The Stahlhelme, the
true icons of WW2.
Please take a look at our selection, we are always expanding it.
Stahlhelme is the plural for Stahlhelm,
the German word for "steel helmet". The Imperial German Army began to
substitute the usual leather Pickelhaube, that was a spiked combat helmet, with
the Stahlhelm during the First World War in 1916. The expression Stahlhelm
refers both to a nonspecific steel helmet, and more specifically to the
distinctive (and symbolic) German design famous manly for its use during WW2.
The Stahlhelm, with its
characteristic "coal scuttle" shape, was an instantly identifiable
symbol for military imagery and became a ordinary element of military
propaganda on both sides, just like the Pickelhaube before it.
WW2 German M40 Winter camouflaged steel helmet | |
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Buy It Now: $1,472.00
Sale Ends: 29d 18h 35m | |
| WWII ORIGINAL GERMAN M40 COMBAT STEEL HELMET - RARE | |
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Buy It Now: $800.00
Sale Ends: 23d 17h 12m | |
| German WWII Steel Helmet m42 ALL ORIGINAL Size EF64 | |
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Buy It Now: $799.00
Sale Ends: 7d 2h 48m | |
| WW2 WWII GERMAN COMBAT STEEL HELMET M-40 ROLLED EDGE | |
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Buy It Now: $450.00
Sale Ends: 15d 14h 33m | |
| WWII ORIGINAL GERMAN TYPE M36 COMBAT STEEL HELMET | |
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Buy It Now: $400.00
Sale Ends: 28d 16h 25m | |
| 1950s MOTORCYCLE STEEL HELMET GERMAN M35 TYPE RARE | |
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Buy It Now: $250.00
Sale Ends: 12d 17h 3m | |
| orig. GERMAN WW2 officer boots to hat or steel helmet | |
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Price: $220.00
Sale Ends: 5d 2h 49m | |
| WWII GERMAN HEER M42 STEEL HELMET LINER GREEN | |
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Price: $208.49
Sale Ends: 3d 9h 24m | |
| Helmet - German M35 type - Steel Shell Only | |
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Buy It Now: $160.00
Sale Ends: 8d 8h 55m | |
| original german steel helmet M16 from WWII waterfound | |
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Buy It Now: $110.00
Sale Ends: 3d 15h 33m | |
The stahlhelm great design was made by the Dr. Friedrich Shwerd, Professor at the Technical Institute of Hanover. In the first quarter of 1915, Dr. Friedrich Shwerd did a complete study of the head injuries (mostly from shrapnel of exploding artillery shells) that soldiers suffered during trench combat and send out a proposal for steel helmets. Soon he was ordered to Berlin were he undertook the mission of designing and producing a suitable helmet that turned out to be the stahlhelm.
After an extensive and meticulous development work, including the testing of many German and Allied helmets, the inicial Stahlhelms were tried in November 1915 at the Kummersdorf Proving Ground and then trialed by the 1st Assault Battalion. The initial order was for thirty thousand helmets, but it was not approved for general issue until the next year, 1916, and that’s the reason it is usually named “Model 1916”. In February 1916 the distribution started to the troops located at Verdun. As result of that the incidence of serious head injuries fell abruptly. The helmet design was considered a success.
Brief description of the stahlhelme versions used in WW2:
M1935/1940 - The M35 was an upgraded version of the stahlhelms from World War One and was, once again, developed with the assistance of Dr. Friedrich Shwerd.
Major changes included the reduction of the size of the flared visor and skirt and the elimination of the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield, among many other changes.
Overall the M1935 was lighter, compact and comfortable to use than previous designs.
In 1940 this design was slightly modified to simplify its construction.
Fallschirmjäger version - A variant of the M35 helmet was issued to the Fallschirmjäger, the German paratroopers, design to minimize the risk of head injury after a parachute jump. The modifications included the lack of a projecting visor and a deep, flared, rim.
M1942 - The M42 variant was created to speed up the manufacturing process and reduce the amount of metal used in each helmet. The rolled edge on the shell was eliminated. Late war M42 helmets sometimes have great manufacturing flaws.
M1944 - The M44 was a simple variant made of one piece of metal with sloped sides. Since it looked a lot like the British 1944 Type Mk III, Hitler personally rejected it as being too foreign.
M1945 - Reportedly manufactured in the last months of the war. Similar to the M42 in design but lacked the ventilators. Reported to be extremely rare. Many collectors and historians are of the opinion that the M1945 helmet is more likely to be just a regular M1942 helmet that lacked the vents simply because of machine malfunctions in the factory.
The Stahlhelm is an icon of its time and a mandatory item in every WW2 militaria collection.
See also our selection of the various helmets used in WW2.
WW2Militaria.org