Item Description
Original Item: The Central Powers of Austria-Hungary used, manufactured and commissioned, variations of the World War One German Stahlhelm M16 design. The Austrian M1917 helmet was similar to the German M1916, but had a few variations including the chinstrap, chinstrap rivets located higher up on the steel shell and variations in locations of markings among others.
In an amazing victory for the collecting community IMA secured an exclusive deal to purchase a major cache of totally original Austrian-Hungarian World War One helmets that were us by the Central Powers from 1916 through 1918. After the war these helmets were sold to the Finnish Army and used by the Finns through WW2 the Winter War, the Continuation War until the 1960s when they were taken out of service and put into military storage. Forty years later, in the early 2000s, all of these genuine German WW1 helmets were purchased by a Finnish dealer who, in 2014, sold them all exclusively to IMA. Therefore, the provenance of these amazing nearly 100 year-old, helmets cannot be disputed.
Early Austrian helmets were supplied by Germany, the first shells supplied as the chinstrap rivets were mounted in a lower position. The Austrians fitted their own chinstrap bales, chinstraps and liner and painted them in Austrian "Isonzo braun." These modifications were carried out with German machinery at the "Adolf Westen di Cilli" factory, which is now Celije, in Slovenia.
Ever helmet will be 100% original and will have the following notable features-
- Maker's code with size marking "64" stamped on the interior of the shell. Maker's codes vary (see chart below) and all will be genuine WW1!
- Correct original air ventilation lugs. (sometimes repaired, sometimes missing)
- Rolling Mill dome stamp (under the paint) located on the outside (top) dome of every WWI Austrian M17 helmet you will find a heating lot code, these codes were used by the steel factories during production. These steel mills were called rolling mills. (see list of makers in chart below).
- Genuine Military issue paint (most likely Finnish), colors will vary.
- Finnish made leather liner; styles vary between traditional WW1 three-pad type and post war Finnish style. Some style liners have an additional rivet hole added under the vent.
- A chinstrap mounted to the liner or directly the shell.
Please note these are genuine military issue helmets that were used in two world wars and in military service for more than 40 years. Every helmet will be free of any major issues, but please expect paint imperfections, scratches, minor rust spots, very minor dings or dents, etc. These all have had Finnish liners installed, which require 5 split pins for installation. All are missing one or both of the original shell mounted chin strap bales.
Sizing-
Helmet Shell Size is 64 (liner size 57-58, US 7 1/8 - 7 1/4)
A note on sizing- M1916 three-pad style liners being a bit more primitive than the later WW2 liners, allow for a wider size tolerance. Meaning simply, bigger heads fit into smaller helmet shell sizes than their WW2 counterparts. In each pad of the liner there is a pocket into which a padded "pillow" can be inserted. As such, helmets are slightly oversize. The buyer can add or remove padding as needed. Without padding, a size 66 helmet shell can fit up to a size US 7 3/4 hat-size.
With the 100-year anniversary of world war one here (August 2014) these helmets, offered in fantastic collectible condition, are a perfect additional to any collection!
Austro-Hungarian WWI Helmets Makers-
There are only 9 known factories that produced helmets during WWI for the KUK. Unlike the Germans the Austrian pattern helmet are often found without factory stamps and heating lot codes. When the heating lot codes are present it is often on the outer top dome of the helmet instead of the inside. The following is a table of Manufactures codes of helmets produced by the Austrians. Several of these makers did not stamp the code into the shell of the helmet but rather marked them with an ink stamp. Therefore many Austrian shells will be encountered today that seem to have no maker mark as the ink stamp has worn off, but most will have rolling mill codes.
Maker Name Factory Location Maker code Sizes Model
A. Westen Cilli Celie, Slovenia AW 64 M17
Brüder Gottlieb u. Brauchbar Brunn BGB 66 M17
C. A. Scholtz,Mateocz Sloeakei CAS 66 M17
Berndorfer Metal-Warenfabrik Berndorf, Austria "Bear" logo 66,64
Bruder Lapp, Rottenman u. Warcholowsky Unknown ? M17
Nadrag,Transilvania Transylvania Unknown ? M17
Resicka, Transylvania Transylvania Unknown ? M17
Bleckmann & Poldihutte Klando Boemia Unknown x Stirnpanzer
Gebruder Bohler & Co., Kapfen Austria, Stiria GB "Star" 66 M17
Rolling Mills Marker Code
Ludwikow L
Bleckmann B
Poldi P
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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