I'm told its swedish

[relicz]

No better site on the web.
SUIZO 18-40-2

Some helmets and their nomenclature are more accurate than others.

[aj4010]

Edit:

Beaten to it!

Andy

[Greg Pickersgill]

Yours is one of the earlier models - it has the original liner which goes completely around the interior of the shell. Its a genuine M18, not one of the modifications. These are comparatively rare as many of the early production were relined later. The *really* rare one would have this liner, the original smooth green paint finish, and a different ordinary two-piece chinstrap with buckle; I have only ever seen photographs of these. The shells were also repainted with the roughened anti-reflective 'shadow black' paint in the 1940s.

There is also the M18/43 where the shell has a slightly different profile (noticeable only when you directly compare one to the other, really) and a slightly different liner, it has the same three two-lobed pads but the retaining ring does not close the circle at the rear of the helmet. Many original helmets were relined with this form when they were repainted during WW2.

In 1963 there was a new version again, very similar but this time with three liner pads but only one lobe per pad for the crown adjustment. So, really, it always pays to look twice at what some might think of as an 'ordinary' Swiss M18.

I've written this from memory - I advise checking here .: World War Helmets - Suisse :. and here SUIZA for more and better information.

We could do with a good book on Swiss helmets, really. They're quite fascinating and there's more to them than many imagine. There is an O/P item by collector J-P Soulier, but frankly its not that good and I wouldn't recommend it. Mind you he has said he may do a second edition...bigger, better, more detail, answering the questions.

[MySonsDad]

As Greg has already pointed out, you have the earliest version of the M1918 as is identifed by the full ring.

[James C]

nice example ,have a look under one of the leather liner tabs ,there might be a date stamp also this seems to have the post 1943 antiglare paint applied