Original French M1915 Adrian Infantry Helmet with Soldat De La Grande Guerre 1914-1918 Brass Plate Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Excellent genuine World War I M1915 French Army Artillery Corps Adrian helmet with Great War veteran brass helmet plaque that reads: Soldat De La Grande Guerre 1914-1918 (Soldier Of The Great War 1914-1918)

The helmet retains the original dark horizon blue paint with original insignia of a large bomb with Crossed Canons and RF to the front, for Republique Francaise. Size is approximately US 7 (56cm). Features a wonderful complete original leather liner in very good condition. Overall condition of the helmet is very good, shell shows some minor dings, scratches and paint chips consistent with age.

The chinstrap and liner are in lovely serviceable condition, though one of the leather fingers is partially torn. The top string is missing. Unfortunately, the brass plate appears to have never been secured to the brim of the helmet.

The M15 Adrian helmet (French: Casque Adrian) was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. It was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by the new technique of indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.