Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice and somewhat rare genuine steel construction M35 “Beaded” Third Reich helmet, outfitted for German WWII civic police issue. These helmets were essentially like the Military issue, however the steel was not as high quality. They were given a “bead” around the edge, to avoid mixing them up with the military version.
The helmet features genuine double decals of civic eagle and NSDAP swas. Comes with complete leather liner in size 57, with the cork washers still intact and tight with all 3 split pins. The liner does have some wear around the edge, but it is still supple. The top tie strap is present, and the leather chin strap is in great shape.
The exterior of this German helmet retains almost all of the dark gray paint, with some small chips and scratches. The wear around the edges show that the original color of the helmet was a dark blue, and a large covered decal can be seen across the front of the helmet. This means that this helmet almost certainly was first issued to the Luftschutz, and then over painted for police use. In the later years of war it was common to repurpose helmets as needed, as Allied bombing had destroyed Germany’s industrial capacity.
The NSDAP decal is about 95% complete, with a small chip missing, and the civic eagle is about 90%, with a few small chips and scratches. There is a 3 stamped on the back of the skirt, and there look to be remnants of a maker mark and size over the left ear, however due to the paint, we cannot see who the maker was, though this is almost certainly a size 64 shell, which is what was used to fit a 57 liner.
Overall a great opportunity to get a truly excellent example of a German WWII Civic helmet, used by the Luftschutz and then by the Civic Police. Ready to display!