Spanish M.38 Eibar steel helmet

Joseba's sitehas a really outstanding examination of this helmet, however if you don't speak Spanish you'll have to do what I did, use "bablefish" for a  translation, but you'll get the general gist of Joseba's superb entry.

This version of the Spanish-produced M26 was simpler to produce and of a lighter steel than that helmet. Introduced in 1938, this lid saw service on all sides in the Spanish Civil War and was especially utilized by the para-military falangists.


My example touts the eagle insignia of the Francoists.

Somewhat Germanic in profile, this helmet appears to provide good protection for the wearer's head and neck, though in reality, the thin steel is of only moderate ballistic effectiveness.

 

The lines of this helmet are quite pleasing to the eye though much subdued when compared to the Spanish M.26 which was very sweeping profile and a very pronounced flare to the brim.

Sadly, my collection is sin modello.26.

From above the single, large, rivet that secures the lining suspension is visible.

The simple four-pad leather liner and chinstrap are suspended and secured by that one rivet.

A name, "MAZA" and the number 489 are penciled on one of the liner pads.

Note the spartan nature of this liner.  Very little space lies between the shell of the helmet and the cabeza of the poor soldier wearing it.  One is gratified to observe that senior MAZA's helmet has no dents in it.

The rivet secures the two pieces of steel band that support the liner.  Note the brush marks in the paint, so typical of Spanish helmets of that era.

The last that I'll harp on that rivet.  I'm just struck, however, by the fragility of such a system.  Neither the rivet itself, nor the steel bands supporting the liner are very robust, the bands are, in fact, quite puny.  I'd imagine that the rough and tumble activity involved in rousting Republican families from their slumbers to herd them in front of Nationalist firing squads took quite a toll on these lids.

The ubiquitous insignia mounting bracket soldered to the front of the helmet.

This outstanding piece of photojournalism by photographer Xabier Mikel Laburu (link here) is a chilling reminder, once again, of the use these helmets have been put to. 

 The M38 on the right provides mute testimony to the savagery and tragedy that is civil war.

This handsome, if somewhat understrength helmet, has graced my collection for over twenty years.  I'm happy to have it and hope one day to have an M.26 to keep it company.

And finally, here is a fantasy illustration containing a variety of helmets with the M.38s, PDAs, and the under dressed beauty as complete anachronisms in this trench of World War One.



Nonetheless its a very cool illustration which accompanies a New York Times Review of Books article by Umberto Eco which can be viewed here .

provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar247.68.4
Spanish M.38 "Eibar" steel helmet
Acquired 1987, Grand Rapids Michigan.
Purchase price :$19.00
Condition: excellent

We've a new president-elect

Huzzah!

Here's hoping

Czech M.30 steel helmet of the Spanish Civil War

A favorite helmet in my collection, this unique design combines aspects of the German M16  and French Adrian of  World War One as well as more than a hint of the medieval.

As pictured in the Robert Capa photo above and portrayed in the stylized poster below...


the M.30 occupies its own little slot, somewhat imitative, never imitated, and in use for a relatively short time.  This Czech manufactured expedient export helmet served both sides in the Spanish Civil War.

Although the photographs in this post (all recently recovered "Mexican suitcase" Capa prints) are of Spanish Republican forces sporting the M.30, my example, with it's Francoist eagle insignia, is distinctly Nationalist.






This side view shows the ventilation lug to good effect.

Here is that Robert Capa photo again, showing unusually uniform helmet use among the Republican troops, all (in this instance) equipped with the m.30.


The top view demonstrates the slightly asymmetrical positioning of the ventilation lugs


The liner is typical of Spanish helmets of this period, three, two-fingered pads mounted on a leather band riveted to the shell.  There is precious little space between the helmet shell and the wearer's skull with this very cheap suspension, which would severely limit the overall protective value of this lid.





The chinstrap, with roller buckle and metal loop keeper is actually of a higher quality than one might expect in this helmet.  The Czech-manufactured liner was of significantly higher quality.

Whether or not this lid was ever used by Czech forces is unknown to me, though I'm pretty sure it was an "export only" item used both in Spain and Ethiopia.


Peened rivets are used throughout for mounting.  Note the thick "daubed-on" appearance of the paint, so common on Spanish helmets in general.


The rivets from the outside.  Also evident are the multiple layers of green paint, again typical of helmets in Spanish service.


Just slop it on and let the next guy worry about the rust.


The ventilator lug immediately brings to mind the classic German M.16 of WWI.  As far as I know these lugs were for ventilation only and not to support any ancillary frontal armor as in the case of the German Helmets of the First World War.

The securing washer for the lug from the inside of the shell.  Note the earlier shade of grayish-green paint.  I wonder if this was the color originally applied in the Czech factory.


On the underside of the leather suspension there appears to be slight remnants of felt padding, common to most Spanish liners of the era.


Initials on one of the pads, here "AAP"...


and here, "APV".   Who knows?


The distinctive Spanish Eagle affixed to the front, and not with the usual system of a tab which slides into a bracket as on most other models of helmet used by Nationalist forces, but with...


cotter pins that pass through holes in the shell to secure the Eagle firmly in position.


All in all a very handsome, if ballistically inadequate helmet.

I leave you with two more Robert Capa photos, grim reminders of the dreary purpose which these helmets served.  



Helmets are silent reminders of the all too frequent inability of men to find alternatives to self-destruction.

provenance:
accession number: MOA hmar154.43.49
Czech steel helmet, (Spanish livery)
Acquired 1987, Comstock Park Michigan.
Purchase price :$22.00
Condition: very good

I'll be back next week with another  Spanish helmet of the Civil War era.

Mannie