My fellow collectors ,
I just want to let you know how impressed I am of
all knowledge on these helmets that has risen here in this thread.
Please allow me to show my newest aquisition :
The helmet is dated 1973 , was made by Ulbricht´s has a quite
dark color and also sports federklammern .
The chinstrap is also a Little bit unusual as it is of grey webbing and has
the hardware of the later type.
I am interrested to hear your opinions on this one.
Thanks a lot !
Very nice looking helmet. The short end of the chinstrap only had one snap, why
would that be? As most seem to have two. My 76 shell also has one snap.
The Flederklamen also seem to be quite inset in the shell? Could the chinstrap webbing be the using up of old stock?
Hi...Ocad, Bernhard thanks for dropping by!!
And can I just say that I have learnt a lot in the last few years about the humble Austrian stahlhelm.... from great forum members such as yourself!!!! many thanks...you know who you are!!!
Well!!!..... that's a real nice one Bernhard!! ...one of the very last M58 (hence the colour) and acceptance mark for 1974.. right on the change of when the then new M75 would be issued!!!
I wonder??? are the federklammern 10mm or 13mm??? they look the former.... and also look factory fitted!!!! this would suggest that the powers that be.. already realised that the new early M75 liners were too small for the purpose of staying put when held out upright!!!??? on the subject of chinstrap and hard wear.. being on the cross over point between any helmet types usually means a period of using up the old stock...as with many WW II M1 liner webbing and hard wear... I also have several examples with only one "snap" and no sign that one had ever been fitted... mistakenly missed at the factory?? or in the case of the anti choke "snap" it is possible..as it is open ended that it fell off??? or was removed!???? is there a maker mark on the male end Bernhard?? and if so...MB or OLC??
I would go with Paul's suggestion as the chinstrap loop material is present and the break away catch has either been removed deliberately or through use
I disagree, if you compare the single "loop" or "snap" chinstaps at the bale attachment, the chinstrap is one webbing piece that has been looped around when sewn onto the swivel and housing the snap. Compare to the double snaps and that also appears to be one piece of webbing strap. I would say certain chinstraps have only had one snap whether that was a mistake or intended I don't know.
Hummm... I can see the arguments for both for and against the single snap argument.. I can only lay my hands on one example I have.. the rest are boxed up in the dreaded loft!!! sadly this has been crudely re-stitched!! so has been tampered with, and/or field repaired at some point.. note that if the webbing had been reversed before stitching. The loop for the second snap would be formed..(see pic of inserted precision screwdriver!!) so in this case ... it would look ...more of a mistake...
also.... here's another thought.. the original grey webbing on Bernhards Example...was originally made to be used with the early type T1 chinstrap hard wear!! this arrangement only has the need for the single loop to fix the metal hook in place!!..(see pics)
And another thing ..This type of snap was first a German Bundeswehr design!! and on the west German M1A1 FJ62/85 modifizert .. both types were fitted to the same loop!!!!! (see pic)AHHHHHHH..... perhaps that's where the missing Austrian ones went!!???
SORRY....just a little combat helmet humour !!!!!!!!!!!
Hmm, I have just looked closely at my example and while the strap doesn't appear to show where the second snap was sewn, both straps have been field sewn /repaired to the bales. The bar tack is clean but the thread brighter green than the issue OD. Suprised I missed it really.
However Bernhard's example is very interesting as it has its original bar tack.
The holy grail of Stahlhelm 57 collecting !
Thanks for the additional pictures and information on my last helmet , gentlemen !!
Here for you is a helmet I picked up at a Militaria fair last saturday.
For me it´s something like the holy grail of the Stahlhelm 57 collecting theme.
It is a really nice ´57 stamped helmet shell that also has a very nice HBA stamp of the same
year.
The chinstraps seem to never have been adjusted and never hooked together.
Still look like fresh from the factory.
On the outside the helmet´s finish only shows some storage or shelf wear.No dents.
The helmet had a , what seems to be 1958 dated liner fitted when I pulled it out of a banana box
next to the vendor´s table.
What really makes this helmet a treasure to me is that the liner still has the very first version of the leather
strap in brown color.
In my long time of collecting these helmets it is the first time that I encounterd one of these !!!
Reason for this is that only the first batch of liners had these brown straps.
The following Batches were already ordered in black Color and the others were blackened.
So my new 57 helmet has been out of the supply System quite early in his career.
It has survived in it`s factory livery for 60 years now....
Hi Bernhard!!!
That really is a superb 57' !!!!! looks virtually unissued!!!!
I know from personal experience how hard it is to find a 57' dated M58!! took me 3 years solid searching!!
The early brown chinstrap is a super rare find on its own!!!!
can I ask is there any rank transfer on the liner!!??? but going by the unissued look.. possibly never even got that far!!!!
I managed to find another 57' shell... at last years War & Peace show!!... an Irish trader had some 40 odd shells!! I searched them all in the baking hot sun!!! and all I found was this poor old thing!!used as a candle holder judging by the thick wax covering in the crown!! and a relic condition strap!!! but I took pity on it and snapped it up along with a 66' dated example with original type one chinstrap hardware!!!..i picked up a M58 liner elsewhere to put in it........ but noticed this was a little unusual!!! in that the nape strap is one piece stitched and not a two piece popper strap..... as is the norm!!!(see pics!!)
Hi austromunga ,
thank you for your reply !
I am glad you like my new find.
The liner is without insignias and seems to never had any.
I also have one or two liners with the sewn nape strap.
My Impression was , untill I saw your liner, that only the early fiber
liners had this special feature.
Best regards
Bernhard
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