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 BRANCH | Mapped by German Helmet Vault.com |
| Helmet maker code | Kriegsmarine |
| ET / ckl | Yes |
| SE | Only M35 |
| NS | No |
| EF | Only M40 and M42 |
| Q | Only M40 |
| FACTORY DECAL TYPE APPLICATION | |
| Helmet maker code | Kriegsmarine |
| ET / ckl | ET decal |
| SE | ET decal |
| NS | |
| EF | HJ&K and ET decal |
| Q | ET 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.
Huber Jordan u. Koerner (aka Thin winged decal)
- Only found on EF M40 and M42 shells
