Italian M-1915/16 Steel Helmet in Spanish falangist livery

Here is a wonderful story of a junk store find.

My wife and I used to live in Western Michigan and one summer we were checking out the antique/junk emporiums in the Lake Michigan communities of Grand Haven and Ferrysburg. Sifting through the usual fare of Beanie babies, old LPs, telegraph wire insulators, and the usual detritus I came upon this delightful piece. Scratched, dented, and only slightly misshapen, this wonderful Italian helmet leapt to my hand. With original paint, liner, and chinstrap I was thrilled to find this example with the typically stenciled insignia on the front. And boy oh boy was the price right.

Sixteen dollars later I walked out of that lakeshore junk store, the proud new owner of a very nice old veteran of Italia's efforts in the Great War.


Here we have that classic Adrian-style profile but without the weaknesses of the four-piece French helmet.

Typical of the era, and style, this helmet has the corrugated aluminum spacers that provide some distance between the liner and the steel shell. As with the French Adrian, the spacing is barely minimal to accommodate the amount of deformation that will be caused by high-velocity shrapnel, though, again, its better than the cloth cap.

Italian helmets of the twentieth century all sport stenciled insignia in a dizzying array of designs and colors. This insignia is the "Yugo y Flechas" ("yoke and arrows) used by the falangists under Franco.

This picture...
and this one illustrate the main difference between this helmet and the Italian "Lippmann" helmet of my most recent post; the crest is riveted rather than spot-welded.


And here is my favorite thing about helmets...
a mute reminder of the person who wore it into combat. just an ordinary flesh and blood person like your or me. This helmet bears the handwritten identity of the former owner: "Mario Forteleoni, 1st regt. 3rd comp." I have to wonder what became of Mario.

The only other marking that I can find is a stenciled "60" on the liner.

The chinstrap and buckle are intact although the leather is noticeably shrunken.

Peeling back the leather and wool liner reveals the ventilation hole in the top of the helmet.

Liner materials are in remarkably good condition considering the age of this helmet.

This close-up reveals that the finish was brushed rather than sprayed on.

All in all a very nice specimen of a very handsome helmet. A helmet found in a junk store but ...




fit for a king.

UPDATE I received this comment in August. Thanks Pablo for the information.
pablo massolo said...
Dear Sir I am a helmet collector from argentina and member of yahoo helmets club.
You itailian adrian was in fact used by fascist units in the SCW, the painted sign is the´´ yugo y flechas ´´of the most important franquist units, the rivetts on the comb was a normal repair dome in spain during the conflict. Is a terrific helmets, much more interesting than a regular italian one, check josebas site for more examples on this lid! Thanks for the blog is great!! POLI, my mail: polihelmet@yahoo.com ( use this if you want to contact me )
I am always interested in new helmets and contacts!
Ps: a link from josebas, the same badge on an italian M33
http://www.cascoscoleccion.com/espana/esfo33f2.htm



Come along as we explore the German M-16 in our next post.

Italian M-1915/16 Steel Helmet of World War One

                                                          (with regimental crest)

                                                   (without regimental crest)

An outright copy of the French "Adrian" helmet, this attractive Italian manufactured gem, known as the "Lippmann helmet", simplified the construction process and eliminated many of the weaknesses of it's French progenitor. The Italian soldier of 1915 - 1916 had the next step in state-of-the-art helmet design.

This soldier wants YOU to appreciate his revolutionary helmet.


The Italian soldier, like his French and British counterparts, entered the war with the cloth caps of an earlier era... not so hot in protecting the head from high-velocity artillery shell fragments.

This elegant improvement of the French Adrian design included a two-piece construction rather than the four-pieces of its French counterpart. Fewer pieces meant fewer points of failure when impacted by debris, fragments, or shrapnel.


Another improvement to the integrity of this helmet was the elimination of rivets. The French Adrian helmet was riveted together, each rivet providing a weak point. Note that the ventilator crest of this little Italian job is spot-welded, all rivets are eliminated on this helmet, giving it improved structural integrity over its French forebear.

Oddly, rivets will reappear in the next generation of WW1 Italian helmets (the subject of my next posting).



Here, sadly, and graphically, we are reminded that no helmet of World War One was bulletproof. This specimen was pierced, at the temple, by a high-velocity bullet; mute testimony to the vulnerability of the front-line soldier to the marksmanship of his enemy.


The interior view reveals an opening in the crown connecting the ventilation holes of the crest to the head of the wearer.

I acquired this helmet without a liner.  Or the Grenadiers crest. Normally I would pass on a helmet with no liner or chinstrap, however, the condition of the shell and the telling bullet hole made this a particularly compelling piece for my collection.  With the recent addition of the 3rd Grenadiers insignia, its become a centerpiece!






This elegant little gem in its very modest way has become a real stand-out in my collection.

And a word on my accession number system. I've had readers question how I catalogue the helmets in my collection. I use two primary sources for my nomenclature: Chris Armolds "Steel Pots" volumes and the aforementioned volumes by Paolo Marzetti (Combat Helmets of the World).

Specifically this example guides off the Marzetti book: MOA (Museum of America) h (helmet) mar (Marzetti) 151 (page 151)
43.28 (figure 43.28). Simple huh?




provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar.151.43.28
Model 1915/16 Italian helmet.
Acquired 1978, Lansing Michigan.
Purchase price :$5.00
Condition: shell only, original paint 80%

Next post: The Italian model 1915 riveted crest helmet of World War One

M-91 German artillery helmet of 1915

Is that a trailer hitch, or are you just glad to see me?

Ladies and gentlemen, the M-91 German artillery helmet of 1915.

As you may have guessed, the ball surmounting the helmet represents a cannonball. This was the distinctive headgear worn by artillerymen from the Franco-Prussian war to the first year of World War One.Paper Prussians rush a gun to the front to do battle with paper French Algerian zouaves. Note the orbs atob their little paper helmets.

The front of the M-91 enlisted man's helmet.

Right side, showing the black and white Prussian korkarde. (a reproduction just like on the pickelhaube of my previous post)

And the left side,with the original Reichs korkarde,

This rear view exhibits a slightly crazed but still shiny surface. The ventilated spine is quite identical to the pickelhaube.

This helmet is in really nice condition.

Close-up of the sliding buckles of the chinstrap...

as well as the date and unit markings under the rear visor.

Although the Prussian korkade is a metal reproduction the Reich korkade is original.

Acquired in 1979 at a military collectibles show in Lansing Michigan, I paid about $45.00 for this nice specimen. Today It's worth a great deal more. I'm fortunate that I began collecting helmets so early when there were still plenty of these things around at relatively reasonable prices.

The "helmet shows" were always a blast, and although, ebay has all but rendered them obsolete, there is nothing like browsing an exhibition hall or armoury filled with dealers and the weirdos and weenies who seek them out. It's a strange kind of fun.


Come visit next time for the grandpappy of modern combat Helmets; The French "Adrian" of the Great War.

Germany m.91 pickelhaube of 1915 (part one)

Leave it to those rootin' tootin' teutons to provide the world with what is, arguably, the most distinctive helmet design of the late 19th and early 20th century; the pickelhaube, or, "spiked helmet"

I picked up this one in 1978 in Lansing Michigan. At that time I was attending Michigan State University. Back then there were a couple of junk stores-cum-antique shops on Michigan avenue about eight or ten blocks from the magnificent capitol building. This district was home to all of the restaurants, watering holes, and gay bars that catered to a diverse clientele of legislators, winos, leather guys, and helmet weenies, I being of the latter persuasion.

I was living off my GI bill money so I didn't have a lot of cash to spread around, but when I spotted this helmet in an old warehouse of a junk store, I knew that I had to take it home with me. It was surprisingly complete and in pretty good considering it had been sitting around for who-knows- how- long in a junk store.

Today I probably couldn't afford a comparable helmet at current prices.

The spiked helmet of WWI is a classic, even a cliché. It is the caricature of prussian militarism.

And of course, who can forget...













I think its fair to trace the roots of this style back to the Indo Persian helmet.

The tight fitting dome and very fierce spike are referenced by the, less combat functional, Pickelhaube of 1915.

This very cool example is circa 1700. Check the garage, you never know what might be under that stack of old fruit crates.






Front view with eagle front plate ("wappen") and sliding buckle chin strap.



Left view showing the red, white, and black Reichs kokarde (relax, lets just say "cockade").

Left side showing the other ranks (enlisted men's) black and white state kokarde, in this case the state is Prussia. Note that the Kokarden on this helmet are reproductions, the rest of the helmet is, as near as I can determine, completely original.

The back of the helmet showing the rear visor and the reenforcing spine. But wait, there's more!

The spine is hollow, and note the little metal sliding door that provides an adjustable opening. What's up?

The interior view shows the intact liner and upon closer inspection one of the greatest mysteries of this helmet is slowly revealed...

"Why the spike?"

When I take this helmet around to school groups, I'll always ask the kids what the spike is for. Invariably, they give the same answer. A fourth grader will bend over and lunge forward in a pantomime of the pointy part's perceived purpose, that is, to charge the enemy soldier and stab him (or at least freak him out) with the deadly spike. After congratulating the kid on a fine and reasonable guess I then reveal the very mundane point of , er, the point.

Peer into the bowl of the helmet...hey! I see daylight!
Note the holes emitting light (and air) around what is the base of the spike. Also, notice the small hole to the left of that base, it connects with the spine.

Back to the outside of the helmet and it all starts to become obvious. The holes are to provide some airflow, ventilation for this helmet. You can imagine just how uncomfortable this tight fitting, black, helmet could be in hot weather.

The screw-off spike now reveals the communicating holes into the bowl of the helmet. The spike itself is merely a decorative and rain proof cupola.


Moving some air through this headgear may be all that can keep the young WWI German soldier from passing out while standing in formation, under the sun, waiting for Edith Cavell to appear before the firing squad.



Sorry, just an unpleasant reminder to keep it all real.


There you have it, an up close and personal exploration of the M-91 pickelhaube of 1915.
For an absolutely exhaustive, and pretty fantastic study of the pickelhaube, go to:
http://www.kaisersbunker.com (in my links at right), you'll be glad you did.


See you next time with another cool helmet from the collection.


Mannie