This is King Albert I of Belgium wearing the m.15
And this is Bluseman Albert King
(I know, I get them mixed up too).
you'll be glad you did.
Now, for the walk-around.
The Belgian m.15 is nothing more than the French
m.15 with a different insignia and coat of paint.
Regular readers of this blog know that I'm a fan
the m.15 Adrian helmet; the French version here.
All branches, officer and enlisted, wore the same insignia...
Leo Belgicus...
sported here by King Albert himself.
The helmet shell is comprised of four pieces:
front and rear visors, bowl, and crest.
The manganese steel is .7mm thick.
The helmet was manufactured in sizes A, B, and C
and varied in weight from 640g. to 760g.
The crest was slotted and communicated with an
opening at the top of the bowl providing ventilation.
There were slight variations among the manufacturers
in the crest details and rivet placement.
Prior to 1916 the visors were joined by
welding or soldering.
This later-war model is riveted.
The sheepskin liner is comprised of six fingers joined with fabric ribbons passed through brass grommets at the apex of the tongues.
The goatskin chinstrap is adjusted by a simple
sliding brass buckle, painted black.
The bracket of the wire chinstrap bail is affixed with the same rivets that join the front and rear visors.
This particular helmet is painted the greenish-brown color of the interwar perior but the WWI mustard color is visible beneath the overpainting. Also visible is one of the four corrugated aluminum strips that provide both ventilation as well as needed spacing between the shell and the head of the wearer.
See you next time with another cool helmet from the collection.
Stay tuned!
