining pins are intact, with the exterior paint retained to a varying degree. The interior of the helmet still has an original M31 leather liner, which looks to be the later war "pigskin" style, and it is unfortunately degraded due to age and use. The leather has become stained and stiff, and only four of the eight "fingers" are still intact, with the other torn and/or missing. The top tie string is also missing. The left exterior of the galvanized steel liner band over the left ear is marked 66 n.A / 59, indicating that this is a size 59 liner for a size 66 shell. The right side has the full maker information VERY lightly stamped:

Metall-Lederverarbeitung W.Z.
1942
Bln.- Ch'burg 5

This indicates production by the metal and leather working company Werner Zahn, based in Berlin - Charlottenburg, in the year 1942, which fits right into the mid war period. There is still an original chinstrap fitted to the liner, with the correct steel hardware for mid-war issue. It is still full length, with all thirteen size adjustment holes on the longer porttion, however the leather is also quite degraded, partly torn through in one spot. The chinstrap has been threaded through the buckle and then the side loop for storage, and we have not attempted to remove it due to how delicate it is.

Overall an very nice M42 Single Decal Heer Army helmet, with loads of patina! M42 helmets of this quality are always the hardest to find on the market. This is an item that will only continue to appreciate in value over time.

The first "modern" steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, ("Gaede" helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet's shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet's safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army's Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation were given by collectors.

The last wartime upgrade to the standard helmet took place on 6 July 1942 at the request of the Army High Command. The rolled edge found on M1935 and M1940 helmets was discontinued as a measure of economy. On 1 August 1942 the first M1942 helmets were placed into production, and this was the model produced until late in the war, when most factories were captured or stood idle due to material shortages.