Original German WWI KIA / Battle Damaged M16 Mail Home Helmet
Up for sale is a superb example of an original German WWI M16 Steel combat helmet, complete with the original liner and mail home label! These helmets are extremely difficult to find in a complete state, let alone with mail home labels – making this helmet very desirable. The leather pads show signs of sweat stains indicating usage, as well as giving the inside a nice character. These M16 liners were typically issued during the early war period of WWI. Thus we can infer that the helmet may have been produced around 1916 and used until around 1918 (As the USA first started fighting in 1918).
A very nice feature of this helmet is that the shell shows battle damage. The bullet entered at an angle from the lower left facing side of the helmet, and exited near the chinstrap lug on the right facing side. Interestingly due to the angle of impact, it is likely a KIA piece. Another interesting aspect of this helmet is the mail home label. Mail home labels are indicative of battlefield pick ups, sent back as souvenirs. This helmet is truly a textbook example and would be a center piece of any WWI collectors collections!
Up for sale is a superb example of an original German WWI M16 Steel combat helmet, complete with the original liner and mail home label! These helmets are extremely difficult to find in a complete state, let alone with mail home labels – making this helmet very desirable. The leather pads show signs of sweat stains indicating usage, as well as giving the inside a nice character. These M16 liners were typically issued during the early war period of WWI. Thus we can infer that the helmet may have been produced around 1916 and used until around 1918 (As the USA first started fighting in 1918).
A very nice feature of this helmet is that the shell shows battle damage. The bullet entered at an angle from the lower left facing side of the helmet, and exited near the chinstrap lug on the right facing side. Interestingly due to the angle of impact, it is likely a KIA piece. Another interesting aspect of this helmet is the mail home label. Mail home labels are indicative of battlefield pick ups, sent back as souvenirs. This helmet is truly a textbook example and would be a center piece of any WWI collectors collections!
Up for sale is a superb example of an original German WWI M16 Steel combat helmet, complete with the original liner and mail home label! These helmets are extremely difficult to find in a complete state, let alone with mail home labels – making this helmet very desirable. The leather pads show signs of sweat stains indicating usage, as well as giving the inside a nice character. These M16 liners were typically issued during the early war period of WWI. Thus we can infer that the helmet may have been produced around 1916 and used until around 1918 (As the USA first started fighting in 1918).
A very nice feature of this helmet is that the shell shows battle damage. The bullet entered at an angle from the lower left facing side of the helmet, and exited near the chinstrap lug on the right facing side. Interestingly due to the angle of impact, it is likely a KIA piece. Another interesting aspect of this helmet is the mail home label. Mail home labels are indicative of battlefield pick ups, sent back as souvenirs. This helmet is truly a textbook example and would be a center piece of any WWI collectors collections!