got myself a swiss helmet

[necropimp]

i recently bought a K31 and with my idea of getting the proper helmet to go with my firearms i ran to ebay to get the helmet...

now i'd like some help reading the markings since they are not exactly clear

now for some photos

helmet on my head (webcam pic)

inside of helmet

and some pics of the markings on the bit of leather at the front of the liner

also on one of the 2 side pieces is the letter A

i've got this same post at a handful of other forums trying to see if anyone can read these faded markings

 

[Zbojnik]

Well, it's a Swiss M-18 helmet. Can't tell from pics if it's the m-18-40 variant. The picture are a little to blurry for me to read.

 

[Wolfstuka]

That helmet is pretty cool looking it looks kind of like the ww2 German helmets(the coolest looking helmets and also that I personally own)
How heavy is it?

 

[necropimp]

why would anyone say it looks like a german helmet... not even close... and it's not all that heavy

 

[Zbojnik]

why would anyone say it looks like a german helmet... not even close... and it's not all that heavy

Looks rather similar to the M-16 from WWI.

 

[necropimp]

http://www.serviceofsupply.com/images/OriginalSale/SwissHelmetFull.jpg
http://www.military-steel-helmets-and-decals.com/images/M16_Resto.jpg

not seeing it

 

[Zbojnik]

http://www.serviceofsupply.com/images/OriginalSale/SwissHelmetFull.jpg
http://www.military-steel-helmets-and-decals.com/images/M16_Resto.jpg

not seeing it

How are you not seeing it. It's basically the same shape with the M-18 being flattenned out and having a gentler slope and removal of the two lugs. The only reason the M-18 was developed was to differentiate the Swiss soldiers from Germans on the border. The Swiss were using the German M-16 helmet.

 

[necropimp]

the differences are excessively obvious... the helmets do not look alike

 

[Wolfstuka]

necropimp are you offended by the idea that the swiss helmet might look somewhat like a german helmet because you sure seem to have gotten hostile about it
Also notice that everyone else seems to agree that they look simliar

 

[necropimp]

i'm just wondering how anyone can see a similarity... i've handled more german helmets in my life than i could ever dream of owning (helped a friend with a rather large collection pack them up when he moved)

i would love to have a german helmet... but the price of even a reproduction helmet is just too high

and i would never consider my swiss helmet to be even remotely close to being "close enough"

 

[Wolfstuka]

well it doesn't matter much its a fine helmet none the less.
If you are interested in an original ww2 German helmet I would suggest checking out the helmets at Atthefront.com.
I bought an m42 from there last year.

 

[Zbojnik]

Yes, picking up a M42 is regularly inexpensive compared to other helmets. Dish out about $300-400 and some searching and you can get a quality one.

 

[necropimp]

yes and that is way too much for a helmet.... my helmet budget is $50 per helmet... if you can point me to some good repros around that price... please do so... i spent $15 for my Czech M52 (which kinda goes with my mosin being that it's russian-ish but will go perfectly with the cz52 i plan to buy) and $26 for my swiss helmet

i'd rather spend $300-400 on a gun or 2 (or 3 or 4 depending on what i'd get)

 

[Hardware]

check gun shows, might get lucky

 

[[RWTD]Burn[GKR]]

I kind of agree with Necropimp on this one. It doesn't look much like a M16 helmet to me, no more so than most helmets of that era and region at least. I have both an original German M16 and an Austrian parade helmet and properly identifying these things is a royal pain do because so many of them having similar designs.

http://burnfan0.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/helmets3small.jpg

This is a great site for identifying helmets.

http://www.german-helmets.com/QUICK ID MAIN.htm


BTW Necropimp. Pick up that room. It's a disaster!!!

 

[Zbojnik]

yes and that is way too much for a helmet.... my helmet budget is $50 per helmet... if you can point me to some good repros around that price... please do so... i spent $15 for my Czech M52 (which kinda goes with my mosin being that it's russian-ish but will go perfectly with the cz52 i plan to buy) and $26 for my swiss helmet

i'd rather spend $300-400 on a gun or 2 (or 3 or 4 depending on what i'd get)

Your not going to get anything original, that's really worth something for that Price. You should pic up a Bulgarian M36C helmet, they go for as little as $25, and have pretty big resemblance to the M35. Look on eBay. You can also get Swedish M21 High Models for under $50.