Original German WWII Eastern Front Winter Medic Relic M40 Helmet – Q66 Original Items

Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a fantastic example of a relic condition German Medic Winter Camouflage M40 helmet. The iconic Red Cross, a vivid symbol of home for the wounded soldier hoping for medical attention, especially in the harsh conditions of the Western Front during WWII.

The helmet itself is an M40 (model 1940) and is stamped Q66. Q is the maker code for the Quist in the German city of Esslingen. Size 66 is a nice large size that can accommodate liners from 58cm to 60cm or US 7 1/4 to 7 1/2. Size 66 shells are always hard to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. Unfortunately, the only thing that remains of the liner is the liner band and just small pieces of the felt and leather. Surprisingly enough the helmet retains an intact chinstrap! The buckle on the chinstrap is degraded and broken but still present.

The helmet appears to have been ground dug and does have extensive pitting and oxidation present. Fortunately, the white wash and Red Cross is still mostly visible! We estimate the white wash to be retained at approximately 60 percent with the red cross retained at approximately 70 percent.

Even as a relic, this is still a very desirable and rare example of a WWII German Medic helmet with winter camouflage! Comes more than ready for display.

Field medics during World War II regularly entered intense combat zones, risking their own lives to save those of their fellow soldiers. Due to dwindling numbers of trained physicians late in WWII, many German Army medics operated alone or in two-man teams, sometimes even in conjunction with Allied field medics during brief truces after especially bloody combat.

The first “modern” steel helmets were introduced by the French army in early 1915 and were shortly followed by the British army later that year. With plans on the drawing board, experimental helmets in the field, (“Gaede” helmet), and some captured French and British helmets the German army began tests for their own steel helmet at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds in November, and in the field in December 1915. An acceptable pattern was developed and approved and production began at Eisen-und Hüttenwerke, AG Thale/Harz, (Iron and Foundry Works), in the spring of 1916.

These first modern M16 helmets evolved into the M18 helmets by the end of WWI. The M16 and M18 helmets remained in usage through-out the Weimar Reichswehr, (National Defence Force, Circa 1919-1933), era and on into the early years of the Third Reich until the development of the smaller, lighter M35 style helmet in June 1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armor shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet’s shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet’s safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army’s Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25, 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935. The Germans still referred to the M1940 as the M1935, while the M1940 designation were given by collectors.

The last wartime upgrade to the standard helmet took place on 6 July 1942 at the request of the Army High Command. The rolled edge found on M1935 and M1940 helmets was discontinued as a measure of economy. On 1 August 1942 the first M1942 helmets were placed into production, and this was the model produced until late in the war, when most factories were captured or stood idle due to material shortages.