ill look forward to your better detailed pictures markim sure the helmet would look great when displayed to its full with its nape section in the correct position
ill look forward to your better detailed pictures mark
Sorry James on my smart phone so can't drop a link check out Brendans Helmet Blog there is an intresting example and some rather recent period images from the 70s and 80's .
Regards Mark
fair enough mark ,ill check it out on brendans
here's my Romanian M73 the shell is stamped 1976 the liner is ink stamped 1975
Last edited by battle gear; 04-09-2015 at 07:59 PM.
Thanx for posting your example up for comparison BG is there any physical differance in the liner on your
example compared to mine as the harness looks the same .
Regards Mark
Interesting helmet. As has been said was once hard to find, but now easier. Interested parties should make sure to check Romanian sellers on Ebay, where they will also find the quite outlandish paratroop version of this helmet.
I've long been perplexed by the idea that there are succeeding versions of the helmet beyond the basic M73. On the basis of finding *nothing* to prove it either way I have concluded that there's really only one version, but with a subset which has holes pierced in the front for the Romanian badge, specifically for ceremonial use. The Romanian badge is much smaller than the Dutch lion shield referred to, and is not permanently affixed, being similar to the French M26 insignia in that it is held by two metal prongs inserted through the shell. It's a brightly coloured little thing and obviously parade-use only. (You will see one at Rumano modelo 73 for example). Of course if we're referring to the original M34s as supplied by the Dutch, many of them did have the Romanian "King Carol" badge welded to the front, and that actually was almost the same size as the Dutch Lion badge. A genuine one of them is quite rare, as the badges were removed after the war.)
I also feel that the Romanian M73, while obviously modelled on the Dutch M34, is actually more similar to the Dutch KNIL helmet, in that it sits much more horizontally on a flat surface than does the M34, with considerably less curvaturre towards the rear. There's no doubt that the M73 is similar to the Dutch helmets, but it is also different.
I've seen a number of M73 and while there are minor manufacturing differences in the liners and straps (colour, cut etc) I don't believe there is more than one version.
Thank you Greg for that excellent analysis and I do concure that there really does not appear to be any real physical differance when comparing the M 73/80 to the M 73 with the exception of the above mentioned allowance for the frontal badge as mentioned by you.
And many thanx for the link some good information and pictorial comparisons included there.
Regards Mark
the liner on mine is a larger size without the extra felt padding around the inside against the shell, I think yours is the older style liner? or different varient than mine.by Mark K
I don't know whether this will add much to the story, but here are some (quite old) photographs of my first Romanian M73 and a Dutch M34. I got the Hollander when I was just starting out as a collector (as far back as...ooh...1999...yes, I know...) and for a while I was quite convinced it was a Romanian helmet! I was soon put right by the first couple of collectors I contacted (it was the first question I ever asked on a helmet-collectors forum). Anyway, in case its not familiar to you, the helmet is actually an ex-Army issue (see the green paint remaining in the crown) that was reissued to police units (possibly the then-collaborationist Marechausee) during the occupation. I got it on Ebay, in the days when there weren't that many helmets listed, and I had to send actual cash money by post, in an envelope, with a stamp on it, to a man in Montana, USA. The good part is that the postage rates weren't inaccessibly high then. The bad part was everything else - all the faff of it, the endless waiting for seamail, and so on. (Paypal was a real game-changer and the people who came up with it deserve every cent they make from it.)
Anyway, compare the way the two helmets sit on the horizontal, and look also at the nape-strap, much larger in the Romanian than the Dutchman. And of course the whole chinstrap rig is different. No question, the Romanians were influenced by the Dutch design, but remade it considerably.
There's no visible indication the M34 ever had a Lion badge affixed.
romanian comunist era .
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