Slightly O.T.: My M1917 Stahlhelm

[Rick Rawlings]

My grandfather brought a few items back from his time in Europe and I was fortunate enough to inherit some of them. One was a German helmet that I originally thought was a proper WWII helmet, but I brought it back from my parents a few years ago and noticed it was actually a WWI model!

With a metal frame, it would be an M1917. There were no leather supports when I got it (so I'm guessing it was never used) and the metal frame had unfortunately rusted from years in my grandfather's garage but I was able to get a nice reproduction and a chin strap from the Prairie Flower Leather Company. The inside of the shell is stamped Si66, which would make it a size 66 from the manufacturer below:

Si. - Eisenhütte Silesia, Paruschowitz Oberschlesien - (sizes 62, 66 shells)

So I figured it was about time I got around to sharing!

 

Edited February 8 by Rick Rawlings

[Baxter]

Nice artifact. I can imagine you wearing it on gaming nights where you all sit around the table with glinting monocles and glaring at each other. That is what my lot would do on our Tuesday night Wings of Glory games. 

[Rick Rawlings]

That would be pretty epic! 

[shredward]

sehr sehr schön !

I remember driving through Liege in the mid 60s and seeing stacks of these on tables in the market square (I was a kid, my Dad was in the Cdn Army as part of NATO). If only !!!!

[Rick Rawlings]

I know. Think of all the WWI aircraft scrapped at the end of the conflict. And WWII ones, and so on! In a similar vein, my Grandfather had a bunch of firearms that he collected during the war, including a nice Walther P-38, but he was told they could only bring back one and that they would be searched and if they tried to bring back more, it would delay their discharge. So he farmed them out to some "friends" who swore they would get them back to him once state-side. Well, of course they were never searched and of course he never saw the guys or the guns again!  At least he held on to one Sauer that I got a hold of!