I found a helmet, but i don't know what it is, i need help please.
Article about: Someone gave this to my father, i've been researching but the best information i found was that this is a M18 Swiss helmet. However, where i saw that, it had an S marked, and this one have a
I found a helmet, but i don't know what it is, i need help please.
Someone gave this to my father, i've been researching but the best information i found was that this is a M18 Swiss helmet. However, where i saw that, it had an S marked, and this one have a K marked inside the helmet.
Another thing i found on the helmet is what i think to be a name. I think it's Bob but it's very shabby, on top of that i can see a 30, probably the year, i'm not certain because it is very, very unreadable.
Unfortunately it's on bad shape, it lost his painting and the inside is on a horrible condition.
I'd like to know everything about this helmet if you can, like the the year of creation and design, what country used this helmet... And also, i'd like to know if i should restore this or if i should let it in the current state.
Greetings and Welcome to the Forum...Yes, it's the Swiss M18, sometimes called the Darth Vader Helmet, lol...
They are a commonly-encountered item and very affordable...
cheers, Glenn
This is pretty straightforward. It is a Swiss M18. Actually to be precise is is the M18/63, the third revised version of the original M18 (issued in the 1920s) that was issued in the early 1960s. Any markings on the liner might be either done by a user, or are original stamps done by the liner manufacturer. The 'K' is for a Swiss company called Kyburz which manufactured many of these helmet shells. These helmets are not really rare of difficult to get in rather better condition than yours, so unless you feel strongly about restoring this specific one I suggest you do nothing.
The Swiss M18 / M18/63 is probably the finest quality steel helmet ever made, but I dont think it was used in war or ever seen action like other countries steel helmets?
If it was used in war it would have more collector value
The Swiss M18 / M18/63 is probably the finest quality steel helmet ever made, but I dont think it was used in war or ever seen action like other countries steel helmets?
I am virtually certain the M18 was never used in any shooting war by anyone, at any time, except perhaps for little-known Swiss border incidents. The Swiss M48/662, on the other hand, was delivered in some quantity to (for example) Croatia during the Balkan Wars of independence in the 1990s.
by battle gear
If it was used in war it would have more collector value
Now this is the part I really can't understand. I *know* it is the prevalent view for many or even most collectors, but for me either a helmet is interesting or it is not - it doesn't matter a jot to me whether it was used in combat anywhere anytime.
Last edited by Greg Pickersgill; 04-17-2017 at 10:28 AM.
An interesting topic Greg....I think the seen-battle dynamic simply widens the collecting scope. As we know, some (usually rich) folk only touch the mintiest examples which have never left the QM stores....some only acquire Large sizes (so they can pop them on).....some won't touch war time Civilian-used helmets (they're the strangest!)......
It's a bit like the Bullet Hole Theory....it's got a hole...it must've been in battle...rather than some idiot in his garage, with a lump hammer and a metal punch (that's not part of a new Cluedo game by the way...)
Getting back to your suggestion re collecting....I don't have an M18 in any of its forms...nor do I have an Adrian....at all.....I don't think I ever want an Adrian but I kinda feel like I OUGHT to have an M18....ideally Military not civil (which is wierd for me).....is that normal?
..I don't think I ever want an Adrian but I kinda feel like I OUGHT to have an M18....ideally Military not civil (which is wierd for me).....is that normal?
I'd say it's normal to have any helmet that you personally find interesting or intriguing. This whole deal is done for fun, and for the sheer fascination of research. That's pretty much the top and bottom of it. It's quite normal to have 300 Mk2s painted slightly differently, or a couple of dozen CPH because the maker's marks are different. Or even an unknown number of Hungarian M50s because the paint-shade varies slightly somewhat depending on the light. Or even quite a lot of Swiss M18 because some of them rock back and forth on a flat surface and you're trying to work out *why*?
Morning everyone,
if I can make a contribution, here are some examples that I own where you can note the differences between M18/63 and M18/40, relating to the liner type, and also to painting internal and external.
I also add a example M18/63 supplied to the Swiss Civil Defense.
Indeed this interesting helmet, made of high quality materials is often underestimated by collectors.
And to supplement Oldsteel's post, here's an M18 in an earlier form, with the complete circuit liner band, the double tongued pads, long strap with carbine hook, and smooth paint finish. Original military issue examples are green, but this one is a Police issue (Bern, I think) and that real Army green is a slightly different shade. Could be wrong about that. These originals were mostly refurbished and repainted with the commonly-seen shadow-black in the middle 1940s.
The earliest version of the M18 (pre-1930) has a two-piece buckle strap, but is otherwise as the one shown. These are very hard to find as most were refurbished with the later strap when taken in for repainting. I don't have one, but I keep looking...
Cracking example Greg can i ask if this first model type you show has the rear dome vents as found on the later variants and must add the type i am most familiar with
I found a helmet, but i don't know what it is, i need help please.
.
by battle gear
Bookmarks