Swedish m.21-18 combat helmet

This is the first helmet I ever bought. 

 

At some point a person becomes a collector and decides to have two or more of a thing.  For some people its little glass figures, for Jay Leno its cars, and for me it was helmets.  The interest started when I found a Japanese helmet on the island of Guam in 1972 (video here).  The collecting bug remained dormant for ten years.  In 1982 I saw an advertisement in some magazine - I think it was for an outfit called the Collector's Armory - they were selling Swedish m.21-18 helmets for something like ten dollars.  I don't recall what my motivation was, but I bought one. It was with great anticipation that I waited nearly two weeks for delivery.  When it arrived I inspected it, cleaned it with a damp cloth, placed it on a shelf with my Japanese m.30-32, and viola! I had a helmet collection.

 

At that point in my collecting career I knew next to nothing about helmets except that they were cool, and my actual education in the field didn't start until about my fourth or fifth helmet:

 

These were the first five that anchored the collection; all but the first acquired in the early 1980s even before I started frequenting militaria shows.

Japanese m.30-32 (found on Guam

The above Swedish m.21-18

Portuguese m.40 (also from a magazine ad)

German m.17 (bought at a gun show)

American m.1917 (a rusted-out relic I found in an overgrown cow pasture)

I was off and running.

All of the above I collected in the early 1980s.  About that time I started going an annual militaria show in Lansing Michigan.  It was a bonanza of cheap and plentiful helmets.  for five or six years I'd go with $450.00 in my pocket and my old Navy seabag.  When I came home six hours later I'd have a bag stuffed with helmets and several dollars change.

It was at these shows that my education started.  I talked, and mostly listened, to knowledgeable collectors.  I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of Floyd Tubbs - the author of the slim volume "Stahlhelm". He sold me a few helmets and gave me a lot of free advice, including this valuable axiom:

 

"Always buy the best helmet you can afford." 

 

 Since then I've always avoided buying junk, fakes (I hope), or "restored" helmets.  Floyd started me in a good direction and the last Tubbs helmet I bought was from his estate, several years after he passed away in 2002 at the age of 78.  I'm glad, and fortunate to have made his acquaintance. 

 

The Swedish m.21-18 was introduced in 1923 and was used

through the Second World War.

 

Weighing in at 2.59 lbs it has a deep profile, providing

very good protection for the wearer.

 

This is a unique design, quite unlike any other of the period or even of later years.

 

I've had other collectors remark that this is a particularly unattractive helmet but I really like it and its medieval look.

 

From the rear the helmet is very much bell-shaped with just the hint of a crest.

The three crowns motif is part of the coat of arms of Sweden, and since May 20, 1942 appears as a decal on each side of the helmet.

 

The handsome plate soldered to the front was part of the original design and has been present on the helmet since 1923.  This applied insignia reminds me a great deal of the lion insignia affixed to the front of the dutch m.23-27 . 

Like the shell, the liner is particularly robust and obviously influenced by the German m.17 of the Great War.

Three heavy leather leaves with two fingers each,

are gathered together with a leather thong.

 

 

The leather is connected to the shell with a metal band, just like the m.17 stahlhelm.

 

As robust as the rest of the helmet is the two-piece chinstrap,

 fastened with a stout brass buckle.

 

The only marking on this helmet is a not particularly legible ink stamp.  Noteworthy is the fact that this particular helmet is missing the edging rim, which often had a production number stamped into the rear.

Beneath each of the three leaves of the liner are fabric pouches

containing cushioning pillows.

 

 

Each pillow is filled with coarse horse hair providing a very resilient padding for the wearer.  The amount of horsehair could be modified to adjust the fit of the helmet.

 

It was with this helmet the collection began, and counting that Japanese helmet found on Guam, I've been collecting for over forty years. 

 

 I no longer go to militaria shows as I find that ebay provides a superb marketplace for my needs - and those needs are pretty simple.  I'm not a high-end collector; my collection is very "garden variety" and as such very seldom do I encounter a dealer who is trying to pass off a fake.  One notable exception was an early Soviet Adrian that I acquired last year.  Upon examination I determined that it was an obvious fake.  Fortunately the dealer, who was a third-party in the transaction (and perhaps blameless) gave me a full refund and I have not subsequently seen it listed on ebay.

 

This has been a very satisfying and enjoyable hobby and I'm a lucky guy in that my wonderful wife is very supportive of the effort.  I look forward to many more years of happily poreing over the details and designs of these signature pieces of the individual foot soldier of many nations.

 

Cheers!

 

Mannie

M1 combat helmet: a crown for The King of Rock and Roll

Multiple Grammy Award winning artist and American icon Elvis Presley served in the US Army from 1958 to 1960 and spent most of his active duty stationed in West Germany. 

  Elvis, second from right. (courtesy Kevin Booth).

Elvis was in an armored unit, and here, he wear's a tanker's shoulder-holster (courtesy, Kevin Booth).

 Presley's helmet is displayed today in "Graceland" his Memphis Tennessee mansion, which is a major tourist attraction today.

 (photo credit: vintagerachel.blogspot.com)

 Although popularly known as "The King of Rock and Roll" Presley was a versatile artist, recording hits in many genres including pop, gospel, country, blues, and rockabilly

 This M1 appears to have a very new, and crisp liner strap.  Also evident is a camouflage band although there appears to be no corresponding cover.

This, and the following photos illustrate how commonly the liner was worn as a

stand-alone piece of headgear.

 Even in Germany Elvis was surrounded by his female admirers.

 When I was a kid our next-door neighbor had been in the Army with Presley and said that Elvis was very down-to-earth and just a

 "regular guy", never expecting any special treatment.

 Shown here to good effect is the m.38 armored vechicle crewman's helmet, first introduced in 1941 and in use until the early period of the Vietnam War. 

Presley attained the rank of sergeant while serving with the

3rd Armored Division in Germany.

Sgt Elvis Presley 1935 - 1977

"The King"

Norway m.40 combat helmet

 

 

 From this...

 

 

 

 to this...

to this...

 

 

to this - post war Norwegians soldiers using captured German equipment. 

 

(Thanks to Ray for this image)

 

 On May 8, 1945 the German forces in Norway capitulated, ending four years of occupation.  A result of the German's throwing in the towel was the enormous volume of war materiel that they left behind - including tens of thousands of helmets.  This wealth of weaponry and equipment was a windfall for the reorganized Norwegian military in the years following the war.  German m.35, m.40, and m.42 helmets were repainted, fitted with Norwegian liners, and marked with Norwegian decals. 

 

Here is the walk around of my German m.40 dragooned into postwar Norwegian service.

 

 

                           

 

 For my post on the German m.40 go here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The liner is the original German m.31 liner dyed a reddish-brown by the Norwegians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Though indistinct, the marking under the liner appears to be the numeral 57.

 

 

 

 

 This helmet retains the original German chinstrap - manufactured in 1941 by Wilheim Eilers of Bielefeld.  This is a particularly crisp marking and was a very pleasant surprise

to find on this helmet

 

 A production number is on the rear skirt.

 

  On the inside of the skirt is the mark of the manufacturer - Emaillirwerk A.G. of Fulda, as well as the size - 64

 

The chinstrap is attached to the bails with a double-headed stud.

 

 

 

 



 

 This chinstrap, like all early to mid-war German materiel is of very high quality.

 

 

The m.40 was the last model to have the rolled edge.  The later m. 42 had as raw edge to expedite production and lower cost; both important factors in a Reich of declining fortunes.

 

 

 The olive green underneath the darker green is an earlier version of the Norwegian color.

The main difference between the German m.40 and the earlier m.35 is the ventilator hole.  The m.40, like the later m.42 is stamped. The m.35 ventilator is a separate bushing.  Here too is the distinctive insignia of the Norwegian army.

 

 

 

And a final shout-out to the beloved King Haakon VII who, from exile, held it all together for Norway in his struggles against the Nazis.

 

 

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