Danish M48 M1 clone

[Greg Pickersgill]

I've only just caught up with 37's posting here - Yet another M1 clone shell, with a twist of navy - which I must have missed back in 2012. Very useful commentray. I do struggle to understand the provenanve of those magnetic shells with the smelly red liners. I have been particularly baffled by the fact that in Anders Skotte's book there is a paragraph referring to the specification of the M48;

"The helmets M48 are to be made in magnetic manganese steel as stipulated in USA specification MIL-A-13259. This specification may, however, be departed from if the finished helmet meets the requirement of being non-magnetic, and passes ballistic tests ...." etc etc.

OK, does this mean that it was acceptable to make the helmets from a steel that was magnetic *before* finishing, and that the end product was expected to be non-magnetic, or that it was acceptable for the shells to actually be magnetic all along the process into use? If so, how can we tell which were the military issue helmets which we have assumed must be non-magnetic?

Arg.

Is there any chance we can somehow collect all the useful knowledge on these Danish helmets - especially the M48 - in one place?

[James C]

many thanks gary for showing your very desirable pair of m48's im embarrassed to say i have none in my collection ,i need to get my backside into gear and thanks too for gregs insight into the m46 ,i must be living under a rock not knowing about these superb helmets ive yet to collect if at all possible ,cheers james

[37Webbing]

This has kick-started quite the conversation.

Opex: The M/48 with the stencilled "B" on the front, is indeed for the "fire department part" of the "CF" organisation Danish: Brand = Fire. Very nice helmet. They had other units that specialised in "rescue", "evacuation", etc.
They stopped using decals and helmet markings at some point. I don't recall when exactly, but the liner suggest your helmet is pre 1963. Very nice.

Greg: As a rule of thumb! The M/48 helmets that are non-magnetic were meant for army service. The magnetic ones were meant for the rescue services - most noticeable the "CF". The magnetic helmets are cheaper to manufacture, and does not have to pass ballistic tests. They need to protect the wearer from falling debris and rubble and they are tested accordingly. They are not meant to offer protection against high velocity shrapnel and bullets.

It is correct, that all army helmets had to conform to either the US specification MIL-A-13259 or meet the requirements of being non-magnetic, pass ballistic tests and so forth.

As far as I have been able to find out, all the magnectic M/48 helmets, with the smelly red "Bakelite" liners, are made in Denmark. Most likely of Swedish steel, at the factory A/S Glud og Marstrands Fabrikker. The same factory that made the M/23 helmets and most likely the M/46 helmet.

I would love if we could make a "sticky", or some other kind of "database" for the M/48 helmet. We are apparently a couple of people that collect them.

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Generally about the M/46 helmet:

They were made in very limited numbers, no more than 30.000 were made from 1946-1951.
They were interestingly enough never officially adopted by the army, but only saw troop trials with different conscript units.
The M/46 helmets still in army stock in the early 1950s were then handed over to the navy as on-board helmets, and the remaining helmets were given to the CF that made the second version of the M/46, as shown in this thread by Greg.

Nowadays the M746 helmets are quite rare, as many of the Navy lids were scrapped, and not sold. Most M/46 helmets found today are of the second type, used by the CF. I have yet to handle another first type helmet apart from my own.

[Opex]

[QUOTE=James C;1372385]many thanks gary for showing your very desirable pair of m48's im embarrassed to say i have none in my collection ,i need to get my backside into gear

Many thanks James, I will share a funny/tragic story with you regarding the Fire version M-48, many years ago when my collecting was solely concentrated on US M1 helmets, I bought the Fire M-48 "thinking" it was indeed a US M1 and the B stood for "Beach", as result was hoping it was a Beach master helmet of WW2 vintage, obviously the first thing I did was to carry out some intensive research, I swiftly discovered it was not US but was indeed a Danish CF helmet, many years later I have no regrets buying this helmet as it is one of many favourites, and I have have sort of forgiven the seller for ripping me off

[Opex]

"Opex: The M/48 with the stencilled "B" on the front, is indeed for the "fire department part" of the "CF" organisation Danish: Brand = Fire. Very nice helmet. They had other units that specialised in "rescue", "evacuation", etc.
They stopped using decals and helmet markings at some point. I don't recall when exactly, but the liner suggest your helmet is pre 1963. Very nice. "

Many thanks for the confirmation and compliments my friend, and indeed for the era from which it was used.

I totally agree a sticky would be very useful resource for these often overlooked genre of Danish helmets.

Following on from the subject of "smelly" liners I can confirm the Fire helmet, has the "smelliest" liner of all the helmets I currently have in my collection, the Red liners are very pungent and even after all the years I have owned this example( and the time before it came into my collection) it still has not lost that distinct pong!

[James C]

great story gary i fully understand you plight ,ive been there many a time i think you have two very nice desirable examples there and they can only appreciate in value and collectabilty

[Opex]

great story gary i fully understand you plight ,ive been there many a time i think you have two very nice desirable examples there and they can only appreciate in value and collectabilty

Haha, thanks James the agony of being deceived has declined over the years and thanks again for the compliments buddy, these helmets often pop up on ebay , unsurprisingly they are often described as being WW2 US M1 helmets

[37Webbing]

"Opex: The M/48 with the stencilled "B" on the front, is indeed for the "fire department part" of the "CF" organisation Danish: Brand = Fire. Very nice helmet. They had other units that specialised in "rescue", "evacuation", etc.
They stopped using decals and helmet markings at some point. I don't recall when exactly, but the liner suggest your helmet is pre 1963. Very nice. "

Many thanks for the confirmation and compliments my friend, and indeed for the era from which it was used.

I totally agree a sticky would be very useful resource for these often overlooked genre of Danish helmets.

Following on from the subject of "smelly" liners I can confirm the Fire helmet, has the "smelliest" liner of all the helmets I currently have in my collection, the Red liners are very pungent and even after all the years I have owned this example( and the time before it came into my collection) it still has not lost that distinct pong!

Ahh yes. I now exactly what you mean. The smell is quite a distinctive tell tale sign that the liner is Danish. I have never smelled anything similar from WWII vintage liners or similar. I have no idea why they smell so horrid. I have yet to find out where they were made in Denmark, and from what exactly.

Great story about your CF helmet!
I have encountered numerous adds on-line, where the early M/48 helmets are advertised as a WWII M1 helmet.

[Opex]

Ahh yes. I now exactly what you mean. The smell is quite a distinctive tell tale sign that the liner is Danish. I have never smelled anything similar from WWII vintage liners or similar. I have no idea why they smell so horrid. I have yet to find out where they were made in Denmark, and from what exactly.

Great story about your CF helmet!
I have encountered numerous adds on-line, where the early M/48 helmets are advertised as a WWII M1 helmet.

Hiya Buddy, I recall a little while ago when we were discussing one of my French Mle-51 liners that was a little smelly, but it does not compare to this Danish liner..by a long shot!

I would be keen to find out more in reference to the manufacturing process and where they were made, so if you do find out any information it would be great if you could post it here. I assume the process is very much the same as the US M1 liner, but the material used in the Danish models is different, I believe in the US version the material was cotton Duck!

[37Webbing]

Hiya Buddy, I recall a little while ago when we were discussing one of my French Mle-51 liners that was a little smelly, but it does not compare to this Danish liner..by a long shot!

I would be keen to find out more in reference to the manufacturing process and where they were made, so if you do find out any information it would be great if you could post it here. I assume the process is very much the same as the US M1 liner, but the material used in the Danish models is different, I believe in the US version the material was cotton Duck!

Yes, that is correct. Now I remember

But I will look into the manufacturing process. It is an ongoing process, since I need to find the manufacturer first, and then their own archives with manufacturing data... I don't really expect the ordeal is possible. But I have to be certain it isn't before I call it a day.

But the Danish liners look as if they are manufactured from cloth, soaked in a "resin" and then pressed while heat is added. Just like the US liners. It is more a question of what the "resin" is made of.