Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. The Adrian helmet was an influential design of combat helmet originally produced for the French Army during World War I. Its original version, the M15, was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.
The Adrian helmet proved to be fairly effective against shrapnel and it was cheap and easy to manufacture. As a consequence, more than twenty million Adrian helmets were produced. They were widely adopted by other countries including Albania, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy (including license-built versions), Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Siam, Turkey, the United States, U.S.S.R., and Yugoslavia, each of these states adding its own insignia to the front of the helmet.
This is a great French M1926 Adrian helmet which has been utilized by the Siamese. During WWII Thailand held some of largest Japanese Military bases. If you were a nation occupied by the Japanese in WWII you find yourself awash in Japanese military materiel upon their surrender. Suddenly your army (such as it is) has lots of helmets, but the helmets were discarded and exchanged for the much favored Adrian helmet. During WW2 these helmets were re-issued to the Thai army as one of the standard helmets with a "Chakra" badge (Inscription in Thai : "Sacrifice for fatherland"). The helmet retains its original green paint as well as the original leather liner held in place by the metal suspensions.
This is a really great example with a gorgeous Siamese badge that has retained its color well. Comes ready for further research and display.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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