What on earth is that?....

[Vegard T]

This is on Ebay at the moment as an M1 helmet, but this seems like some sort of Frankenstein of helmets. The seller is from Finland.
Looks like a Post-war British type liner?(Clone maybe). The seam and chinstrap attachments looks like M1 helmet type.

[Poromies]

The shell is round, so I say the shell is either an French M51 or a SADF M63, but I have only seen the SADF M63 with fixed bales, so I would go with the French M51 that someone tried to make special by installing that liner there.

[KradSpam]

I agree, looks like the French M51.

[Walkwolf]

Indeed - certainly not an M1.........!

[AMTG]

I don't think it's a military liner....IMHO it's a movie prop....I have seen one other "M1" with a similar looking liner on a movie prop sale site attributed to "Kelly's heroes" it was a while ago

It was a Extras helmet

[MySonsDad]

French M51 with Belgian liner, less crown piece and rubber bumpers? Spare parts it looks like

[António Fragoeiro]

Maybe a portuguese M64?
Cheers.
Nuno

[sebfrench76]

The M51...The ugliest helmet on earth...And,french made,yahoo!
During my military time,i 've seen piles of them made unserviceable by a big hole made with a pikle axe,kind of frog "deactivation",hèhèhè..

[Greg Pickersgill]

Well, Russ is quite right, its the rather wonderful in all its myriad forms French Mle 51 (well, shell thereof anyway) with, indeed, a Belgian leather liner from their post-WW2 copy of the UK Mk2. First thought is, what's holding that liner in then? No apparent screws/bolts/rivets on the outside of the shell. Glue? Nothing's impossible.

The Israelis appear to be notorious for mix&match of this sort in the 1950s/60s, but I would lean towards some chancer just sticking bits together in the hope of conning a gullible collector into thinking they have found something extraordinary and rare. Hmm, I have some spare Mle 51s, and a couple of spare Danish resin liners, I wonder...