danish m23/41

[James C]

Here's a new pickup for the shelf ,i have to say its one of the most unusual design's ive ever collected and probably ranks up there alongside my swiss m18/40 ,the steel used seems very thin and this shows in the amount of dents to the crown ,allthough black it appears to have had a repaint in its time and i wonder what the original colour might of been, it also has a strange numerical disc attached to the front ,it really does seem in superb condition if it is ww2 period and i believe post war models had a riddel style webbing liner as opposed to this leather fingered type it also has a rear hanging slot , im hoping with help from the forum members i can learn more about this genre of helmet ,my own research would suggest civil defence use ,also ive read earlier models had two rear vent holes .any help would be appreciated
thanks james

[SRB]

just funniest helmet i've seen.....

[reneblacky]

Nice one James I'd hate to wear it on a windy day!!!!

[James C]

Here's a link to a site adrian stevenson had provided on an earlier post Google Translate

[Opex]

Hi James ,great addition and something I do not own personally, so all the more interesting to see your example for comparison. I assume the numeral disc relates to the owner e.g. Serial number ?, either way it is in superb condition for the age.

I see what you mean in terms of the profile which like the Swiss model is odd, there are plenty of Danish members here, so I would hope they will be able to offer some sound advice on it's heritage/provenance.

It's Something a little different than the norm in this section,good on you mate

[Greg Pickersgill]

That's a somewhat odd example. It seems to have had a few repairs and refurbishments in its time. I've not seen one with that sort of vinyl (is it?) liner, and the chinstrap seems like a much later addition (and actually looks Swedish!) The 41 is a sort of economy version of the original M23, which of course has the same shell profile but the steel thicker, and consequently heavier. The 41 isn't intended as a combat helmet but was made for the various civil or paramilitary services operating in Denmark during the war. And was, as you mention, continuously refurbished for CD use afterwards (including the rather startling version with a rough textured grey paint finish and a Riddel-type liner that seems made of furnishing fabrics.

(NB apart from the weight - and a different liner and chinstrap - the original is notable for the Glud and Marstrand makers tag (a metal plate) fixed in the inside back)

The disc on the front is a bit odd too, as it looks *very* like the identification disc that was on helmets issued to personnel of the Danish State Railways, but that usuallly has a DSB and crown as wel as a number. I do hope a local Dane will chip in soon with some better information.

[Greg Pickersgill]

For comparison, here's my M23 - unaccountably I don't have a pic showing the G&M tag, but that's easy enough to see on either Joseba or WWH




The one was notionally used by a resistance movement at the close of WW2, but that's probably arguable. The colour and painted flag are definately non-standard to original military issue, whatever.

[Opex]

That's a beautiful example Greg, and as ever very informative communication

[James C]

Many thanks gary and your thoughts on the disc attached and many thanks greg your help and knowledge is always appreciated ,the liner does seem to be vinyl and is quite uncomfortable to wear but the cork spacers do give the wearer some clearance space from the shell ,im really taken by your examples very much so thanks for showing the differences and the riddel style liner and chinstrap look to be from the m48/m1 clone also interesting is to see the new liner rivit placements ,leaving the original points redundant ,your second example sure is nice and especially with the frontal badge
regards james

[James C]

just funniest helmet i've seen.....

Thanks srb ,the style reminds me of your profile picture