Original German WWII M42 Service Worn Single Decal Luftwaffe Helmet with 58cm Liner & Shell Crack – NS66 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice all original example Model 1942 German WW2 helmet with a single Luftwaffe Eagle decal, and a lovely service worn patina. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains about 90% of the original paint, though it was definitely repainted at some point during the war, and a new decal was applied.  This was definitely a helmet that saw significant use during the war, with a great patina of age, having been arsenal serviced at least once. The decal is retained at around 95%, and shows a lovely aged yellow color.

Interestingly, there is a crack in the shell above the decal, but there is not any corresponding damage to the paint, so it most likely is from age and stress. These helmets are stamped from flat steel, which does leave a lot of stress in the helmet. Over time this can slowly lead to a stress crack such as this.

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is lot number stamped D349 and above this is the faintly stamped manufacturer’s code and size NS66, indicating that it was manufactured by Vereinigte Deutsche Nikelwerke, of Schwerte, Germany. Size 66 is a nice large size that can accommodate liners from 58cm to 59cm or US 7 1/4 to 7 3/8. Size 66 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. The top of this helmet also still has a faint “dome stamp”, something that we do not see very often at all.

All three original liner retaining pins are intact and have most of the original paint on the ends. The interior of the helmet still has an original good M31 leather liner with all eight fingers, though the top string is missing. The leather is somewhat soft, with some splitting and degradation around the rim, and there is a tear between two of the fingers on the right side. The side of the galvanized steel liner band is marked 66 n.A. / 58, indicating that this is a size 58 liner for a size 66 shell. There is also an ink stamp 58 on one of the liner fingers. The other side has the manufacturer and which is very faintly stamped and only partly legible, so we are not sure about the date:

Metall-Lederverarbeitung W.Z.
194?
Bln. Ch’burg 5.

The helmet also has a complete original chin strap, which is in very good condition, with the expected wear from age. It is marked with RB Nr. 0/0390/0204 so it may be an arsenal replacement, as it is in very good shape.

Overall a nice condition genuine Service worn M42 Single Decal Luftwaffe helmet! 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.