Original German WWII M-38 Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger Paratrooper Helmet Liner Components including 57cm Liner & 71cm Band Original Items

Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a great set of extremely rare components for the very sought after WWII German M-38 Fallschirmjäger Helmet. Many helmets we have handled had liners in extremely poor condition, or missing in their entirety, with various grades in between. This set would be great for anyone who has M-38 helmets they are looking to restore, and this is the first time we have been able to offer items like this!

The centerpiece of the set is definitely the second pattern 57cm leather inner liner by known maker Karl Heisler. The leather portion is complete, and has all stitching intact. There are no tears that we can see, and it now has a nice light tan color due to age and use. On the rear side of the liner are the correct size markings, inside a box:

Kopfweite: Gr. 57
Stahlhelm: Nr. 68

Towards the front of the helmet the supplier information is stamped, which is a bit faded, but definitely reads as follows:

Karl Heisler
BERLIN C2
D.R.G.M.a

We have examined the leather portion thoroughly, and everything about it is completely correct. It does look to have been cut out of a helmet previously, so some of the leather is missing, but it should not pose a problem to a restoration.

Along with the liner is an original rubber top pad, which looks to be for a smaller size liner. It is complete, though it has had two of the “fingers” crack through, which could be repaired with the correct glue and some splicing material. The rubber is still supple and soft, unlike a lot of examples where it is crumbling to pieces.

The last item in this set is a stripped 71cm aluminum liner band. This would usually go with a larger size inner liner around 60 or more. It has all the correct stitch holes and traces of the rubber padding glued to the exterior.

A great set of German M-38 Paratrooper liner components, ready to help restore some damaged examples!

Fallschirmjägerhelm M38

Fallschirmjägerhelm M38 ( M38 Heisler / M38 ) – was a German steel paratrooper helmet intended for Fallschirmjäger airborne units from World War II. Originally, the German airborne troops used the standard Stahlhelm M35 helmets throughout the German Army . It soon turned out, however, that this helmet was not suitable for parachuting, as it caused significant air resistance during the jump. A too loosely fastened helmet could have been torn from the jumper’s head, and if it was tightly fastened it could cause suffocation.

Therefore, from 1936, work was carried out at the Eisenhüttenwerke factory to create a helmet dedicated specifically to the airborne troops. Their effect was a parachute helmet designed by engineer Karl Heisler, which under the designation M38 was adopted by the army.

The M38 helmet was derived from the standard M35 helmet. However, it was smaller, more streamlined and with a significantly reduced hood. The front part of the hood was only marked, and the rear part was shortened to 1.8 cm. (in experimental versions – 2 cm). The rims of the bell were rolled up. The helmet bell was made in a series of operations from one piece of steel sheet 1.5 mm thick. It was produced in sizes marked as 66, 68 and 71.

The internal equipment of the experimental versions of the helmet was identical to that of the standard M35 helmet. In the version adopted for equipment, a new type of fascia was used, which better protected against possible injuries. For this purpose, the bell walls were additionally lined with a shock-absorbing micro-rubber insert cut into 7 “arms” with a thickness of 10 to 13 mm. The actual fit was in the form of a leather cap with round holes cut for ventilation. Both the micro-rubber insert and the leather cap were attached to an aluminum rim with a thickness of 1 mm. All interior fittings were bolted with four screws to the helmet bell.

A new type of lining was also used in the parachute helmet. The standard two-point suspension was replaced with a four-point “Y” -shaped suspension, which ensured better fit of the helmet on the head. In the model adopted as an accessory, the straps of the lining were widened to 20 mm and latches were introduced to protect the helmet against accidental unfastening.

The helmet’s bell was initially painted gray-blue. A national-colored shield on the right side and a Luftwaffe eagle decal on the left side were put on. Later during the war, the bell was painted gray-green or sand colored. Various covers and masking nets were also used. In winter conditions, the helmet bell was painted white.

Polish tankers from the 2nd Corps of the Polish Armed Forces in the West would use captured M38 helmets. The reason for this was their small size and the fact that they fit very tightly to the head. However, they were strictly forbidden to use them, as it happened that their own infantry mistook the tankers leaving their vehicles as Germans and opened fire on them.