ww2 Hungarian helmets

[maximus71]

Hi Atilla, I love this thread!!! hopefully you can help determine this one for me that I recently aquired, I believe it is a good Hungarian M35, paint is dark green and original, liner most likely has been replaced, no chin strap bales, seems they are directly attached to the liner band, have you seen this type before? there is a hardness test stamp and it is marked 64 with a faint letters above it, Mavag maybe? no coat of arms stamp from what I can see, intials on the liner and scratched into the paint long ago, any thoughts on this one? I was hoping for a true combat Hungarian lid but this may be made for finnish or post 45, need some help, here are the photo's......

[easternwarfront]

Hi!

You have got a typical finnish issued M38 there with postwar finnish liner. DM64 which means this helmet was made by MÁVAG. Although it's not a "true" hungarian I like it very much and you made a good deal with it. Note that there is hungarian hardening test symbol stamped on the rear apron. (A tiny circle with 3 dots in it)

[maximus71]

Thank you for your fast reply, now I know the history. Just like myself I am not a true Hungarian just half of me is

[easternwarfront]

Very rare example of the earliest postwar issued hungarian helmets. Original ww2 paint is still present though it has been overpainted with a dark green and a brownish color. Liner is a scarce variant from this transitional period between 1945 and 1949, made of quality leather and has 4 pads. Marked MÁVAG66.

[easternwarfront]

Another late war hungarian helmet from my collection. 1944 dated MÁVAG68 with pigskin liner and alu buckle chinstrap. Traces of camo paint (grey, yellow and some dark brown) are still present.

[ruddersrangers44]

I really do like these Helmets,and yet they never show up at all here in the UK.great looking examples by the way........

[easternwarfront]

Austrian M17 AW64 Cilli helmet which has been overpainted with greenbrown after the first world war by hungarian soldiers. Liner pad is dated 1918.

[easternwarfront]

Hi!
I'd like to show some of my recent additions.
MÁVAG68 mid war helmet
MÁVAG/GY64 late war helmet
Interesting civil defense B helmet

[dannydesertrat]

Hi All,

I recently purchased this hungarian helmet as part of a bigger lot of german WWII stuff of an old lady in the Netherlands, near my hometown. At first I thought I bought a fake German helmet, but after searching on the producers mark (MAVAG) I found out that I now actually own a Hungarian helmet. This thread was extremely helpful in identifying my helmet. Thanks! The helmet is marked MAVAG 64 on the inside, accompanied by two Hungarian coats of arms (second one not clearly visible on photo but to the right of the MAVAG stamp). In addition there seems to be a small stamp left of the MAVAG stamp, exactly in the middle of the helmet that I cannot decipher, since there's a layer of paint applied there. It looks like 00 or 41 depending on the angle you look at the helmet. I tried to take a picture, but I didn't manage. The helmet is largely covered in original grass-green paint, although a few sections on the inside and outside have received a new layer of paint. Unfortunately that also includes the liner As you can see, the small loop on the back has been removed, although the dots where it once was attached are still visible. So based on what I read in this thread this seems to be a post war (re?)issue. However, the liner doesn't look like any of the liners I've seen in this thread. Also, the chin strap is attached to the liner (actually both sown and with the two metal pins that are used to fix the liner to the shell), instead of being attached to two metal loops like the other helmets in this thread.

Can anyone tell me more about the origins of the liner? (Mr Easternwarfront probably can, given his impressive knowledge on this subject )

Wondering how this helmet made it to the Netherlands, I never saw this type before. According to the old lady the helmet was purchased by her husband decades ago.....at least that's what she told me

Thanks in advance!

[easternwarfront]

Hi dennydesertrat!
Hungarian shell indeed! MÁVAG64 35M shell, the second coat of arms on the right, next to the maker's mark is the KÁB acceptance stamp. Could you post pics about the inner dome and liner band? What color is the dome? Is it the same green? Very hard to tell from the pics if the basic paint is original ww2 or not, definitely there is another (postwar) layer on it. As for the liner and the strap, surely not hungarian (neither pre45 nor postwar), reminds me a mixture of some postwar german copy and a civic liner. Most likely it's a fantasy helmet maybe for filming or reenacting as a german helmet however it's still green!?