Original German WWII M42 Extra Large Army Heer Single Decal Helmet with 61cm Liner & Chinstrap – stamped EF68 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good condition all original example of an EXTRA LARGE late war German Model 42 Steel helmet, with some great period wear. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains about 80% of its original lightly textured paint, with some light wear and oxidation from service. There is some scuffing and wear, but nothing out of line with moderate use in service. The interior paint is in very good condition, showing just a bit of wear and paint loss around the inner rim. The left side of the helmet features a Heer eagle decal, which is retained about 60%, with a good portion of the left side totally worn away. The helmet overall has the fantastic patina that only real wear in the field can give.

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is batch number stamped 2773, and the interior, left side, apron has a VERY faintly stamped manufacturer’s code and size, E.F.68 indicating that indicating it was manufactured by Emaillierwerke AG, of Fulda Germany in size 68. This is a MASSIVE size that can accommodate liners from 60cm to 61cm or US 7 1/2 to 7 5/8. Size 68 shells are much harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector

All three liner split pins are still intact, and retain almost all of their original paint. The helmet still has its correct M31 liner with all of the NINE fingers present, only seen on these very large liners. They are in good condition, and still have the original top tie still in place, though there has definitely been wear and use, and one of the fingers is almost torn through. The top tie is also unfastened, and shows staining from use. The liner band is aluminum, with square aluminum chin strap loops attached to reinforced sides. This is the last pattern before the move to galvanized steel bands. The left exterior of the liner band is marked 68 n. A. / 61, indicating that it is a size 60 liner for a size 68 shell. There is also a faint 61 on the leather itself. The right side has the full maker information clearly stamped:

Metall-Lederverarbeitung W.Z.
1939
Bln.- Ch’burg 5

This indicates production by the metal and leather working company Werner Zahn, based in Berlin – Charlottenburg, in the year 1939, during the immediate pre-war period. We do not see any signs that the helmet had the liner replaced anytime recently, so we believe that due to its extra large size, the liner was held in the depot for years, finally fitted to a helmet in 1942.

The attached chin strap is in very good condition, though there is the start of a tear in the leather where it goes over the brim of the helmet. Interestingly, while it has steel retaining studs, the buckle is aluminum. There is a faded maker mark on the longer end of the chin strap, which we are unable to read.

Overall a very nice late-war M42 Single Decal Heer Army helmet, with a great lightly worn look and some nice research potential! M42 helmets of this quality are always the hardest to find on the market. This is an item that will only continue to appreciate in value over time.

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.