Original French WWII Named Model 1926 Adrian Helmet with RF Air Force Badge and Chinstrap – L’Armee de L’Air Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good condition genuine World War II model 1926 French L’Armee de L’Air (Air Force) “Adrian” helmet. The helmet retains the original olive green paint and is complete with an original RF (République Française) Air force emblem. The liner size is approximately US 7 (56cm). Features a wonderful complete liner in very good condition, with a very nice intact chin strap. The liner is leather, and may possibly be a post war replacement, but it definitely shows wear, so we are not entirely sure.

Overall condition of the helmet is very good, shell shows some minor dings, scratches and paint chips consistent with age. The liner has some age deterioration, but nothing major, and the leather in the chin strap is worn due to age. The helmet interior is marked with an ink stamp that reads CARPENTIER, a French/Norman surname, so we assume this is the name of the person it was issued to.

A very nice WWII French Adrian helmet, ready to hang on the wall!

In 1926 the Adrian helmet was modified by being constructed of stronger steel and simplified by having the main part of the helmet stamped from one piece of metal, and therefore without the joining rim around the helmet that characterizes the M15. The large ventilation hole under the comb, which had been a weak point of the old design, was also replaced with a series of small holes. The M26 helmet continued in use with the French Army until after World War II, and was also used by the French police up to the 1970s. During the interwar period Belgium began to produce their own domestically made M26 Adrians and exported them around the globe. These helmets can be distinguished from their French counterparts, because they have a slightly different comb and a wider rim. In other countries the Adrian-type helmets were also in use with the fire-fighting units, railway guards or marine infantry (e.g. Japan’s SNLF). Adrian helmets are still prized by collectors today.

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.