East German NVA M56 helmets

**NZEF2** · 03-19-2016, 10:05 PM

by reneblacky

Great helmets Guys, here's a couple of mine to include the plastic parade, M56 59 dated & a 59 dated refurbished.

Very nice collection you have there René, something I really like about the early M56 helmet.

**NZEF2** · 04-02-2016, 03:28 AM

Cheers René! Helmet net looks great don't it

**reneblacky** · 04-02-2016, 04:24 AM

Good one, now it won't get scratched up so easily when ya place it down

**Watchdog** · 04-02-2016, 10:41 AM

Nice examples all round guys

I really like these helmets and feel they are a much neglected part in the evolution of the German combat helmet. Especially with the link to WWII made by the rejected 1944 design (imagine finding one of those

) declined it seems on aesthetic grounds or maybe sensibly that there were other things more pressing to spend resources on at that time. Will we ever know?

I have two early M56 which I have posted here before but a re-post probably adds to this thread (of couse I have a very late M56/66 too but they are so common I don't think looking at another minter is much help

). You can see that one has cheek pads whilst the heavily "patinated" one has not but there are signs that it did originally have them. I can't quote a source but I am sure that the earliest M56 chinstrap was without cheek pieces and that they appeared in 1958 but I stand to be corrected.
I have never seen one of the early (without hooks) nets in the flesh as it were but would love to get hold of at least one for my early M56.

Regards

Mark
PS The well worn specimen did have the diamond dirt pattern left by a long gone net but it was such a health hazard and covered in chicken cack or similar

that it really was neccessary to give it a wipe with a damp cloth so to speak

**NZEF2** · 04-03-2016, 12:38 AM

[QUOTE=Watchdog;1605237]Nice examples all round guys

I really like these helmets and feel they are a much neglected part in the evolution of the German combat helmet. Especially with the link to WWII made by the rejected 1944 design (imagine finding one of those

) declined it seems on aesthetic grounds or maybe sensibly that there were other things more pressing to spend resources on at that time. Will we ever know?

I have two early M56 which I have posted here before but a re-post probably adds to this thread (of couse I have a very late M56/66 too but they are so common I don't think looking at another minter is much help

). You can see that one has cheek pads whilst the heavily "patinated" one has not but there are signs that it did originally have them. I can't quote a source but I am sure that the earliest M56 chinstrap was without cheek pieces and that they appeared in 1958 but I stand to be corrected.
I have never seen one of the early (without hooks) nets in the flesh as it were but would love to get hold of at least one for my early M56.

Regards

Mark
PS The well worn specimen did have the diamond dirt pattern left by a long gone net but it was such a health hazard and covered in chicken cack or similar

that it really was neccessary to give it a wipe with a damp cloth so to speak

Man that is a minter! I have only in recent times reignited my interest in the M56, displays well in a time line setup.

**reneblacky** · 04-03-2016, 05:51 AM

[QUOTE=NZEF2;1605625]

by Watchdog

Nice examples all round guys

I really like these helmets and feel they are a much neglected part in the evolution of the German combat helmet. Especially with the link to WWII made by the rejected 1944 design (imagine finding one of those

) declined it seems on aesthetic grounds or maybe sensibly that there were other things more pressing to spend resources on at that time. Will we ever know?

I have two early M56 which I have posted here before but a re-post probably adds to this thread (of couse I have a very late M56/66 too but they are so common I don't think looking at another minter is much help

). You can see that one has cheek pads whilst the heavily "patinated" one has not but there are signs that it did originally have them. I can't quote a source but I am sure that the earliest M56 chinstrap was without cheek pieces and that they appeared in 1958 but I stand to be corrected.
I have never seen one of the early (without hooks) nets in the flesh as it were but would love to get hold of at least one for my early M56.

Regards

Mark
PS The well worn specimen did have the diamond dirt pattern left by a long gone net but it was such a health hazard and covered in chicken cack or similar

that it really was neccessary to give it a wipe with a damp cloth so to speak

Man that is a minter! I have only in recent times reignited my interest in the M56, displays well in a time line setup.

couple back for the time line to roughly even it out -- sorry Redstalker for hijacking your post

**MySonsDad** · 08-18-2016, 06:33 AM

Hello all...it's been a while since I have been around so I thought it about time I dropped a note and while I was at it, share a couple of first type M-56's we picked up the other day.

Both a bit worse for wear and appear to have spent a night or two out in the rain, but these first types don't pop up too often here in the states so at $80USD for the pair I thought it a good idea I grab them (hope I made the right choice). Hopefully I'll be able to clean them up a bit and bring a little luster back to them

Anyway, I don't know much about these early M-56s other than what I have just read here on this thread, I'll educate myself a bit better now that I have one.

The first is stamped II 8 59 assuming the 59 is the year stamp, not sure about the rest

The second is a little later of the first types and has the cheek protectors. It is stamped what looks like 62 II 63

Okay, now it's time to get these things clean up a bit....

Russ & Son

**reneblacky** · 08-18-2016, 06:51 AM

Always nice to find these, good pair

**kradman** · 08-18-2016, 07:57 AM

One i have again quite rough condition

**Greg Pickersgill** · 08-18-2016, 08:02 AM

Well, nice to see you back, your postings were always interesting. And so is this one. Those real first-series M56 are hard to find anywhere. To be sure it is a real early one the lack of cheek-protectors isn't the only sign, you have to check whether the leather of the linking strap between the two V-pieces is a slightly narrower-cut piece of leather. Almost impossible to tell in photographs. Anyway, a couple of good helmets and you've revived my interest in this type.

Memory -not as good as it ought to be - is telling me that the Roman numerals are a size (II being Medium), the lower double digit number is year (as you surmise) and the middle one is month. However that does not explain why you sometimes seem two apparent year markings. By the by, the 'II' size helmets seem by far the majority and I don;t think I've ever seen any others.