The German M1916
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Among the many types of helmets
used by the German troops in Norway were small quantities of the M1916
with the I31 liner, the so-called transitional helmet of the early
1930's. Even these WWI veterans were reused by the Norwegians after the
war. This one has become a new Norwegian made liner and chinstrap. The
helmet band rivets have been replaced by new rivets with small, flat
heads and washers. The helmet is stamped BF64 (Left side skirt) and
R587 (Dome top).
The detail of the right side decal shows that the Norwegian lion decal
has been replaced at
least twice. The unpainted outline of the first decal can be seen. Then
a second decal decal has been affixed, and then a third. All decals
have different sizes. The second decal can be seen through the third
decal and if you look closely, you can see that it has a slightly
different design.
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The Swedish M1926
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Swedish
M1926 helmets issued to Norwegian police troops (Polititropper),
trained in
Sweden during the later part of WWII in special camps, officially
refugee camps. The Polititropper was a military
force, equipped with Swedish equipment. At the German capitulation, the
Polititropper, now 13.000 men strong, became half of the Allied
'occupation' force, the other half being British troops. The white "N"
is painted on
both sides of the
helmet.
The helmet below right, is especially interesting in that is has
"A.5107. A. Moe 24 Juli 1944." written on the front leather cushion of
the liner.
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A Swedish M1926 as used by
the
Norwegian Army.
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The Norwegian M1931
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The M1931 helmet is also known as the Baltic helmet. It was designed by
Swedish company Eskilstuna Stålpressning A/B, which also made the
pre-production series of 100 helmets, that where tested by the
Norwegian Army. Production was taken over by the Norwegian company
Raufoss A/S.
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A. Early type with three
leather flaps liner. Each flap has a cloth cusion on the back, filled
with horse hair. The chinstrap is attached to the liner band. The liner
band is attached to the shell with three hollow rivets. The chinstrap
is attached with two rivets. Later the construction was simplified, and
the chinstrap rivets deleted. The first rivets had a semi-flat head,
but where later replaced by hollow brass rivets.
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Industrivern M1931 with black
stencil. The stencil predates the later decal. Grey leather chinstrap.
Original Army green colour inside.
Note that this particular helmet also has rivets for the chinstrap,
i.e., the shell has five hollow rivets in all.
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This M1931 was originally
painted yellow but has got an post WWII Armed Forces green coat of
paint over that. A single national decal in front is usually only seen
on police helmets. The chinstrap is the simple civil defence webbing
type.
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An Industrivern M1931 with
lighter yellow colour and painted rank stripe. This helmet has first
been painted silver over the original dark green, and then yellow on
the outside. The helmet belonged to the Aftenposten newspaper, whose
logotype can be seen stamped below the chinstrap secure loops. The
helmet is pencil marked with the name "Norheim".
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The rather unusual liner of this
Aftenposten helmet has a leather pad attached to two crossing bands in
the crown. The bands and the rivets holding the pad can be seen in the
picture below, as can the original dark green colour of the helmet.
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Norwegian M1931 helmet,
reissued to the Civil Defence (Sivilforsvaret). The yellow and black
decal has three falling bombs over a crenelation. This one still has
the original liner, but a simple grey webbing chinstrap. This is the
simplified model with only three rivets. The chinstrap was now attached
to the metal liner band.
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Another Industrivern M1931,
but
this time with yellow and black decal. Note that this helmet does not
have hollow
rivets, but the first type of flat rivets.
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Here is a M1931 similar to that
just above. It has a dark, blue-green-greyish colour which is very
thin, very much like the burnish used on guns. The copper rivets and
parts of the national emblem have received another coat of a more
greenish paint. The brass emblem is attached to the helmet with five
hollow copper rivets.
I am not sure what kind of helmet this is. According to the seller it
may be a 1930's police helmet, but that is still to be confirmed.
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B. Late type with top
attached liner. The chinstrap is attached to the shell with rivets.
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Here is another M1931 with
white
and black decal. It has the new type
of liner. Leather chinstrap. The liner is the modern type, here with
top attachment, like the Schuberth liner. Stamp inside shell says "II
KR".
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The Norwegian M1935
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When the M1931 helmet was equipped with a national crest, it was
redesignated the M1935. Anders Skötte tells that the national
emblem was introducedas a means to get the soldiers not to wear the
helmet backwards, which was a common problem. During
the German occupation the national emblems where removed, thus making
helmets still having the emblem very rare. |
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Here is an Army M1935. It has
the original dark green paint inside. On the outside it has been
overpainted a lighter green. Barely visible in this picture is the oval
and the points, where the national lion emblem oval once was.
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The British Zuckerman civil defence
helmet
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British Civil Defence helmet
(Zuckerman) reissued to the Norwegian Civil Defence. The liner is
attached with metal prongs in the original holes. The liner is
otherwise similar
to the one in the M1931 above. This liner is stamped "?? Ltd. 7 1/4" on
the back of the head band. Another example is "A.C.P 7
194?", but stamped on the front of the head band.
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The U.S. M1917 & M1917A1
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A strange bird in Norwegian
Civil Defence colours, this U.S. M1917A1 retains its original liner and
chinstrap. The sawdust paint is still there, under the yellow coat of
paint, and the inside of the dome is still olive drab. The shell is
stamped 23C.
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This battleship grey M1917 shell
has got a Dutch size 58 liner and a broken Dutch chinstrap. The shell
is stamped 23B. The outer surface has a dark green, handpainted
pattern. This helmet was bought in Norway but I do not know its
provenance. My guess would be that it has served with
Sjøforsvaret (The Navy).
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The British and Commonwealth Mk II
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This is a Mk II
helmet, refurbished in the Netherlands with Dutch liner and chinstrap,
and issued to the Norwegian army after WWII. An interesting thing is
that the 'female' part of the chinstrap catch has been mounted
backwards! Maybe this is why this individual helmet seem to never have
been used.
There are no markings
whatsoever on shell or rim, but it is probably a South African Mk II.
The picture below shows that the helmet has had three holes
drilled in the rear part of the brim, to hold a neck flap. The
chinstrap secure lugs are square, and the shell is circular, not oval,
which also suggest South African origin.
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Another Netherlands
refurbished
Mk II. This time a British one, stamped J.S.S. (John Sankey &
Sons). Of the year stamp, only a "4" is legible. You can note the left
decal is set askew. The Dutch liner and chinstrap are clearly visible
in the picture below.
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This is a Mk II No. 2C
(Indicated by the three holes by the chinstrap secure lug rivets), that
is a mild steel plate helmet, intended for the civil defence. The
helmet was nevertheless reissued to the Norwegian army with a new Dutch
liner and chinstrap. The shell is stamped "BMB 1941" (Briggs Motor
Bodies Ltd.).
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British Mk II helmet reissued
to the Civil Defence. This one has no decal. The helmet is stamped
BMB 1940, and has a Mk II chinstrap (Mk III chinstrap secure lugs).
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Here is another British Mk
II,
but this time with Civil Defence decal in front. The helmet is stamped
RO (The rest is obscured by the chinstrap secure lug, but that would be
RO & Co.) 1939. Mk II chinstrap, Mk II secure lugs. The liner is of
the top-mounted type, found in many CD helmets. Their origin is unknown
to me.
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A BMB 1940 Mk II reissued to the
Industrivern. Note the typical pale yellow colour. This Mk II has a Mk
III chinstrap. The liner is a TTC 1942 stamped size 7 one. The Rexin
parts have been replaced by natural leather.
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The British Royal Armoured Corps Mk
II
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The British RAC Mk II with
liner
Mk III. It has the original British dark brown paint inside.
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This is also an RAC Mk II
with
Mk III liner. The chinstrap is the Mk IV type with quick release. This
one has no decals. Interesting enough, it has only a thin brush painted
Norwegian green over the original dark brown. As hopefully can be seen
in this picture, the original white "MP" is visible through the paint.
A very interesting helmet!
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The
British Despatch Rider's (DR) Helmet Mk I
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This DR helmet has got a new
coat of Norwegian green paint over the original dark olive green. The
helmet retains its coarse sawdust structure, and that may be the reason
for it having no Norwegian decals. The liner is stamped BMB 1944 7 3/4.
I do not know the significance of the chalked "63" in the front.
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The German M1935, M1940 and M1942
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German M1935 reissued to a
factory defence (Industrivern) unit. Yellow and black decal. Note the
pale yellow colour of the Industrivern helmets, as opposed to the
bright yellow of the Sivilforsvar. Many German helmets where destroyed
by the Germans with pick-axe after the capitulation, and so was this.
The first blow did not penetrate the shell, but the second did. The
Norwegians, however, repaired the helmets and used them for civil
defence purposes. The picture below
shows a hammered-out large dent to the left, and the welded-shut hole
to the right. The liner is Norwegian.
The shell is stamped SE62 and 3889.
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Industrivern M1940 with
original
liner, dyed dark brown by the Norwegians. This helmet had not been
destroyed. It is stamped Q64. Of the heat number, only a "8" is legible.
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Another M1940. I do not know
the
significance of the two black stripes, but they probably denote some
sort of rank. This shell is stamped ET66 and 346. It has an original,
but red brown dyed liner.
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An Industrivern M1942 with
new
Norwegian liner. This one has been pick-axed and then repaired. The
maker stamp is not visible, and the heat number is 5C49 (The "C" is
backwards).
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Red Cross M1935 with original
liner, dyed dark brown. It has had some black text in the front that
has been grinded away. The Red Cross decals are on both sides of the
helmet. The shell is stamped ET64 and 3819.
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Here is a Red Cross M1940
with
liner as the previous helmet. This one is stamped Q62 and DN110.
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Right, you guessed it, this
is a
M1942 with liner as the other Red Cross helmets. The shell is stamped
ckl62 and 40(?/8?/9?)53.
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An M1942 used by the NSB
(Norges Statsbaner, The Norwegian State Railways). This one bears the
early black stencil, which was later replaced by a simple square decal.
The only visible stamp in the shell is part of the heat number - 518.
The helmet has a Norwegian liner.
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A black M1935 of the police
(Politiet) with national decal. The helmet has an original, but
red-brown dyed liner. The shell is an ET66, with heat number 2743.
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This beautiful Army M1935 has
a
Norwegian liner. Note that the decals are of two different types. The
shell is stamped Q62 and 4579.
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A German M1940 reissued to
the Norwegian Army. Coat-of-arms decal on both sides of the helmet.
Original, but brown-dyed liner. The
shell is stamped ET62 and 448.
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And here is a German M1942
also reissued to the Army. Original but brown-dyed liner. The shell is
stamped NS66 and D432.
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This M1935 is not in the best
condition. It is stamped Q62 and 3168. It has an original German liner,
but dyed red-brown.
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An M1940 with the decal
of the Luftforsvaret (Air Force). The decal is only applied to the left
side. The shell is stamped Q64 and T738. It has a
size 57, Norwegian made liner.
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Here is an M1942. The shell
is
stamped ET66 and 1536. The size
59 liner is Norwegian made.
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Three Air Force decals with protective paper.
