Why did German soldiers wear horned helmets?

In the mid-1930s, German military experts came to the conclusion that the helmet of the 1916 model did not fully meet the requirements of the time: it was designed primarily to protect against lead shrapnel bullets, but in the 1930s shrapnel was no longer the main type of artillery shells for field artillery and the army helmet was supposed to provide protection against larger and heavier fragments of high-explosive shells.

To develop a new version of the steel helmet, designers were involved, who, together with the military, managed to choose the optimal combination of protective properties of the helmet while reducing its weight, along the way, the issues of cheapening and improving the manufacturability were resolved.

Changing the role of infantry in the war, increasing its mobility, abandoning positional battles, in which maximum head protection was the main function of the helmet, led to a reduction in the size of the visor and the back of the head. The helmet began to be stamped from alloy carbon steel with the addition of molybdenum. The thickness of the sheet ranged from 1 to 1.15 mm. The helmet made of such steel withstood pressure up to 220 kg per mm2, which provided protection even from large fragments and pistol bullets. As a result, the German helmet M35 visually became more streamlined and plastic, and its contour became more refined and stylish. The image of a Wehrmacht soldier with a sharp shadow cast by a visor on a manly face turned into a common stamp of German propaganda.

A balaclava of eight leather (sometimes nine) petals with holes for ventilation was pulled together from above with a leather cord (during operation it was replaced with improvised material, for example, ordinary shoe laces). The chin strap, designed to fix the helmet on the head, was made of calfskin. The frame buckle securely fixed the required size. The balaclava and belt were attached to a special spring-loaded hoop-frame, which provided maximum comfort during movement and in case of a strong impact. Luftwaffe parachutists used the Stahlhelm M35 until 1936, then it turned out that the standard M35 did not fit, either it flew off the parachutist’s head with a loosely fixed strap, or caused the parachutist to suffocate with a very tightly fixed strap. Also, the protruding fields of the helmet hit the parachutist’s temples when landing.

In 1940, the M35 helmet was modernized: the manufacture of ventilation holes was simplified, they began to be made by stamping, and not in the form of individual parts; the composition of steel was changed, molybdenum was replaced with less scarce manganese and silicon. This model was named M40.

In the summer of 1942, the helmet manufacturing technology changed. The expensive and lengthy process of rolling the edge was replaced by flanging, at the same time the quality of the steel sheet from which the helmet was made deteriorated — it became softer. Alloying and additives of molybdenum and manganese had to be abandoned due to a shortage of alloying elements in Germany. The new model was named Stahlhelm M42.

In addition to the design, ergonomics and shape, its coloring played an important role in the appearance of the helmet. Before the outbreak of hostilities, the color of the helmet did not have a pronounced camouflage character: it was painted in a dull gray-green “feldgrau” color and decals and identification emblems were applied to it. The Land Forces (Heer), on the right — the national heraldic shield in white, red and black sloping stripes, on the left — the white and silver eagle of the Wehrmacht on a black field. Since 1940, only the Wehrmacht decal has remained, they were no longer applied to the M42. Until the end of the war, the troops received helmets with decals from warehouses, but their number was small.

The color of the helmet began to change depending on the time of year, the place of battles and the type of troops. By the middle of the war, the art of helmet camouflage with the help of special covers and nets had spread most widely. A simple solution was the rim made of rubber from the camera of a car tire, under which it was convenient to attach foliage and branches.

Helmet model 1935 of the soldiers of the Kuomintang army

Since 1942, the helmet has been accompanied by a cover made of protective fabric “Tseltban31”. For the winter, such a cover was made of white fabric and attached to the helmet with a lace pulled under the rim of the lapels. The protective fabric “Tseltban 31” was obtained after applying light or dark green and brown medium-sized geometric shapes and thin gray-green dashes crossing each other and creating the illusion of ripples on a swamp-colored cotton base. With sewn 5-7 loops for attaching masking branches and leaves and a rope net for masking the face, such a cover has become an integral part of the real life of a soldier.