Stahlhelm
The year 1915 marked a turning point for head protection on the Western Front. Army Detachment Gaede stationed in the rocky Vosges region recorded significantly more head injuries caused by stones and shell fragments than units elsewhere. This data prompted the artillery workshop to develop an early prototype consisting of a cloth and leather skullcap with a six-millimeter steel plate. The plate protected not only the forehead but also the eyes and nose.
Dr Friedrich Schwerd of the Technical Institute of Hanover carried out a study of these head wounds shortly after. He submitted a recommendation for steel helmets and was ordered to Berlin to design a suitable model. His work broadly followed the shape of the 15th-century sallet, which provided good protection for the head and neck. Testing began at the Kummersdorf Proving Ground in November 1915 before field tests were conducted by the 1st Assault Battalion.
Thirty thousand examples were ordered, yet general issue did not occur until New Year of 1916. The helmet became known as the Model 1916. In February 1916 it was distributed to troops at Verdun following which the incidence of serious head injuries fell dramatically. The first German troops to use this helmet were the stormtroopers of the Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 5 commanded by Captain Willy Rohr.
Reserve Lieutenant Walter Schulze of 8th Company Reserve Infantry Regiment 76 described his combat introduction to the helmet on the Somme on the 29th of July 1916. A shrapnel bullet hit his helmet with great violence without piercing it but sufficiently hard to dent it. If he had been wearing a cap then the Regiment would have had one more man killed.
The M1916 design featured side-mounted horn-like ventilator lugs intended to support an additional steel brow plate or Stirnpanzer. This accessory saw limited use only by snipers and trench raiding parties because it was too heavy for general use. Helmet weight varied from 0.98 kilograms to 1.4 kilograms depending on shell size ranging from 60 to 68 with some size 70s reported.
The suspension consisted of a headband with three segmented leather pouches each holding padding materials. Leather or fabric cords could be adjusted to provide a comfortable fit. The one-piece leather chin strap attached to the shell by M1891 chinstrap lugs the same kind used in the Pickelhaube helmet. The large flared skirt tended to make it difficult for soldiers to hear distorting surrounding sounds and creating an echo when the wearer spoke.
Germany exported versions of the M1935 helmet to various countries between the wars. Versions were sent to the Republic of China from 1935 to 1936 and became the main helmet of the Chinese Nationalist Army especially the central divisions during World War II. Spain also received shipments of the helmet during this period.
During the inter-war years several military missions were sent to South America under the command of Hans Kundt. After the Chaco War the Bolivian army adopted the Stahlhelm and continued using it until recently. The exported M1935 helmets were similar to the German issue except for a different liner.
Some countries manufactured their own helmets using the M1935 design and this basic design remained in use in various nations as late as the 1970s. In November 1926 the Irish Defence Forces adopted the Stahlhelm. As the Treaty of Versailles barred Germany from exporting steel helmets the Irish turned to London-based Vickers ordering 5,000 copies of a model closely resembling the M1918 helmet.
In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm whose design was a development of World War I models. The company Eisenhüttenwerke Thale carried out prototype design and testing with Dr Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand. The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages.
The Army's Supreme Command within the Third Reich's Wehrmacht officially accepted the new helmet on the 25th of June 1935. More than one million M1935 helmets were manufactured in the first two years after its introduction and millions more were produced until 1940 when the basic design and production methods were changed.
The M1942 design resulted from wartime demands by order of Hitler to maintain intimidation but reduce cost. The rolled edge on the shell was eliminated creating an unfinished edge along the rim. This elimination expedited the manufacturing process and reduced the amount of metal used in each helmet. Shell paint colors were typically matte grey-green for the Heer or grey-blue for the Luftwaffe.
After World War II West Germany's Bundesgrenzschutz border guards kept the Stahlhelm in their inventories. Police units can be seen wearing them during footage of the Black September hostage crisis in 1972. With the re-armament of West Germany the Bundeswehr introduced the United States Army M1 Helmet which was replaced by a Kevlar helmet called the Gefechtshelm in the 1990s.
East Germany's National People's Army M-56 helmet was modeled on an unused 1942 German design with a more conical shape. The East German leadership was motivated in large part by a desire to avoid provoking the offense that using a traditional Stahlhelm design would have caused East Germany's Warsaw Pact allies. A more practical military necessity was also present due to the continued use of surplus Stahlhelme by West German units particularly border guards.
The M1A1 Stahlhelm remained in service until 1992 when the Bundeswehr replaced it with a PASGT-derived Kevlar helmet. Chilean and Bolivian armies still use the Stahlhelm design for ceremonial purposes today.
Almost every military naval and political organization had its own distinctive insignia applied as decals to the sides of helmets. The right side of early M35 helmets bore the tricolored shield of black white and red stripes representing the traditional national colors of the pre-WWI German Empire. The left side of the shell often received decal insignia denoting the branch of the armed forces or an organization within the Nazi Party.
The Heer displayed a black shield bearing the frontal view of a silver-colored German eagle holding a swastika in its talons known as the Reichsadler. The navy used the same eagle emblem in gold while Luftwaffe decals displayed the side view of an eagle in flight also holding a swastika. The SS wore both a paramilitary and political organization with black runic initials on a silver-colored shield normally applied to the right side of the shell looking like twin lightning bolts.
Such visible identification devices were gradually abandoned as the war progressed so that by war's end most Wehrmacht helmet insignia had been eliminated to reduce the wearer's visibility in combat. For the Chinese Nationalist Army soldiers their M35 helmets were stenciled with the Chinese Nationalist Insignia on the left side.
Common questions
When was the Stahlhelm first issued to German troops?
General issue of the Stahlhelm began on New Year of 1916. The helmet became known as the Model 1916 and was distributed to troops at Verdun in February 1916.
Who designed the original Stahlhelm prototype for Germany?
Dr Friedrich Schwerd of the Technical Institute of Hanover designed the Stahlhelm after studying head wounds from the Western Front. He submitted a recommendation for steel helmets and was ordered to Berlin to design a suitable model that followed the shape of the 15th-century sallet.
What countries received exported versions of the M1935 Stahlhelm between the wars?
Germany exported versions of the M1935 helmet to the Republic of China from 1935 to 1936 and to Spain during this period. Military missions under Hans Kundt also sent helmets to South America where Bolivia adopted the Stahlhelm after the Chaco War.
How did the Stahlhelm change from the M1942 design compared to earlier models?
The M1942 Stahlhelm eliminated the rolled edge on the shell creating an unfinished edge along the rim to expedite manufacturing and reduce metal usage. Shell paint colors were typically matte grey-green for the Heer or grey-blue for the Luftwaffe.
Until what year did the Bundeswehr use the Stahlhelm before replacing it with Kevlar?
The M1A1 Stahlhelm remained in service until 1992 when the Bundeswehr replaced it with a PASGT-derived Kevlar helmet called the Gefechtshelm. West Germany's border guards kept the Stahlhelm in their inventories until this replacement occurred.
All sources
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