Archive for December 2023
The Tsar’s French Helmet, the Imperial Russian Adrian
An Experiment on the Northern Front As the Great War raged across Europe in the winter of 1916, a steamship named St. Peter docked at Arkhangelsk, a northern sub-arctic port town in the Russian Empire. The ship had come from Brest, France and carried in it’s hold 15,000 French steel helmets. These helmets were part of an experiment, destined for the Russia’s Imperial army. Like all…
Read MoreThe German helmet of the Normandy Campaign
A helmet customized for Battle Some of the most unique German helmets of WWII were worn during the Battle for Normandy. The terrain of thick green hedgerows, rolling green meadows, golden fields and orchards created diverse but deadly battlefields; one that necessitated good helmet camouflage for survival. To help their helmets blend into this environment,…
Read MoreAluminum Oxide and the German helmet
Original factory finish on Luftwaffe 1941 production helmet Anyone who has handed and original war-time production German helmet will notice that in most cases they exhibit a rough textured finish. Starting in March 1940 German helmet factories were ordered to produce a rough textured matte finish on their helmets. This was achieved in most cases…
Read MoreSinister in Black, the Pre-War Helmet of the SS
A Infamous Helmet If there is one helmet that is universally recognized as epitomizing the evil of the Nazis regime, it would be the shiny black helmet worn by the SS in the 1930s. It is hard to pinpoint exactly why. This type of helmet never saw combat. It wasn’t worn by concentration camp guards…
Read MoreSpecters in the Snow, the story of Finland’s Skeleton Helmet
A Savage Snow War On a freezing day in January 1940, near the village of Muurila, a Red Army soldier crept through the snow. He placed himself as close to a tent, as he dared; he knew it contained his Finnish enemy. He lobbed his grenade and waited for the consequences to unfold. This hostile…
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