Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely USGI Decorated Bring Back German Model 42 Steel helmet, which has a fantastic look! The helmet is completely correct, looking to have been captured at sometime in 1944, after which is had the exterior repainted and decorated with some painted on vine designs on the left, and to the right of this is information that we assume is related to the owner's service:-

V-E -DAY
5-8-45
L.H. FRANCE
176TH GEN. HOSP.
10-12-44
10-17-44
10-22-44

The U.S. Army 176th General Hospital was one of many medical units formed for deployment during WWII. The unit served in France, and arrived on the 10th Day of the D-Day invasion. We have not been able to find out much more regarding what specific type of medical unit it was, but it seems to have also served at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Camp Phillips, Kansas, and England.

Additionally, there is a message inscribed onto the leather of the relic liner on the inside of the helmet, which reads:

BRO. JIM GAVE THIS TO ME
FROM D DAY UTAH BEACH
10.44

From this, we assume that the helmet was acquired during the D-Day landings, or picked up afterwards, from Utah Beach, and then given to the owner, possibly at the hospital, who then decorated it. Definitely some fantastic research potential here!

Aside from the paint on the exterior, everything else about the helmet is completely correct. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains much of the original paint on the exterior, though parts of it under the skirt were also repainted. The rear interior of the apron has a stamped manufacturer's code and size: NS64, indicating it was manufactured by Vereinigte Deutsche Nikelwerke, of Schwerte, Germany. It is also marked with lot number D364 above the maker marking. These markings were stamped somewhat poorly, typical of late war production. Size 64 shells are a nice medium size, and can accommodate size 56 and 57 liners. Size 64 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector.

All three original liner retaining pins are intact and still bear the USGI repaint almost entirely. The interior of the helmet still has an original M31 leather liner however it is in "relic" condition, with all of the fingers at least partly missing. The side of the galvanized steel liner band is marked 64 n.A. / 57, indicating that this is a size 57 liner for a size 64 shell. The right side has the full maker information VERY lightly stamped:

Metall-Lederverarbeitung W.Z.
1943
Bln.- Ch'burg 5

This indicates production by the metal and leather working company Werner Zahn, based in Berlin - Charlottenburg, in the year 1943, which fits right into the mid-late war period. There is no chinstrap included.

Overall a lovely later-war M42 Heer Army helmet, found on Utah Beach and decorated by a USGI from the 176th General Hospital. 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.