Danish M48 helmet

[laur454a]

Hi there, I have recently bought a number of Danish M48 helmets, some CGF Gallet M96 Helmets, and one helmet at an auction at the last danish ammunition fabric Denex as a combined lot. I didn't know anything about the helmets, I just fought they looked cool, and I had to search the internet for answers for what I had just bought.

Researching the M96 helmets was a piece of cake since the manual followed with the helmets.

The Psh77 Titanium helmet was also easy enough when I discovered the tag with the helmets name on it, and after reading about the helmet on another forum, I was left with one question how the hell did that helmet end up in a danish ammunition fabric?

Finally, the M48 what my real question is about, the problem I have with these helmets, is that I have different types of them, some of them are magnetic, and some are not, and I got three different inner helmets, and tree different chinstraps, one is made out of leather.

I hope ther are some smart people who knows more about this, and can help me learn more about these exiting pieses of history I have bought.

[Greg Pickersgill]

The whole thing about the Danish M48 can be very confusing and difficult. The M1 type helmets were sourced both from the USA (bought as surplus after WW2) and later from European makers, usually Germany or Austria, and also were for a shert time in the 1950s made in Denmark (these shells are usually magnetic). The liners can be original US or European - the solid green plastic liners are Danish made and are the most commonly found. Any liner which looks like a WW2 US one but has a distinct red coloration (and usually a pervasive resinous smell) is also Danish - originally used by the military but soon passed over to the CF (Civil Defence).

There's a lot more to it that this but I think we'd need more photos to make any sort of halfway definitive assertions.

[laur454a]

It all seems very confusing. I have taken pictures of 3 some what different helmets. One helmets with a brown striped liner which is magnetic and the liner has a leather chinstrap. One with a blue liner which shell is magnetic. And one helmet with a green liner which chinstrap bucle can not move.

[Greg Pickersgill]

I know this is a perhaps foolish question, but have you taken out the liners? Are there any makers marks in the shells? Does the grey helmet have any numerals impresed into the underside of the rear rim? Any markings on the blue liner?

Danish M48 helmets ARE confusing. Very hard to make much sense of them. Here are some notes I made a few years ago (some of which may even be actually true...) -

This useful site, run by a pretty alert Danish collector - Military equipment of the 20th century: Danish M48 helmet / Hjelm M48 ( US M1 helmet and Austrian clone) - appears to say that the Red Liners were only used with the Euroclones, the magnetic, CF issue. But also that a 'resin' liner was used in the early days of the M48. I have not been able to ascertain exactly what that liner was.

The bits I feel confident about are that -

only non-magnetic shells, either made in the US, Denmark, or elsewhere in Europe, were issued to the Danish military

magnetic shells, all Euroclones, were issued to the CF

a resin or fibre liner similar to the standard US wartime liner was originally used in the M48

this was later replaced by the wellknown green plastic liner produced in Denmark by DKI (but when?)

military issue M48s are green, CF are grey (shells and liners both in both cases)

there is a characteristic Danish chinstrap which uses large round rivets to attach to the shell, and presence of that demonstrates a Euroclone (but were US-origin helmets also so retrofitted?)

there may not be anything that can be conclusively called a Danish M48 (OK, maybe stretching it a little there).

[Twthmoses]

The danish m/48 helmet Can be quite confusing, especially the Danish produced m/58 liner. What I can see you have is a 1st or 2nd version m/58 liner (the blue one), an original US liner (could be a diaward tho) and a mid version m/58 liner (green). You also have a daiward army shell, you hold on to that one. Getting rare. And a fix bale US shell. Better picture would be needed to tell if all this hold true.
Here is something to help you. You probably would love part 4, and it’s on my computer right now, just too lazy to take the photos to go with it but it will come eventually.

Danish M/48 helmet Part 1 (1945-1951), First batch, original US M1 Helmets.

Danish M/48 helmet Part 2 (1951-1952), second batch, The Diaward M1 Helmet.

Danish M/48 helmet, Part 3 (1953-1960), the Glastic shell, an M1 shell experiment

[Twthmoses]

On closer inspection the blue liner (does look gray in the second image, and it exist in gray too) has 1st issued webbing. 4-lane kaki. You need to take a good image of the outside dome to find out if it is also 1st issue plastic shell. There is a small circle there.
The green plastic liner is pre-1963 (still has napestrap) but has 3-lane webbing and od7 color. A mid make.
The last liner is an original US liner, looks like a Westinghouse. This Will fit nicely in the fix bale US shell you also have.
You got a diaward army shell, but not the original liner for that one. Can’t see the make of the last shell.
The two plastic liner (Danish m/58) are ment to replace All other liners, diaward and US liners, however they where introduce with new LS shells and later with U.SCH shells.

[Reibert]

Very interseting !

Danish Civilförsvaret (Civil Defence) M48 helmet (Danish M1 helmet version)

Danish Civilförsvaret M48 helmet (Danish M1 helmet version)

danés modelo OTAN 48