Kriegsmarine decals

There are only 2 accepted Kriegsmarine decal designs although arguably it could be 3 or 4. (the 2 other being variants of the ET decal). Due to the way the ET decals are printed  they show a black outline around the eagle , collectors call this the ridge. The ridge may not always be clearly visible on M40’s or the SE M35 single decal Kriegsmarine helmets due to the more textured paint. The other design is by Huber Jordan and if found on EF M40 and M42 helmets. The tricky part here is that decals on EF helmets have a tendency to discolor to yellow which makes the decals look like Kriegsmarine decals. In most cases the toning is uneven which helps us to see that the decal is actually a toned Heer.

The below table shows you which factories produced Kriegsmarine helmets , ET produced helmets for the Kriegsmarine all through the war while NS never produced any at all. The other table shows which decal type to expect on which factory shell.

FACTORY PRODUCTION BY BRANCHMapped by German Helmet Vault.com
Helmet maker codeKriegsmarine
ET / cklYes
SEOnly M35
NSNo
EFOnly M40 and M42
QOnly M40
FACTORY DECAL TYPE APPLICATION 
Helmet maker codeKriegsmarine
ET / cklET decal
SEET decal
NS 
EFHJ&K and ET decal
QET decal

ET decal

  • Always on ET , SE and Quist. Seen one once on an EF M42 but EF mostly uses the Huber Jordan & Koerner (Thin wing) decal posted below.
  • A typical feature that makes it easier to separate a KM ET decal from a Heer ET decal is what collectors call the ridge. The ridge is a raised black line that goes around the entire decal including the swastika. This photo taken at an angle shows the ridge.
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M40 ET KM ridged decal
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An ET decal on an SE M35 , the ridge is very hard to see

Huber Jordan u. Koerner (aka Thin winged decal)

  • Only found on EF M40 and M42 shells
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