A very odd Adrian

**Drahgoone** · 03-14-2021, 02:50 AM

(sorry for this odd closeup, wanted to get an image of the top vent for everyone, its a single hole like on an M15 rather than the several hole vent design on the M26)

Above is an Adrian I picked up over a year ago. It is very clearly not an M15, and it is clearly not an M26; so I am a bit confused by it. Was wondering if anyone here has any advice on it. Has some hand writing on the inside of the liner that I can't make out, something like "Sopsto Fyoet" though that is unimportant to its identification.

Thanks in advance!

**TheGoon** · 03-14-2021, 04:31 AM

I’m no expert on adrian helmets but my opinion is I don’t think it’s even French, what’s holding the comb on? All adrians I’ve seen they have rivets attaching it to the helmet, is the comb welded on?

**MAP** · 03-14-2021, 04:56 AM

At first I thought it might be a humped up Italian M16. But except for the one piece shell and welded on comb, there are too many other differences

**Drahgoone** · 03-14-2021, 05:10 AM

Thank you for the quick response!
Yes the comb appears to be welded just like an Italian M16, but I do not think it could be Italian as the M16 does not have rivets like this one seems to have.

**MAP** · 03-14-2021, 05:18 AM

by Drahgoone

Thank you for the quick response!
Yes the comb appears to be welded just like an Italian M16, but I do not think it could be Italian as the M16 does not have rivets like this one seems to have.

Yes. That is one point, also, the M16's didn't have (as far as I know) a hole on the front. Further, the liner is not Italian (as far as I know again

)

**Politefaun** · 03-14-2021, 06:32 AM

At first I was thinking maybe it was an M23 as those were a "stop gap" and not many survived but after looking at one I don't think it is. Also, the screws on the bottom part of the crown are not correct for a 1920s Yugoslavian or a Mexican adrian either. I don't think it's really French since it's not too hard to attach a 1915 insignia to another adrian, but I also have no inkling on what country could have used it. I'll post a link to a thread below on rare/odd Adrian models.

Finally got my rare French Adrian helmet in

**Schwerpunkt** · 03-14-2021, 09:25 AM

I think you post it best in the right forum section as this is the German helmet section.

**HetzersGonnaHetz** · 03-14-2021, 09:56 AM

I must say I am absolutely stumped with this. First and foremost I am unsure whether the badge is original to the helmet, as a previous respondent stated they arent very hard to replace but it is tricky making them as snug as originals. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Furthermore, it seems to combine various aspects of Adrians without subscribing to a single model that I am aware of. The welding of the comb is seen on the Model 16 'Lippmann' used by Italy. I do believe they used these french liners or french style liners during early production too. What stumps me though are the rivets around the edge? Usually seen in pairs on Adrians (NOT on the Lippmann though) but only seen individually here.

**HARRY THE MOLE** · 03-14-2021, 12:55 PM

by HetzersGonnaHetz

I must say I am absolutely stumped with this. First and foremost I am unsure whether the badge is original to the helmet, as a previous respondent stated they arent very hard to replace but it is tricky making them as snug as originals. Happy to be proven wrong though.

More often than not, the badge to the helmet will be loose, every one in my collection is loose to a certain degree. The badges can also be found with non-matching paint to the helmet. The first production helmets had their badges supplied to the helmet manufacturers in unpainted form, they were then attached to the helmet and the whole helmet sprayed. But then later on - to speed up the production process - the badges were supplied to the helmet manufacturer already sprayed on both sides, the badge was then attached to the already painted helmet shell. This resulted (sometimes) in different shades of horizon blue of helmet and badge. Some collectors believe that this is a sign that the helmet has been re-badged at some point, but not necessarily so for the reasons given.

As for the helmet shell in this thread, I can't say that I have seen one before, but the liner is certainly on the style of the second pattern liner used in the Model 1915 and other helmets.

Cheers,
Steve

**magicdutchmen** · 03-15-2021, 04:41 PM

This is a reissued Italian lipmann helmet or M.16 helmet used by the Spanish with the typical liner and extra rivets on the side. The French badge is not original to this helmet.
I will include photos of mine.