A First War German Army Camouflage Helmet

A First War German Army Camouflage Helmet - Steel helmet, magnetic, exterior painted in a reddish-brown and forest green with black stripes in a camouflage pattern, rolled edge, both lugs with air vent holes intact and held in place via their original washers on the inside of the helmet, two of the three pins holding the steel ring frame inside are intact, the other is a replacement. Inside, the steel ring frame is held firmly in place by the exterior pins, the two original ones with fold back tabs, two leather flaps attached to the ring, each with two protruding tabs, the tabs with a hole near their ends for the feeding of the drawstring, the underside of each flap with a white cotton pocket. The third flap has separated itself from the helmet and has been lost to time, although a a piece of it remains wedged between the ring and the body of the helmet. The underside of the skirt on the left side is maker marked "G.62." (Gebruder Gnüchtel, the number indicating the size of the helmet in centimeters as measured around the inside dome at the level of the three pin holes). The original chinstrap connectors remain intact but the leather chinstrap has been lost to time. The helmet measures 225 mm x 298 mm x 165 mm in height, exhibiting scattered paint loss and contact marks on the exterior, with rust evident in the dome inside, along with extensive wear present on the leather flaps and drawstrings from active use, with tearing in one of the two tabs where it passes through the hole. Very fine. Footnote: At the beginning of the First World War, soldiers had no head protection other than their cloth and leather caps. But after the war became centered on trench warfare, the number of casualties suffering from severe head wounds increased dramatically on both sides. The French were the first to see the need for more effective protection. In late 1915, they began to issue Adrian Helmets to their troops. The British followed suit with their Brodie Helmet, and the Germans developed the Stahlhelm (Steel Helmet). The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional Pickelhaube (spiked helmet) with the Stahlhelm in 1916. This helmet provided superior protection over other countries' designs due to the skirt that covered the side and back of the wearers head. Although superseded by newer models, it was still being used by second-line and home guard units until the end of the Second World War. The lugs on either side of the helmet served two purposes: they were mounting points for the heavy brow plate that was designed to be worn with the helmet, meant to be used by soldiers whose job (observer, machine-gunner etc...) required that they be more exposed to enemy observation. The other purpose is an air-vent, explaining the holes that go through them.