France, III Republic. A First War Army Engineer's M15 Adrian Helmet

In steel, magnetic, exterior with a smooth surface, painted in brownish-green, the protective edge of the helmet in a magnetic steel. There is a large comb (deflector crest) affixed to the top of the helmet via four rivets, the comb slotted on both sides near its front for ventilation. The front of the helmet incorporates a 45 mm (w) x 73.5 mm (h) French Army Engineer's insignia in blackened bronze, that is slightly loose versus the helmet. The inside has a six-panel cinnamon brown leather liner, each panel with a hole at the tip, with a leather drawstring fed through the holes and tied in a knot. The liner is backed with a gray pressed fabric, with four strips of ribbed steel between the liner and the body of the helmet. The two-piece leather chin strap has a magnetic metal buckle for length adjustment and rests upon the protruding visor, the strap remaining relatively supple, fed through the integral loops on the both sides and secured in place via a steel pin on the left side. It measures 205 mm x 300 mm x 140 mm, exhibiting a moderate dent on the left side, along with contact marks and scuff marks on the exterior, very light wear evident on the liner, as worn. 

 

Footnote: The M15 Adrian helmet was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during the First World War. It was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during the Second World War.