Original German Pre-WWII M34 Square Dip Early Style Fire Police Helmet with Double Decals – Size 57 1/2 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice genuine steel construction M34 “Square Dip” Third Reich helmet, outfitted for German WWII Fire police issue, as they were issued early during NSDAP rule in Germany, complete with the aluminum comb. Features genuine double decals of of a Swas on the right, and a tilted national colors decal on the left. Comes with complete leather liner with all split pins, which has great condition leather and is stamped with size 57 1/2. The chin strap is complete, though it does have some splitting and wear, so it is a bit delicate. The liner still retains the five leather “tabs” that would allow attachment of the rear skirt.

The exterior of this German helmet retains almost all of the original black paint, with some small chips and scratches. The Swas decal is about 75% complete, with a scrape removing some of it, and the National Colors is about 95%, with some scratching removing very small portions.  There is also a faint DRP / THALE stamp on the rear skirt under a “Lion” logo, indicating  production by the Eisenhüttenwerke, Thale factory. This is the same factory that developed the M-35 lineage of helmets. Next to the marking is a large letter “Z“. The top mounted aluminum comb is in great shape, with just a few small dents and scratches.

Overall a great opportunity to get a truly excellent example of a WW2 Civic Police helmet. Ready to display!

Prior to 1929 many fire-fighting units used leather helmets in various styles with most appearing similar to the leather spiked helmet (Pickelhaube) of World War I. These helmets bore a stamped metal crest on the front depicting the province or township to which the fire-fighting unit belonged.

In 1929 a light-weight plastic fiber (Vulkanfiber) helmet was prototyped for general use by all fire-fighting units. The first models were issued in 1932 and proved unworthy of further consideration. As a result a second prototype was explored using light-weight steel alloy known as “Edelstahl.” During this time leather fire-fighting helmets were slowly replaced with a combination of surplus World War I model steel helmets and privately manufactured versions in the “Austrian” pattern shell. These early helmets were generally painted black although some were left in their original field-gray World War I color.

In 1934 the light-weight steel alloy prototype helmet was approved for general use by all fire-fighting units. This helmet is designated the “M1934” by modern collectors because of the year of its introduction. Several different versions of the M1934 helmet exist with many variations resulting from subtle differences in the air vents or visors. The M1934 helmet was painted semi-gloss black inside and out with two insignia placed one on each side.

Fire Protection Police helmets were manufactured with and without an aluminum metal comb. In some cases the metal comb was also painted black. As a result of a large surplus, M1934 helmets without combs were issued in 1940 for general wear by all fire-fighting personnel. The helmets used typical civilian style liner systems and chinstraps. The liners were made so that they could accommodate a removable black leather neck shield.