DDR NVA M56 Stahlhelm

[Pauls1970]

Hi Guys,
Have been planning on acquiring one of these M56s for a while now & finally got a nice early one last week. It is an October 1958, sized 2, fitted with it's original M31 styled liner (held in place by the 3 rivets, one of the chinstrap bales has 58 stamped into it for sizing) & has the correct 58 type chinstrap fitted too. On the helmet outer (wearer's left side) there are the remains of the DDR decal, which under close magnification shows 'age cracking'. This is the first one I have handled & owned & in hand I was amazed at the quality of this helmet (liner,paint, construction) & glad to have gotten this early example. What drew me to this helmet was the fact that it was designed by the Wehrmacht & would have been the natural successor to the M35/42, although AH wasn't to keen on the design, it would be fair to say that he was losing a war when the B11 was presented to him, so not the best time to come up with a drastic style change, I would imagine if it had been peacetime, he would have seen the practicalities of this striking design, which I would imagine the designers also gave a great deal of thought too, makes you wonder in an alternative history it might have gone M35, M42, B11 (M56), early 80s the equivalent of the US PASGT ? Thank you to members who have posted their examples on the forum, very informative... the only thing I'm not to sure on is the E stamped inside the crown of the helmet...the manufacturer ?
Regards
Paul
Paul

[Blitzvogel]

Excellent purchase Paul, I remember seeing this on sale a while back. The helmet seems to be in a lovely condition for it's age. The ''E'' doesn't look like an official stamp to me, perhaps made by one of it's original period owners?

-Joel

[Pauls1970]

Thanks Joel, the seller couldn't have been any more helpful too ! This example ticked all the boxes for what I was looking for, judging by the smell I'd say it's spent most of it's life in storage, a link back to the 50s ! The design is iconic to the DDR, but it was the origins that drew me, a design way ahead of it's time with a distinct 'Stahlhelm' look to it, certain profile angles exemplify this, I feel there is a lot of 'bang for your buck' with this example, quite weighty too !
Regards
Paul

PS.
I'm sure I came across a thread somewhere, might have been on WAF, where a member also enquired about the E stamp, but don't remember there being an answer.

[Reibert]

Hi, mates, E means "Entmagnetisiert", (demagnetized),
Sometimes you can also find the E in the rim of M56 helmets.


Probably, some helmets were used, (for example), there:
NVA Funktechnische Truppen

[Pauls1970]

Thank you for this Reibert, I did wonder the reason, always an explanation.... somewhere !
Regards
Paul

[Reibert]

Hi, mates, E means "Entmagnetisiert", (demagnetized),
Sometimes you can also find the E in the rim of M56 helmets.
...

Here´s an example, I received today:


It seems, the helmet was manufactured in 1961 in size I (the smallest size).