Original Item: Only One Available. This is a nice likely battlefield-pickup example of a totally original WWI German M16 Helmet, with a very nice zig-zag "paneled" camouflage paint scheme. This was a very popular type of camouflage which was used on both sides of WWI, but this zig-zag variant is quite unique. The stamped, sheet steel construction helmet retains about 65% of its original hand painted camouflage paint. This was painted over the original field gray paint, so this is visible in areas where the paint has flaked off.

The helmet still has both the dome headed chinstrap retaining rivets, which hold the interior pickelhaube style chin strap lugs in place. It also retains both of the extended ventilation side lugs, which are the correct short version without a step for the larger size 66 shell. This would ensure proper installation of a Stirnpanzer brow plate regardless of shell size. All three liner pins are gone, and the liner and chinstrap are entirely absent.

The shell is stamped ET66 indicating that Eisenhuettenwerke Thale A.G., in Thale /Harz manufactured it. This company made shells in sizes 62 and 66 for the war effort. 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 clear rolling mill mark on the interior crown, R153, indicating the steel was made by Stahlwerk Röchling, Volkingen, the usual supplier for ET helmets.

The underside of the rear brim is painted with the German surname “Kock”.

The M16 Stahlhelm entered German service during the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and represented a major improvement in protection over the cloth and leather headgear that preceded it. Its deep skirt, broad side coverage, and hardened steel construction were designed primarily to protect soldiers from shell fragments and battlefield debris rather than direct rifle fire.

By the final year of the war, reducing the helmet’s highly recognizable silhouette had become increasingly important. The July 1918 camouflage instructions represented the first formal German attempt to standardize painted camouflage on steel helmets, but their hand-applied nature resulted in an enormous range of surviving patterns. Original examples may display broad geometric blocks, angular panels, diagonal divisions, and highly irregular layouts, making no two field-painted helmets exactly alike.

This helmet is particularly appealing for the combination of its ET66 Eisenhüttenwerk Thale shell, R153 Röchling steel-lot marking, named rear skirt, correct size-66 ventilation lugs, surviving M16 chinstrap mounting posts, and extensive hand-painted late-war camouflage. The missing liner, liner pins, and chinstrap leave the helmet incomplete internally, but the unusually strong survival of its exterior finish and personal Kock marking give the shell substantial historical and collector interest.