East German helmet with rain camo cover

[Watchdog]

Mark...do you think it’s time that “we” come up with names for the various models?.....and then in 30 years time Greg can get angry like he does re “M76”? :-)

Seriously though, the “rivet-filled un-used holed version with the plastic cradle” deserves a letter, date and model number right?

I think it probably should have an accepted "designation" from a collectors point of view but I doubt it made any difference at all to the NVA beyond it being a simple expedient of logistic management along the lines of the fact that the new liner wasn't mounted the same way as the old one and the only difference to the shell was the fixing points. Therefore it would have been incredibly wasteful to destroy remaining shells that only required a small modification especially when the NVA never had a massive bank-roller. These are generally known as M56/66 and the later "rivetless" type as M56/76 and the very earliest M56 with the first type liner are known as M56/I but as I say I am not aware that the NVA ever called it that. I think it was simply Stahlhelm M56 all the way through.

Sometimes the M56/66 is referred to as "Transitional" but that doesn't really work for me.
Unless somebody comes up with research material to show that NVA nomenclature did differentiate I think I can live with M56I, M56, M56/66 and M56/76 because even if you get the last digits wrong eg 74 rather than 76 it should still be fairly clear which one it is

Mind you the "wind up" idea does have some merit

Regards

Mark

[Gunny Hartmann]

Mark...do you think it’s time that “we” come up with names for the various models?.....and then in 30 years time Greg can get angry like he does re “M76”? :-)

Seriously though, the “rivet-filled un-used holed version with the plastic cradle” deserves a letter, date and model number right?

Should we include the very first M56 that only had the two point chinstrap? Maybe that one is the True M56 and the four point model is the M56a?

[Watchdog]

Should we include the very first M56 that only had the two point chinstrap? Maybe that one is the True M56 and the four point model is the M56a?

Yep, QED! That is the variant I was calling M56/I I just failed to reference the chinstrap as well as the liner that was much like the WWII type.

Regards
Mark
PS I'm just waiting for somone to throw in the late war Model B and Model B/II