Original German WWII M35 Single Decal Luftwaffe Steel Helmet with 53cm Liner – SE60 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains 90% of the original re-paint with original Apple Green paint showing under chips, and features a crisp Luftwaffe eagle decal on left side retained at 90+%. All three original liner retaining pins are intact. The interior of the helmet still has the original M31 leather liner with all eight of its fingers (one is damaged). The liner is no longer soft and is brittle in spots. The chinstrap is intact but is in poor condition due to age.

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is serial number stamped 1521 and the interior, left side, apron has the stamped manufacturer’s code and size, SE60 indicating that it was manufactured by Sächsische Emaillier und Stanzwerke A.G. of Lauter, Germany. Size 60 is the smallest shell size produced during the war, and can accommodate liners from 52cm to 53cm or US 6 1/2 to 6 5/8. Size 60 shells are VERY hard to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector.

All three original liner retaining pins are intact and still retain most of the original paint. The interior of the helmet still has an original M31 leather liner with all eight fingers present, however there is definitely significant wear, with the leather completely split away on the front half of the helmet. The string top tie is still present. The liner band is aluminum, with square aluminum chin strap loops attached to reinforced sides. This is the last pattern before the move to galvanized steel bands.  The left exterior liner band over the left ear is marked 60 n.A / 53, indicating that this is a size 53 liner for a size 60 shell. The right side displays the full manufacture information, as well as a date:

B. & C.
BERLIN
1939

This liner was made by Biedermann & Czarnikow, a German company who later moved operations to Łódź in occupied Poland to take advantage of the slave labor in the ghetto located there. NSDAP authorities renamed Łódź to Litzmannstadt in honor of the German General Karl Litzmann who had captured the city in the previous World War.

Overall a nice service worn condition genuine M35 Single Decal Luftwaffe helmet, with a lovely patina! This is an item that will only continue to appreciate in value over time.

The first “modern” steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, (“Gaede” helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet’s shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet’s safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army’s Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation were given by collectors.