Original German WWII M42 Service Worn Single Decal Luftwaffe Helmet with Size 57 Liner – ET64 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice all original service worn example of a Model 1942 German WWII helmet, with a single Luftwaffe Eagle decal. This stamped sheet steel construction helmet retains about 75% of the original Luftwaffe Blue-Gray paint. However there are areas completely missing paint, which now shows the oxidized steel shell. This was definitely a helmet that saw use during the war, with a lovely patina of age. The decal is retained at around 90%, with a very a great look. If you were looking for a nice service worn helmet for your collection, this is it!

The reverse, interior, neck guard apron is heat lot number stamped 1487, and the interior, left side, apron has the stamped manufacturer’s code and size, ET64 indicating that it was manufactured by Eisenhuttenwerk AG of Thale, located in the Harz district in Saxony, Germany. Size 64 is a nice medium size that can accommodate liners from 56cm to 57cm or US 7 to 7 1/8. Size 64 shells are harder to find and are therefore more valuable to a collector. There is also still the ink dome stamp inside the helmet, something we rarely see!

All three liner retaining pins are intact, though they have lost their paint and oxidized. The interior of the helmet still has the original M31 leather liner, which shows service wear. All 8 of the leather “fingers” are present, though the top tie is a post war replacement. There is some dry rot around the rim, but other wise the leather is still partly soft, though it could use conditioning. The mid war issue galvanized steel liner band is marked on the left outer side with 64 nA / 57, indicating that the liner is a size 57, intended for a 64 shell. The right side displays the full manufacture information, as well as a date:

Metalwarenfabrik
1942
F. W. M.

The chinstrap is present and in very good shape, though it looks to be a wartime replacement. It is dated 1942 on one end under a maker mark, which we cannot quite make out. Interestingly, the adjustment buckle on the chinstrap is aluminum.

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.