Spanish M65 OTAN F1 - Military Police Model

[JBR]

Herewith a few pictures of my recently acquired M65/PM:


The only online info I've found so far is on Joseba Revuelta's excellent website: ESPAOL 65 COM

Joseba mentions variations in detail and my example is indeed different in some respects from that illustrated.

Condition-wise, mine lacks the liner chinstrap and the white plastic chin-cup. The liner itself is also damaged. The self-coloured white plastic has gone brittle over the years, cracks have appeared around the rivets mainly and one has come away. It could be repaired but I won't be doing that as it will only put more load on the other fragile areas.

The shell appears to be stainless steel painted white, and there is no rim, the edge being left raw. The webbing is synthetic material and the leather and webbing headband adjusts with a Velcro strip. The whole assembly weighs 1540g.

Here are some more photos of details:

Any observations or info will be gratefully received. (I bought it on eBay for £24 incl postage, by the way). Best Regards,

[James C]

very nice jbr ,not an example that comes along very often, here's a referance picture from a book i own ( TIN HATS TO COMPOSITE HELMETS by Martin J Brayley ) unfortunately only the rear of the helmet is visible but as you can see it has been used for spanish navy ,cherish this one

[battle gear]

thats a good find, Spanish M1's are very hard to find in the US , rarely seen for sale

[Greg Pickersgill]

Well, that's fascinating. I have a presently rather uninformed interest in the surprisingly large number of Spanish "M1" variants (I have a few, but not this type, which is actually quite uncommon in this form), and it is good to see a set of photos of this one. Thanks and well done! Its even more surprising than I had expected.

We almost got into a bidding battle on this one - I'd had it on my watch list since the start and was very inclined to go for it but in the end kept my cash for something else (which I won!). Would you have gone as high as £55 I wonder?

NB - the Spanish Navy helmets would have been grey, not white, which as in many nations was for MP use only.

[JBR]

Thanks for comments all. Well, Greg, the photos on the listing were poor. So being cautious about spending too much too often (!) I think my final bid was about £26. If I'd lost it, I'd probably have regretted not bidding more but I doubt if I'd have bid more than about £30 in any event. You'd have won it for sure but you say you bought something else anyway. Without unlimited cash there always seem to be impossible choices to be made. But, in my opinion, unlimited funds would take away much of the please of this hobby. I'd like a good combat M65 - but I suspect I'll be up against some pretty stiff opposition - unless you already have one, that is! Best Regards,

[Greg Pickersgill]

Oh I so agree with you about the mney problem. Its always endless calculations and decision making here - at least three-quarters of the stuff on my Ebay watchlist never gets even bidded on, never won won or lost. I also agree with you about the Ebay photos too - not especially informative - yours are so much more helpful to us collectors! There are a lot of 'M1' variants from the Spanish forces - fairly rare, and not often properly described on Ebay or anywhere else - you have to be watchful and know the clues. I spend ages going through Joseba's pages, trying to get it all straight in my head.

[Opex]

Very nice indeed, I too was watching this one,glad you got it though.

The leather headband insert,to my knowledge was only fitted in early variants,and was particularly seen in Para/marine versions of the Spanish M1, great looking piece!

[JBR]

Thanks for that, Opex. I need to do what Greg mentions and really try to get my head round these. Do you know of other sources of info, apart from the excellent Joseba's? Best Regards,

[Opex]

Hi JBR,no worries.

Try COLECCION DE CASCOS DE SERTECO there is a Para version example shown here, but it is not the same model as yours,but has some common features.

Other than the Spanish Para M1 in my own collection ,and information from books ( Tin hats to Composite helmets-By Martin Brayley) there does seem to be a distinct lack of visual information out there!

Congrats again,a fine example.

Regards, Opex.

[JBR]

Thanks for that, Opex. I hadn't seen that one (even though I've 'passed by' that website before). I wonder if these helmets are on the Spanish home surplus market? Best Regards,