Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of an original WWI German M16 Helmet shell, maker-marked Q66. The original feldgrau paint is still well retained inside the shell, with about 75% still present on the exterior, with the expected wear. It does not look to have been repainted at any time. This example has a capture tag that was once attached to the back skirt of the helmet, but has since fallen off and is still with the helmet. There are glue marks where the tag originally was. The tag reads:

A Hun Helmet taken
Gauche Wood 18th Sept
1918 Capt. L. Jacques
Sherwood Foresters

This identifies the helmet as having been captured by Captain Lewis Jacques MC, Sherwood Foresters. Jacques was awarded the Military Cross on March 21st, 1918. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During a defense and subsequent withdrawal, he commanded a company, in the absence of his company commander, displaying great ability and courage in extricating his men from difficult situations during the retirement. By his utter disregard of danger he inspired the men with confidence and determination.

He was again awarded the Military Cross on August 18th, 1918:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During an attack in a wood this officer was in command of the support company, and, seeing that the right front company had missed its direction, he moved into the gap and captured seventy-five prisoners without a single casualty. Leaving a garrison there, he led forward two platoons to the final objective, which he captured with all the men in it. Quickly reorganizing, he brought a Lewis gun to bear on two field guns, which were also captured. His leadership and initiative were brilliant.

The shell is stamped Q66 indicating that Quist in Esslingen, Germany manufactured it. Size 66 is a nice large size that can accommodate liners from 58cm to 60cm or US 7 1/4 to 7 1/2. There is a partial rolling mill mark dome stamp, F37.

The helmet retains its original leather liner band, which is still attached via the three original split liner pins.

The helmet still has both of the dome headed chinstrap retaining rivets, which hold the interior pickelhaube style chin strap lugs in place. Unfortunately the chin strap is completely missing. The shell also retains both of the extended ventilation side lugs, which are the correct short version without any step for the larger size 66 shell. This would ensure proper installation of a Stirnpanzer brow plate regardless of shell size.

This helmet, offered in great collectible condition, makes an eye catching addition to any Great War collection, with the added factor of having been captured by a Military Cross recipient. Ready to display!

Lewis Jacques was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on 24 January 1915. He entered the France/Flanders theater of war on 2 October 1915 and joined the 10th Battalion at Hooge on 4 December 1915. Promoted to Lieutenant on 1 July 1917. After a period of time in England on sick leave, May-November 1917, Jacques returned to his battalion in France. With them he won the M.C. for his bravery and leadership during the retreat from Hermies, March 1918.

Later, as a Temporary Captain he was awarded a Bar to his M.C. for his conspicuous gallantry and leadership during a successful attack on 18 August 1918. Promoted to Captain and O.C. of ‘D’ Company in December 1918. Later with the 2nd Battalion he served in Egypt and Turkey. He retired with the rank of Captain on 5 September 1922. During the Second World War he served as a Recruiting Officer. He died in 1957.

History of the M16 Helmet
The Stahlhelm was introduced into regular service during the Verdun campaign in early 1916.

The M1916 design had side-mounted horn-like ventilator lugs which were intended to be support for an additional steel brow plate or Stirnpanzer, which only ever saw limited use by snipers and trench raiding parties, as it was too heavy for general use.

The shell came in different sizes, from 60 to 68, with some size 70s reported. The suspension, or liner, consisted of a headband with three segmented leather pouches, each holding padding materials, and leather or fabric cords could be adjusted to provide a comfortable fit. The one-piece leather chinstrap was attached to the shell by M1891 chinstrap lugs, the same kind used in the Pickelhaube helmet.

The M1916 design provided excellent protection: Reserve Lieutenant Walter Schulze of 8th Company Reserve Infantry Regiment 76 described his combat introduction to the helmet on the Somme, 29 July 1916:

"... suddenly, with a great clanging thud, I was hit on the forehead and knocked flying onto the floor of the trench... a shrapnel bullet had hit my helmet with great violence, without piercing it, but sufficiently hard to dent it. If I had, as had been usual up until a few days previously, been wearing a cap, then the Regiment would have had one more man killed."

But the helmet was not without its flaws. The ventilator horns often let cold air in during the winter, requiring the wearer to block the vents with mud or fabric. The large, flared skirt tended to make it difficult for soldiers to hear, distorting surrounding sounds and creating an echo when the wearer spoke.

Originally painted Feldgrau (field grey), the Stahlhelm was often camouflaged by troops in the field using mud, foliage, cloth covers, and paint. Official issue cloth covers in white and grey appeared in late 1916 and early 1917. Camouflage paint was not formally introduced until July 1918, when German Army Order II, No 91 366, signed by General Erich Ludendorff on 7 July 1918, outlined official standards for helmet camouflage. The order stipulated that helmets should be painted in several colors, separated by a finger-wide black line. The colors should be relevant to the season, such as using green, brown and ocher in summer.

After the effectiveness of the M1916 design was validated during the 1916 campaigns, incremental improvements were subsequently made.