SS Decals

Due to it’s simple black on silver design SS decals are perhaps the most tricky to authenticate. The below table can assist you in a simple way which factory decal to expect on which shell and also on which shells we do no expect an SS decal.

Note that the Pocher runic shield is not part of this table as I do not consider it a factory applied decal. We mostly find it on reissued helmets. So if you find a helmet with a decal that does not fit to the below rules it must fit the Pocher runic design.

Note that Medium duty Edelstahl SS helmets always carry the Pocher runes.

FACTORY PRODUCTION BY BRANCH	Mapped by German Helmet Vault.com
Helmet maker code	SS
ET / ckl	Yes
SE / hkp	No
NS	No
EF	Yes
Q	Yes
FACTORY DECAL TYPE APPLICATION
Helmet maker code	SS
ET / ckl	ET runes – M35 , M40 and M42
SE / hkp
NS
EF	EF runes – M40 and M42 – ET runes M42
Q	Quist runes – M35 and M40

ET runes

Found on ET helmets (all models) and to a lesser extent on EF M42’s.

Q runes

Always found on Quist shells (M35 and M40)

Photo courtesy of Sysyphus

EF runes

These runes are unique to EF helmets but note that on EF we also can find ET runes.

Pocher runes

These runes are so-called re-issue decals as they are not factory applied , an exception is that they are the only decal used on medium duty Edelstahl helmets.
In most cases you will find these on M35’s , less on M40’s and very rarely on M42’s.
Often applied together with a party decal.

Photos top row courtesy of DougB , photos second row photos courtesy of RoyA