Italian Helmet Expert needed!

[James C]

good evening paul ,here's my opinions on the helmet ,i can say its definitely a pre ww2 shell due to the P prefix on the stamp and as joe says has the rectangular bails too ,joe also has noticed the liner size stamping at the front when usually found above the wearers righ handside bail so the liner has been refitted at some point ,refitted due to it being a refurbed item maybe and whoever fitted it didnt take much notice of the correct placement ,the one way to clear up if post war look at the rear stitching on the liner ,if it is done in Z then post war if done without the diagonal then pre war the chinstrap worries me though ,it looks correct in every way shape and colour but looks unissued ,ive never heard of repos made though and bear in mind lots of ww2 period hardwear was used up post war , later post war chinstraps are canvas and have a sliding buckle ,the cover is not the issued post war type with drawstrings ,i believe this to be a jacket hood ,my hunch is a period m33 refurbed post war using period surplus chinstrap and later liner the shell appears to have been recoated in the postwar olive drab also issued camo helmet covers were introduced around the 1960/70's before the introduction of the plain green type ,hope this helps in some way ,james

[GIZMO8Z]

good evening paul ,here's my opinions on the helmet ,i can say its definitely a pre ww2 shell due to the P prefix on the stamp and as joe stays has the rectangular bails too ,joe also has noticed the liner size stamping at the front when usually found above the wearers righ handside bail so the liner has been refitted at some point ,refitted due to it being a refurbed item maybe and whoever fitted it didnt take much notice of the correct placement ,the one way to clear up if post war look at the rear stitching on the liner ,if it is done in Z then post war if done without the diagonal then pre war the chinstrap worries me though ,it looks correct in every way shape and colour but looks unissued ,ive never heard of repos made though and bear in mind lots of ww2 period hardwear was used up post war , later post war chinstraps are canvas and have a sliding buckle ,the cover is not the issued post war type with drawstrings ,i believe this to be a jacket hood ,my hunch is a period m33 refurbed post war using period surplus chinstrap and later liner the shell appears to have been recoated in the postwar olive drab also issued camo helmet covers were introduced around the 1960/70's before the introduction of the plain green type ,hope this helps in some way ,james

I purchased a repro chinstrap from Hessian antique! They are out there.

[relicz]

If I've read it correctly, I would disagree with "Z" stitching necessarily being post war, In my experience parallel stitching is just usually indicative of earlier manufacture. Both were used during the period. Below I've posted one of the best online references I know of.......it is a fantastic source of information.

.: World War Helmets - Casque Modèle 933 :.

[James C]

thanks joe and john ,i stand corrected on both counts ,paul here's my pre and post war m33's for comparison the rsi decals are not correct for the post war m33

[geelong]

i would say m33- 47 post war helmet. as well as the cover.