SS Helmets

INFO LINK : History of the SS

Observations :

  • Factory produced M35, M40 and M42 have the same paint color as Heer/Polizei and Kriegsmarine helmets.
  • The NS and SE/HKP factories did not produce SS helmets , if you find one of these makers with an SS decal it should be the Pocher decal. But nevertheless be careful !
  • EF predominantly produced M42’s
  • Medium duty helmet also called M34’s always carry a Pocher decal and have a party shield on the other side.

SCROLL DOWN FOR EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT HELMETS

Allgemeine SS helmet – M16 Austrian shell

  • Originally this helmet was an Austrian Police helmet , the holes on the side would hold the Austrian bomb badge.
  • Painted satin black for the SS , note that the interior under the leather still has the original green paint.
  • Carries the Pocher SS runes and party shield

Photos courtesy of DougB

M16 Austrian shell 

  • This a very rare helmet with mirror SS runes
  • The decal set is typically Austrian
  • There are several theories as to why mirror SS runes were printed but we don’t know at this time the exact reason :
    • The most probable reason is that in Austria the SS were outlawed prior to the Anschluss (1938) and this mirror rune was a clever ruse to still show the runes.

Photos courtesy of helmet2id

Medium Duty Edelstahl helmet

  • EDELSTAHL marked
  • These helmets were worn by members of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst).
  • Has the typical Pocher SS decal , the only instance were a Pocher SS decal is always used.
  • The helmet would have had a civil style helmet liner.

Quist (Q) size 66 – M35

  • Lot number 1136
  • Carries Pocher decals on both sides
  • Named to Bielski in the skirt
  • The owner of the helmet has tried to research Bielski , this is what he found :

Johann Bielski, RuSHA file number A3343-SS-A0017
There is only one Bielski in the entire SS rolls. He was a stateless Polish Volksdeutsche who was born 6 May 1910 in Deutschdorf, Kreis Schildberg, Poland.

On 28 Sept. 1944, Bielski volunteered for duty at the Wehrbezirks-Kommando (WBK) Dortmund I, the Recruiting Sub-Area Headquarters located in Dortmund-Aplerbeck. The WBK recruited personnel for all branches of the Wehrmacht, including the SS.
Bielski’s induction unit was to be Pi.Ers.u.Ausb.B.26. However two weeks later, on 5 Oct. 1944, WBK Dortmund issued a dispatch to the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) SD Einwanderer-Zentrale Litzmannstadt, confirming Bielski’s German ethnicity.

Photos courtesy of RoyA

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ET) size 66 – M35

  • Lot number 4395
  • 1939 dated liner band
  • Carries Pocher decals
  • Bought from the US veteran’s daughter by the current owner

Photos courtesy of RonR

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ET) size 64 – M35

  • Lot number 4501
  • 1939 Dated liner band
  • Originally had a Party shield on the other side but it was carefully removed.
  • ET decal

Quist (Q) size 64 – M35

  • Lot number 803
  • Quist style runes
  • Helmet came out of the woodwork in 2022 , was left behind in Groningen in April 1945

Photos courtesy of war museum Middelstum / Oorlogsmuseum Middelstum

Quist (Q) size 62 – M40

  • Lot number T745
  • Quist SS decal

Quist (Q) size 66 – M40

  • Lot number IN243 (the jury is still out if this is a misstamped DN lotnumber)
  • 1943 Dated liner band. Pig skin leather.
  • Quist SS decal

Emaillierwerke A.G.Fulda (EF) size 62 M42 – Foreign volunteer

  • Lot number unreadable
  • This helmet came out of the factory as a Polizei helmet with 2 decals
  • An SS Pocher shield has been applied on top of the Polizei eagle , such a practice was done by foreign volunteer units.

Photos courtesy of helmet2id

Emaillierwerke A.G.Fulda (EF) size 64 M42

  • Lot number 2244
  • ET style decal (one of the 2 SS decal styles found on EF M42 helmets)

Photos courtesy of KenB

Emaillierwerke A.G.Fulda (EF) size 62 M42

  • 4 digit lot number not fully readable but starts with 217
  • 1942 Dated liner band
  • ET style decal (one of the 2 SS decal styles found on EF M42 helmets)

Emaillierwerke A.G.Fulda (EF) size 64 M42

  • Lot number 2719
  • EF decal
  • This helmet was brought back by Captain John Simms (dentist in the 17th general hospital based in Italy from Oct 1943 to Oct 1945)
  • Most probably this helmet belonged to a soldier of the 16th SS Panzergrenadier division.

Emaillierwerke A.G.Fulda (EF) size 66 M42

  • Lot number 35881
  • EF runes in very good condition

Photos courtesy of RoyA

Eisenhüttenwerke Thale (ckl) size 62 – M42

  • Lot number 2768
  • 1943 Dated liner band
  • ET  decal
  • This helmet is stamped as a size ckl 64 but is actually a size 62 as it has the 54 sized leather.
  • This was one of the first Lot numbers of which I found “brother” helmets. At the moment I have in my list 4 helmets , 3 SS and 1 Heer. All stamped ckl64 with 54 leathers. So clearly a unique production error.