A GENUINE FIRST WORLD WAR GERMAN M18 ‘CUTOUT’ STAHLHELM (STEEL HELMET) SIZE 64 SHELL MANUFACTURED BY EISENHÜTTENWERKE THALE A.G., THALE /HARZ AND STAMPED ON THE SKIRT ET 64 AND IN THE CROWN R1511. THIS HELMET WAS RESTORED BY THE HIGHLY REGARDED US HELMET RESTORATION COMPANY, ALEXANDER & SONS, IN 2017. IT WAS FITTED WITH A REPLACEMENT LINER AND CHINSTRAP AND PAINTED IN A 3 COLOUR CAMOUFLAGE SCHEME WITH THE ABNAHMEKOMMANDO STAMP ON THE INNER NECK GUARD ‘AK’.
This is an outstanding example of a First War German Mod.1918 Stahlhelm painted in a three colour camouflage. The manufacturers code stamped into the right hand forward neck guard is ET 64 and the dome stamp is R1511. indicating that it was manufactured by Eisenhüttenwerke Thale A.G., Thale /Harz as a size 64 shell. It’s also marked with an ink stamp made from a conjoined AK (for Abnahmekommando) on the inside rear neck guard. This genuine Stahlhelm shell was professionally restored by the most highly regarded helmet restoration company of Alexander & Sons Restorations, of Whittier, California in the US in 2017. That work, the quality of which is outstanding, included the fitting of a replacement liner and chinstrap as well as a re-paint in a three colour camouflage scheme. The re-paint included the crushed wool felted finish, known as Wollstaub, originally applied to these Stahlhelm.
The German Model 1916 steel helmet which was introduced into the service with the forces of the German Empire in 1916 (hence the designation). It was designed primarily by two men, Frederich Schwerd and Dr. August Bier to protect soldiers heads from fragments and shrapnel injuries. As Chad Compton in his excellent Axis History online article records: “The designs for the Model 1916 were drawn up in September 1915. By December of that year, the M1916 was being used by a Sturm (Assault) battalion for trial purposes. The mass production of the 'Stahlhelm' began January 1916 and it was widely distributed to soldiers in the Imperial German Field Army on the western front”. The M.16 was replaced by the improved M.18 in 1918 but the wars end meant that relatively few of the new type were issued.
In ‘The History of the German Steel Helmet from 1916 to 1945’ by Ludwig Baer, translated by K. Daniel Dahl, Baer describes how the low skirt of the original M16 and M18’s inhibited hearing and as a consequence another design change was proposed. A new prototype was sent for field trials in August of 1918. This new design modified the skirt at the lower edge of the helmet in an upward dip below the Stirmpanzer lugs. Today this model is known as the Mod.1918 (M18) Cutout, telephone talker’s or Cavalry helmet. The later terms have no validity as the design was meant for all troops, and not just to those who used the telephone or served in Calvary units. A change was also made in the type of paint which would be used on these helmets. A new paint known as Wollstaub had crushed wool felt mixed into it to produce a rough textured lusterless finish. The hope was this finish would reduce the glare on the helmet’s surface. All told 100,000 M18 cut-out helmets all in size 64 were produced by the Eisenhüttenwerk factory during the final months of the war. The design proved to be extremely popular with the men at the front and had the war continued it is possible that the new design would have become the standard helmet of the Imperial forces.
Following its restoration, this genuine Mod.1918 Stahlhelm shell does exhibit evidence of use and has a heavily weathered patina, particularly across the crown. Both lugs are still in place and serviceable and it has been fitted with a replacement chinstrap and liner band manufactured from thick leather and held onto the helmet shell with three split prongs and three liner pads sewn to the band. Each liner pad has a small pouch on the reverse for padding. Each pouch is tied with ribbon and filled with horse hair. The restored painted finish replicated the original pattern of usage as closely as possible and consequently there is some surface patination on the inside and outside of the shell. The paint finish is superb and is worn in places and marked as it would have been in use; there is evidence of a base grey/green paint finish beneath both the camouflage pattern on the exterior and interior of the shell.
As
Alexander & Sons excellent online article at: https://alexanderandsonsrestorations.com/about-wwi-wwii-german-austro-hungarian-helmets/
describes, “the M18-cut out helmet is one
of the rarest of German helmets produced in both WWI and WWII. These helmets
are highly desired by collectors, and unfortunately most on the market today
are fakes. If you are considering the purchase of one of these rare helmets
there are a few things you should be aware of. All M18 cut-out helmets are
marked ET64. The ET64 stamp must be in gothic script. If the helmet lacks this
stamp or is in any other script, the helmet is a fake. The helmet should also
have a heating lot number in the dome of the helmet. Almost all originals have
at least 6 characters in the series. The series usually start with the letter R”.
This example is initialed on the inner skirt of the neck guard AK and stamped on the rear inner skirt. During the final acceptance, each helmet was inspected in-plant by a quality control team made up of an Officer, NCO and some enlisted men known as Abnahmekommando. Prior to the installation of the liner, attention was given to weight, dimensions and paint adherence in addition to structural soundness of the shell. Each helmet that passed inspection was marked with an ink stamp made from a conjoined AK (for Abnahmekommando) on the inside rear flange by the acceptance officer. Helmets that did not pass were scrapped. Great care was taken to make sure no flawed helmet left the factory.
This
genuine Stahlhelm shell is correctly stamped on the left inner skirt with the
manufacturer code and size ET 64. The
dome stamp is visible and appears to be R
1311, although the last number is difficult to make out with accuracy. Attached to this listing for reference are
two period photographs showing German soldiers wearing similar Mod.1918 Cutout Stahlhelm.