Stalhelm

After the trench warfare replaced the maneuvering war of 1914 on the Western Front , the changed conditions of military operations presented new requirements for protecting the soldiers' heads. In the Entente and the Central Powers, the development of helmets that protect against shrapnel began . For the German army, whose horned pickelhelms unmasked the soldiers carrying them, this question arose most acutely.

In 1915, the Germans made a significant number of helmets of various shapes, checking them at the training ground and making technical requirements for their shape, metal thickness and weight. At first, slightly modified versions of the pickelhelms launched in wartime began to enter the German troops: not leather, but made of thin metal sheet and pressed cardboard. However, their protective properties were considered insufficient. Later this year, Captain Ernst Rohr's assault engineering battalion operating on the Western Front received the first Stahlhelm steel helmets. The following batches of helmets came to equip observers, sentries and snipers ^[1] . The design of the Stahlhelm helmet was developed by Dr. Friedrich Schwerd ( University of Hanover ). By the beginning of 1916, the first model Stahlhelm (later named M1916) began to enter the army en masse.

The shape of the helmet was predetermined by a combination of volumes of a cylindrical body covering the head and a conical headpiece covering the ears from the impact of a sound wave and fragments. Made of nickel steel, the helmet had side horns, the purpose of which was ventilation and fastening of additional protective plates; the plates were not used much because of their heavy weight, and the soldiers had to ventilate the air vents primitively in the winter. The inside of the helmet consisted of three pieces of leather with upholstery, they were regulated by the size of the head; helmets were also available in different sizes. The chin strap was attached to the metal shell of the stalhelm.

Two protruding bushings - "horns" were used not only for ventilation, a special forehead plate was attached to them, which, according to its inventors, was supposed to strengthen the protection of the frontal part, intended for sentries and machine gunners, but because of its gravity it was used rather rarely , and after the First World War, its operation in Germany came to naught. Many believe that a bullet that hit the frontal part of a helmet with a plate breaks the cervical vertebrae, however, this hypothesis has no documented evidence.

Modifications M1917 and M1918 were designed to correct the flaws of the helmet, which received generally positive reviews. In M1918, the strap was attached to the lining of the helmet, and the lateral edges of the stalhelm were changed in order to enhance audibility. Stahlhelm-based helmets were developed and introduced into the troops by Germany’s ally, Austria-Hungary . Several thousand stalhelms were sent to another ally - the Ottoman Empire .

In 1933, the M1933 ​​helmet was developed, made of vulcanized fiber , but after the Stahlhelm M35 was approved as the standard helmet of the armed forces, the M1933 ​​helmets were transferred to the civil defense and police units. M1935, developed with the participation of Friedrich Schwerd, was manufactured by pressing several sheets of molybdenum steel. The visor and the edges of the stahlhelm were reduced, the ventilation openings were modernized. The helmet has become lighter, which, together with the new leather comforter, has made stallhel more comfortable. In the process of automating the production of M1935, the design of the helmet changed slightly; the next generation received the M1940 index. A separate modification of the M1935 was produced for paratroopers, since the basic version was traumatic when landing. At first, the edges of the helmet were simply sawn off from the M1935, later a special helmet was developed.

In the summer of 1942, due to the need to increase and accelerate the production of helmets in the face of a shortage of resources, the Stahlhelm M42 helmet was created. M1942 differed from M1935 in the quality of steel that was used in production, and in external design - with non-rolled edges. Also, the project was M1944, the next step in simplifying production, made of a whole sheet of metal and had sloping sides. This made the modification look like foreign helmets, which is considered the reason for the rejection of its mass production. M1945 practically did not differ from M1942 except for the absence of ventilation holes.

In the postwar period, the army of the GDR decided to leave the name "stalhelm" for its helmet. Outwardly, it was similar to the M1944 or Soviet helmets. The helmet for M1 became a model for the new helmets of Germany, while the stalhelms were preserved as equipment of German firefighters and border guards.

Germany supplied its helmets to the armies of several countries, while others independently developed helmets similar to stalhelms. Soon after the development of the M1935, tens of thousands of copies were sent to the Kuomintang in accordance with the regime of close cooperation with the Republic of China. Helmets were delivered to Germany-friendly countries, to the Pyrenees and South America. Other friendly states, for example, Hungary and Argentina, themselves made helmets, taking stalhelm as a basis. The troops of some countries used captured trophies . In the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, for example, due to the large number of these helmets captured by partisans during WWII, they were used in the Yugoslav People's Army until 1959, when they were replaced by a helmet type M 59 .

Despite the mass production of helmets of new, more advanced designs, the Stahlhelm helmets continued to be used during the Second World War and even after it ended (during the civil war in China, the Kuomintang army continued to use pre-war protective equipment).

Helmets were made during the First and Second World War at various manufacturing plants. The most famous were factories such as: Eisenhuttenwerke Thale (ET), Sachsische Emaillerwerk Lauter (SE), Emaillirwerk AG Fulda (FS or EF), Quist Esslingen (Q), where the mark is in brackets. A cap was pulled out from a round sheet billet by sequential stamping, which was modified, hardened, trimmed and equipped with a sub-body device and chin strap.

Helmets comforters, as an example, take the helmet of the M-35 model, were made of two hoops, between which a leather lining was attached. The stamp of the manufacturer and the size of the helmet were applied to the outer hoop. Earrings (to which the chin strap was attached) are located on the sides. The cap comforter was attached to the helmet using three clasps: one on the sides and one on the back. Helmets were painted in different colors: black, dark gray, gray (feldgrau), olive, sand, green, khaki, etc.

World War I

During the First World War, the first means of masking stalhelms appeared, which were supposed to make them less noticeable for enemy snipers. To the helmet did not give glare in the field, its outer surface was smeared with dirt. In the years 1917-1918, camouflage coloring spreads with a geometric pattern that the soldiers at the front themselves applied.

World War II

At the beginning of World War II, when military operations were characterized by significant dynamics, it was more important for the Wehrmacht to quickly distinguish their own from enemies, which made the means of camouflage quite simple. A rubber ring was put on stalhelm to hold camouflage means or a bag made of bag cloth, which was covered with a mixture of dirt and sand so that the helmet did not stand out against local objects. To reduce the visibility, helmets were painted with matte paint in darker shades of gray-green color (feldgrau).

Individual soldiers, mostly reconnaissance fighters and snipers, made camouflage cases for their stalhelms using the material of army Zeltbahn geo-camo tents, but they were not yet widespread in the Wehrmacht. SS troops more widely used camouflage covers for stalhelms since 1940. They had a spotted camouflage pattern. Between 1942 and 1943, disguise was given greater importance to increase the survival of soldiers. Various camouflage covers are more widely used, both home-made and specially sewn from camouflage fabric. New types of camouflage fabric appear. The Wehrmacht used cases with a dim camouflage pattern such as fragments (geometric spots) and dirt (blurry spots), and the SS troops used more varied options, such as peas, a plane tree , an oak leaf and a palm tree, having on one side a spring-summer pattern, and on the other - for winter-fall. Camouflage nets made of ropes, barbed wire, metal nets for chicken coops are spreading, to which improvised camouflage tools were additionally fixed.

•   German Empire
•   Austria-Hungary : used under the name " Stahlhelm nach deutschem Muster " until the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918
•   Bulgaria - after Bulgaria entered the First World War in 1915 on the side of the Central Powers, in 1915-1918. Germany transferred to the Bulgarian army a large number of German field uniforms and steel helmets mod. 1916 year ^[2] . In 1936, the armament of the Bulgarian army instead of the German helmet arr. 1916 was adopted a steel helmet arr. 1936 year. New helmets began to enter the troops from the beginning of 1937. ^[3]
•   The Ottoman Empire - in the spring of 1918 from Germany and Austria-Hungary were obtained in a small amount of stalhelms, and there were two versions: standard and special, which did not have a visor. According to one version, this was explained by the fact that it was easier for Turkish soldiers in this helmet to perform prayer by touching the head of the earth. However, the Turks adopted only a few more than 5 thousand helmets of this type. The remaining helmets of this series “fused” to freikor .

•   Poland - after the end of the First World War, the German M1918 helmets were at the disposal of the Polish army, in the 1930s they were replaced with a steel helmet mod. 1931 ( Hełm wz. 31 )
•   Austria - a number of helmets that were in service with the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I remained at the disposal of the Austrian army
•   Hungary - a number of helmets that were in service with the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I remained at the disposal of the Hungarian army
•   Czechoslovakia - a number of helmets that were in service with the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War remained at the disposal of the Czechoslovak Army. Also, on the model of a steel helmet of the Austro-Hungarian type, the helmet Vz.20 has been produced since 1920.
•   Argentina
•   Bolivia
•   Colombia
•   Mexico - in the 20s before replacing them with a helmet Adrian .
•   Chile - Guard of Honor

•   Third Reich - officially adopted by the Wehrmacht, used in other armed militias
•   Ireland - having gained independence from Great Britain in 1922, the Irish government chose German stalhelm for the national army. However, ordering these helmets in Germany was not possible due to restrictions imposed by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles . The solution was still found. Helmets of the German type for Ireland were made at the Vickers factory in the UK.
•   Republic of China
•   Germany - Used by the Bundesgrenzschutz Federal Border Police.
   
•   USSR - during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
•   Latvia - during the period of independence of 1918-1940.
•   Lithuania - during the period of independence of 1918-1940.
•   Estonia - during the period of independence of 1918-1940.
•   Finland - After Finland gained independence and the formation of the national armed forces, 15,000 helmets of Hadrian were ordered to equip them in France, and the French sold the captured German stalhelms M1916, M1917 and M1918 to the Finns. In addition to other helmets, they were used in the Finnish army both in the Winter War of 1939-1940 and in the Continuation War of 1941-1944 .

•   Afghanistan - Honor guard of the king, and then the presidents of Afghanistan.

• PASGT Armored Helmet - In the US Army, modern PASGT helmets are nicknamed “Fritz helmets” (English fritz helmet), as they repeat the shape of German helmets during World War II.
• Lightweight helmet
• Hadrian's helmet
• Brody's helmet

• Tubbs, Floyd R. Stahlhelm: Evolution of the German Steel Helmet . - Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2000 .-- ISBN 9780873386777 .

• History of the stahlhelm