Original Item. Only One Available. This is a helmet seldom seen on the market today, a complete M1918 Stahlhelm with all liner pads retained along with the incredibly scarce Model 1918 Chinstrap, which included a metal clip as opposed to the tightening buckles. We haven’t had an example like this in a long time, and we aren’t sure when we will again.

The Model 1918 Stahlhelm featured an integrated liner chinstrap, which meant the dome headed chinstrap retaining rivets were no longer needed. This example also retains both of the extended ventilation side lugs, which are the correct longer type with a small step for the medium size 64 shell. This would ensure proper installation of a Stirnpanzer brow plate regardless of shell size. The three liner split pins are retained and hold in the liner band. The liner pads are all in great shape, and they even retain the original liner drawstring cord which has not broken away from any of the pads! WOW!!! There is also a faint 64 stamp on the back visor which indicates the helmet was sent to a depot for repair during the war.

The shell is stamped E.T. 64. indicating that Eisenhüttenwerke Thale A.G., in Thale /Harz manufactured it. This company made shells in sizes 60 - 68 for the war effort. Size 64 is a nice medium large size that can accommodate liners from 56cm to 57cm or US 7 to 7 1/8. Size 64 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. The inside crown of the shell has a rolling mill mark reading S 1 5, which is not one that we recognize. The stahlhelm is near perfect minus some leather crazing and cracking to the 1918 Chinstrap, which is marked 1918 OTTO KOCH BERLIN. There is also a very small tear in the leather but as long as care is taken when handling, it should be fine.

This is one of the nicest Stahlhelms we have ever offered, and its condition is immaculate for being 106 years old. Comes ready for further research and display.

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.