Original French WWII Model 1935 Tanker Armored Vehicle Helmet with Artillery Badge Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is very difficult type of helmet to find, known as the Chars de Combat helmet or Armored vehicle helmet. Features a steel skull shell with rear visor and front leather brow pad. These helmets were issued to armored vehicle and tank crews in the French military before and during Word War Two. This particular example has ear cutouts in the shell, which are harder to find than the standard version.

The helmet still features much of its original paint and has an RF (République Française) flaming bomb badge with “Crossed Cannons”, the emblem for artillery. Some of the tank forces were considered artillery, and this badge shows no signs of replacement, so it is definitely original to the helmet. We have found other examples of this type of helmet with the Artillery badge. This helmet just has a standard chin strap, mounted just to the front of the ear cutouts. These were so that headphones could be worn while using the helmet, so this may be a specific helmet for tank commanders or radio operators.

Condition is good, though There are definitely some dents and damage to the helmet exterior from service. The leather brow pad is still intact, with a nice matured brown color. The liner is definitely worn, and has detached from the mounting brackets in some places.

Size is approximately a US 7 (56cm). A scarce helmet to find and in very good overall condition. A helmet certainly encountered on the Maginot Line and at the early days of the fall of France 1940.