Stahlhelm 5 WWII Canada

The ''Stahlhelm'' () is a German military steel combat helmet intended to provide protection against shrapnel and fragments of grenades. The term ''Stahlhelm'' refers both to a generic steel helmet and more specifically to the distinctive German military design.

The armies of major European powers introduced helmets of this type during World War I. The German Army began to replace the traditional boiled leather ''Pickelhaube'' () with the ''Stahlhelm'' in 1916. The ''Stahlhelm'', with its distinctive "coal scuttle" shape, was instantly recognizable and became a common element of propaganda on both sides, just like the ''Pickelhaube'' before it. The name was also used by ''Der Stahlhelm'', a post–World War I organization for German ex-servicemen that existed from 1918 to 1935. After World War II, the German () continued to call their standard helmet ''Stahlhelm'', but the design was based on the American M1 helmet. The ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' (), however, continued to use the original German design, until both troops switched to the new M92 Aramid helmet.

Development

At the beginning of World War I, none of the combatants were issued with any form of protection for the head other than cloth and leather caps, designed at most to protect against sabre cuts. When trench warfare began, the number of casualties on all sides suffering from severe head wounds (more often caused by shrapnel bullets or shell fragments than by gunfire) increased dramatically, since the head was typically the most exposed part of the body when in a trench. The French were the first to see a need for more protection—in mid-1915 they began to issue Adrian helmets to their troops. The British and Commonwealth troops followed with the Brodie helmet (a development of which was also later worn by US forces) and the Germans with the ''Stahlhelm''.

As the German army behaved hesitantly in the development of an effective head protection, some units developed provisional helmets in 1915. Stationed in the rocky area of the Vosges the Army Detachment "Gaede" recorded significantly more head injuries caused by stone and shell splinters than did troops in other sectors of the front. The artillery workshop of the Army Detachment developed a helmet that consisted of a leather cap with a steel plate (6 mm thickness). The plate protected not only the forehead but also the eyes and nose.

The helmet was quite deep relative to the thickness of the steel; one American company that tried to press similar thickness steel into the shape of the much shallower Brodie helmet was unable to do so. The original WW1 version helmet was not bullet-resistant to pistol rounds such as 9mm Luger and 45 ACP. The steel quality by WW2 had improved enough to where it would stop low velocity handgun rounds such as .380 ACP and 45 ACP as demonstrated by ballistic test videos on YouTube.

History

The design of the ''Stahlhelm'' was carried out by Dr Friedrich Schwerd of the Technical Institute of Hanover. In early 1915, Schwerd had carried out a study of head wounds suffered during trench warfare and submitted a recommendation for steel helmets, shortly after which he was ordered to Berlin. Schwerd then undertook the task of designing and producing a suitable helmet, broadly based on the 15th-century sallet, which provided good protection for the head and neck.

After lengthy development work, which included testing a selection of German and Allied headgear, the first ''stahlhelm'' were tested in November 1915 at the Kummersdorf Proving Ground and then field-tested by the 1st Assault Battalion. Thirty thousand examples were ordered, but it was not approved for general issue until New Year of 1916, hence it is most usually referred to as the "Model 1916". In February 1916 it was distributed to troops at Verdun, following which the incidence of serious head injuries fell dramatically. The first German troops to use this helmet were the stormtroopers of the ''Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr)'', which was commanded by captain Willy Rohr.

In contrast to the Hadfield steel used in the British Brodie helmet, the Germans used a harder martensitic silicon/nickel steel. As a result, and also due to the helmet's form, the ''Stahlhelm'' had to be formed in heated dies at a greater unit cost than the British helmet, which could be formed in one piece.

Like the British and French, German troops identified highly with their helmets, as it became a popular symbol of paramilitary groups after the First World War. Such was the attachment of the World War One generation to the design that it was reportedly the reason that Hitler rejected a modernised, sloping helmet design to replace it.

''Stahlhelm'' use in other countries

Germany exported versions of the M1935 helmet to various countries. Versions of the M1935 ''Stahlhelm'' were sent to Republic of China from 1935 to 1936 and the M1935 was the main helmet of the Chinese Nationalist Army (especially the "central" divisions) during World War II. Spain also received shipments of the helmet. During the inter-war years, several military missions were sent to South America under the command of Hans Kundt, after Chaco War

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