Germany WWI camouflage m.16 combat helmet

My favorite helmet, and, next to the Berndorfer, the showpiece of my collection. I acquired this helmet from the owner of our local town museum.  It had been on display there for decades.  This helmet is fabulous for many reasons, all of which will be revealed.

This is a World War I German m.16 combat helmet with painted three-color geometric camouflage pattern.

The profile of the classic German Sthalhelm.

Painted in brown, green, and tan, each color is separated by a thick "finger-width" black line.

The ventilation lugs are of the "stepped" variety.

The paint remains very much intact and vivid.  This has been in a museum collection for many years.  

The marks left by the brush used to apply the paint are very much in evidence.

The name of the soldier is written inside the skirt.

The m.16 is distinguished from the later m.17 by the leather liner band.  The band in the m.17 and m.18 were metal.

Three liner pads are affixed to the band and each has a pad behind it.  These pads are comprised of a fabric envelope usually filled with batting or horsehair, which could be added to, or subtracted from, to custom fit the helmet for the comfort of the wearer.

The liner band is affixed to the shell by three split-pins, this is the split pin from the inside...

and this is the split-pin from the outside

The size and manufacturer's mark are stamped inside of the side of the skirt.

Note the white rectangle in the rear, this is what makes and extraordinary helmet even more so.

It's a mailing label.  It was not uncommon for doughboys to send home helmets as souvenirs.  Usually, all they had to do was get it approved, slap an label on it, and let the postal clerk do the rest.

(helmets ready to be shipped back to the States

The helmet belonged to Quartermaster sergeant William H. Hetzer, and he was mailing it home to a family member in Williamsport.

Williamsport is just twelve miles from my house, which explains how it ended up in our village museum.

When I acquired this helmet in January, I thought it would be cool to drive over to Williamsport to see if there are still any Hetzer family members there; but I got overtaken by events and time went by.  This summer I was able to locate a Hetzer family member in Williamsport...it was his obituary, he left no descendants.  He died two weeks after I got the helmet.

It's a wonderful helmet with a fascinating story.  And I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have sharing it with you.

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

Mannie