Original Item: Only One Available. If you were looking for a lovely original shell for a helmet project, this is it! This is an lovely example of a mid war WWII German M-38 Fallschirmjäger Paratrooper Helmet shell, which was stripped and refinished in lovely period correct paint. It does not have a liner or any of the internal rigging, and would be perfect to outfit with a replica liner and chinstrap, resulting in a very economical way to have a real German WWII helmet for display or reenactment.

The rear of the skirt is stamped with ckl68 over lot number 054, which is a bit faintly stamped but the size and lot are still fully legible, as is the top of the maker code. All paratrooper helmets were produced by Eisenhüttenwerk AG of Thale, located in the Harz district in Saxony, Germany. They had used the abbreviation "ET" until about 1942, after which they moved to the three letter code "ckl". This example is a shell size 68 and was produced some time in 1942 - 1945. The M38 helmets were made in three shell sizes, 66, 68, and 71, and the size 68 shell was used with liner sizes 56-58cm.

Being that this helmet shell was made between 1942-1945 would indicate possible issue on the Eastern Front, or to locations in Italy. As Germany lost ground and air superiority, it was much less likely that these helmets would have been used during actual jumps.

A post war refinished M38 Paratrooper Helmet shell in great shape, ready to add to your collection and display!

Fallschirmjägerhelm M38

Fallschirmjägerhelm M38 ( M38 Heisler / M38 ) - was a German steel paratrooper helmet intended for Fallschirmjäger airborne units from World War II. Originally, the German airborne troops used the standard Stahlhelm M35 helmets throughout the German Army . It soon turned out, however, that this helmet was not suitable for parachuting, as it caused significant air resistance during the jump. A too loosely fastened helmet could have been torn from the jumper's head, and if it was tightly fastened it could cause suffocation.

Therefore, from 1936, work was carried out at the Eisenhüttenwerke factory to create a helmet dedicated specifically to the airborne troops. Their effect was a parachute helmet designed by engineer Karl Heisler, which under the designation M38 was adopted by the army.

The M38 helmet was derived from the standard M35 helmet. However, it was smaller, more streamlined and with a significantly reduced hood. The front part of the hood was only marked, and the rear part was shortened to 1.8 cm. (in experimental versions - 2 cm). The rims of the bell were rolled up. The helmet bell was made in a series of operations from one piece of steel sheet 1.5 mm thick. It was produced in sizes marked as 66, 68 and 71.

The internal equipment of the experimental versions of the helmet was identical to that of the standard M35 helmet. In the version adopted for equipment, a new type of fascia was used, which better protected against possible injuries. For this purpose, the bell walls were additionally lined with a shock-absorbing micro-rubber insert cut into 7 "arms" with a thickness of 10 to 13 mm. The actual fit was in the form of a leather cap with round holes cut for ventilation. Both the micro-rubber insert and the leather cap were attached to an aluminum rim with a thickness of 1 mm. All interior fittings were bolted with four screws to the helmet bell.

A new type of lining was also used in the parachute helmet. The standard two-point suspension was replaced with a four-point "Y" -shaped suspension, which ensured better fit of the helmet on the head. In the model adopted as an accessory, the straps of the lining were widened to 20 mm and latches were introduced to protect the helmet against accidental unfastening.

The helmet's bell was initially painted gray-blue. A national-colored shield on the right side and a Luftwaffe eagle decal on the left side were put on. Later during the war, the bell was painted gray-green or sand colored. Various covers and masking nets were also used. In winter conditions, the helmet bell was painted white.

Polish tankers from the 2nd Corps of the Polish Armed Forces in the West would use captured M38 helmets. The reason for this was their small size and the fact that they fit very tightly to the head. However, they were strictly forbidden to use them, as it happened that their own infantry mistook the tankers leaving their vehicles as Germans and opened fire on them.