Italian (?) Adrian Helmet

[openwire]

I picked this Adrian helmet up a few months ago under $100 and as near as I can tell it is Italian? Any thoughts are welcome, it is my first foray into metal helmets.

[Wolf]

Hello openwire,

Before I get to your helmet, here's a quick background on Italian WWI helmets.

Background:
After some attempts by the Farina company in Milan to manufacture body armor and helmets for the Italian army, Italy bought French Adrian M15 steel helmets.
The helmets supplied by France to Italy were standard models in the sky blue typical of the French army. The Italians modified these helmets and gave them the grey-green color introduced by the Italian Army in 1909. On some specimens there is also a hand-painted unit coat of arms, e.g. of the infantry or the attilery.
However, they not only used the helmets bought by France in action, but also used them to develop and manufacture their own, improved, version of the helmet by 1916. In contrast to the original, this no longer consisted of four steel parts, but of 2, which significantly simplified and thus accelerated production. In addition, the Italian model no longer had the characteristic ring above the helmet brim.

Your helmet is an Italian Adrian M15 in grey-green from French manufacture (four parts and ring above the helmet brim). In some places where the paint has flaked off, the original sky blue color can still be seen.

However, the helmet was modified at a later date and no longer has the original internal parts. This type of lining has only existed since WWII. Unfortunately, the helmet is no longer in its original condition, which also explains the low purchase price.

Nevertheless, in my opinion it is a good start to research more about the exciting history of steel helmets in WW1, for a low price.

For comparison here is a link to my own Italian Adrian M15 from French manufacture with a hand painted infantry insignia.

Italian Adrian steel helmet M1915 from World War I

I hope that could help you and you don't lose interest in collecting steel helmets. It's a really fascinating subject.

Best regards
Wolf