Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great "salty" service used original example of a German Model 40 Steel helmet, as issued to the Wehrmacht Heer (army). It looks to have seen extensive service during the war, and while it originally had a decal on the left hand side, it is now almost completely gone due to wear. We can see a bit of silver remaining, so we are fairly certain it used to have a silver Heer Army eagle decal.

The helmet is painted with the correct lightly textured Panzergrau (armor gray) paint as used during the later war period, which is probably less than 50% retained. The top of the helmet is almost completely devoid of paint, now showing an oxidized patina, and the sides show worn paint with oxidation throughout. We did not feel any dents to the shell, and shows no signs of having an type of restoration, probably having been kept in an attic for decades.. A lovely "untouched" example with a lovely "been there" patina!

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is batch number stamped DN247 and the interior, left side, apron has a stamped manufacturer's code and size, Q66. This indicates it was manufactured by F.W. Quist G.m.b.H in Esslingen, Germany in size 66. This is a nice large size that can accommodate size 58cm and 59cm liners, or 7 1/4 - 7 3/8 US. Shells of this large size are harder to find, and more valuable to a collector. This maker continued to produce M40 type helmets until the end of the war, making only a few M42 helmets.

All three original liner retaining pins are present, though they have lost almost all of the original paint on their tops. The interior of the helmet still has the original M31 leather liner present, and all eight fingers are present and supple, with the top tie still installed, though it is definitely a replacement. There is some dry rot and splitting around the bottom of the leather, and some tearing between two of the fingers, but otherwise it has held up quite nicely. The side of the galvanized steel liner band is marked 66 n.A. / 59, indicating that this is a size 59 liner for a size 66 shell. The right side displays the full manufacture information, as well as a date:

B. & C.
LITZMANNSTADT
1942

This liner was made by Biedermann & Czarnikow, a German company who moved operations to Łódź in occupied Poland to take advantage of the slave labor in the ghetto located there. NSDAP authorities renamed Łódź to Litzmannstadt in honor of the German General Karl Litzmann who had captured the city in the previous World War.

Overall a very nice 100% genuine M40 Heer Army helmet with a fantastic 'salty" patina! M40 helmets of this quality are always hard to find on the market. This is an item that will only continue to appreciate in value over time.

The first "modern" steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, ("Gaede" helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of 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 size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet's shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet's safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army's Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation were given by collectors.

The last wartime upgrade to the standard helmet took place on 6 July 1942 at the request of the Army High Command. The rolled edge found on M1935 and M1940 helmets was discontinued as a measure of economy. On 1 August 1942 the first M1942 helmets were placed into production, and this was the model produced until late in the war, when most factories were captured or stood idle due to material shortages.