M26 Adrian Helmet - Casque Adrian

he just sent me these pics ............and told me he's already bought the helmet to! ...... so i guess im probably gonna have to buy it, regardless of it's type/history I dont mind really (not too expensive, about 20).

To me the pictures look good, again no badge,liner or chin strap but the paint seems good. It looks to be like the Gendarme helmet you posted earlier - you think?

My friend also said, the guy he bought the helmet off of, had bought it from a vet.

What do you think Skipper?

 

You may be right, but it's hard to tell 100% from a picture. According to the crest this is possibly a former green helmet that was repainted in black after the war, so yes it looks like a Gendarme model and would need the golden flame insignia (this seems to be the one that was there according to the shades on the paint in the front). You could also get a square DP insiginia to turn it into a home front helmet. The condition is good and it has the four clips inside for the liner. 20 is a fair price.

 

Thanks again Skipper.......when i get my hands on it, i'll have a good look all round, and check about the paint some more ........as you say it might have been 'a former green helmet painted black after the war' - if that was the case, would the helmet have almost certainly been used for a different purpose after the war?

 

Many Adrians were painted in green in 1945 and recycled until the new 1951 model helmet started replacing it. The 1945 repainted Adrians are almost olive drap (like the first one I posted). when police forces needed helms too, they simply used army helmets and painted them black. Some were second hand so it is not rare to discover another color under the black coat of paint.

 

Right, well as i say when i get it, i'll do some investigating with the paint .


Out of curiosity if i did discover green paint under the darker / black paint (well if it is black).... would it be an easy / difficult task to remove the darker paint, while still keeping the green beneath. ( I kind of would rather the originial paint to show - and possibly get a badge for it at some point ) ......or would that even be worthwhile ? ( I have the patience )


In general I tend not to really mess with helmets / other items I buy other then clean them up a bit or possibly stop them from falling apart as I like to leave them in their original condition.


Skipper - do you ever fix-up or restore any of the items you purchase (in this particular case helmet related)......or do you tend to leave them be?

 

Actually, in regards to that last question about do you ever fix-up or restore any of the items you purchase (in this particular case helmet related)......or do you tend to leave them be?

Anyone else - feel free to say what you, do / think

 

Oh, yes I always restore the original paint whenever possible. If the paint is still there, I will try get it back in its original status. I also stop the rust with tranparent shoe polish (this does not affect the original state and you can always remove it if needed).
Most helmets I get are quite rusted, but if you carefully take off the first layer of rust with alcohol and not too abrassive iron straws (the kind you use to clean burnt pans, but much smaller) you can get some paint back . I tend not to repaint them until the original paint is gone forever.
Some purist will say not to touch them at all, but if you don't stop the rust your helmet may be gone within a generation, so some polish and or paint may be a good compromise.
I fthe helmet is 100% rusted and impossible to repaint Iwill just protect it with a cream composed with graphite. (like in grey pencils) this will cover the rust and give it a "used" metal aspect.

The leather I restore with a tiny drop of beef hoof oil (it will feed the leather and restore it's elasticity without staining the uniforms.

 

It's extremely hard to find a Romanian colored Arian helmet picture , the serbian seems to be a challenge too, but here are two olde rone sin black in white, too bad for the color scheme. the site is awesome by the ay and has Aide de camp and Medic helmets too

Vestiges Militaria



M-15 Serbian



M-15 Romanian

Alos note the Mustard brown from the M-26 was nothing new it was already there on the colonial M-15 helmet.

 

Bingo I got a colored M-15 Serbian pic and it was : Mustard brown , same for the romanian and the Russian



http://i11.servimg.com/u/f11/11/01/38/53/casque18.jpg

 

Again , WOW..........im starting to relise that there is many, many different types of Adrian helmets out there!


From looking at the pictures of the M-15's and M-26's .....I realise that the 'actual' structure of the helmets (minus the different badges of course) for all the different countries seems almost identical.

So, Skipper - I wonder does this mean that France manufactued all / most of these helmets and them exported them to the likes of Romanina, Russia, Serbia and the colanies?

Or were 'the rights' (sort of speak) sold out / outsourced to manufactures with-in, each of those countries.

Or perhaps like the 'Belgian M-31 derived Adrian' .....other countries and allies just taught the Adrain was a 'good design' (even though the M-15 maybe not the easiest to manufacture with it's three part construction and crest) and so designed a like-wise helmet such as the M-31 ??


P.S...... some of those helmets in the pictures look really nice.......do you own any of them?

 

Thanks for this link. (I only saw it now)...........there's some very good examples to be seen!

 

No problem. They also mentionne dhte helmets were manufactured in France (12 million from day one until Victory day) .

The helmets i showed on this thread are mostly not mine (except the green one ) but the ones below are from my collection.

 

and this little fellow was in the mail today:




I did nothing but clean the rust, wash it and protect it with some polish. It still needs a new liner, but that's another matter.

 

There very nice Skipper..........I really like the Helmet with the engineering badge and veteran's plaque.....would the vets begiven these plaques or have to get them made themselves?

 

oh wait, I just found this:

De plus, par décret en date du 18 décembre 1918, le gouvernement français reconnaissant attribue une plaquette à chaque officier ou soldat ayant appartenu à une formation des armées.

translated with the help of Google Translate

Moreover, by decree dated 18 December 1918, recognizing the French Government awards a plaque to each officer or soldier who belonged to an army training.

(I can get the jist of that)​

 

Only WWI vets were allowed to wear those. They were issued in 1920 I believe. In theory they were made for the M-15 Adrian , but I tried them on the M-26 and it fits too.

Here is another one from my personnal collection with vet plate.

 

close enough , that would be 1919 then unless they mad ethem within a few days.

here is another M-26 from my collection.

 

The vet plate really makes them look smart ...... im now in envy!


Im guessing that the vet plates would certainly be even harder to come across then most of the actual helmet badges.

Would they ' up ' the price of a complete helmet by much?

 

I found a little more information about the vet plates, again with help from Google translate.....(I was'nt really a language person in school )


Ainsi, l’article premier stipule que chacun recevra cette plaquette munie des inscriptions suivantes: ( nom et grade), Soldat de la Grande Guerre 1914-1918.
L’article 2 quant à lui, prévoit qu’une plaquette portant les mêmes inscriptions serait remis sur sa demande à la famille de tout militaire décédé ayant appartenu à une formation des armées. Cette « plaquette souvenir », pour utiliser la terminaison officielle, est en laiton repoussé, épousant parfaitement la forme de la visière du casque à laquelle elle doit être rivée. Son motif central est un ovale où figure les inscriptions sur 2 voir 3 lignes si les noms et grades sont apposés, le tout encadré de deux branches de lauriers.

Thus, the first article stipulates that each will receive this plaque bearing the following inscriptions: (name and grade), Soldier of the Great War 1914-1918.
Article 2 meanwhile, provides a plaque bearing the same inscriptions would be back on its request to the family of any deceased soldier who belonged to an army training. This "memory plate", to use the official termination, brass is postponed, fully embracing the shape of the visor of the helmet to which it must be fixed. Its central motif is an oval, which contains entries on 2 or 3 lines if the names and ranks are affixed, all flanked by two laurel branches.


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In my own opinion, I think that's a pretty cool thing, as often times a soldier's helmet is one of the most important items (if not the most) he will carry with him into battle and therefore - it's nice to decorate the helmet with these nice plates after the war.

​

 

Vet plates can be found for about 15 euros , they were rivetted on the helmets , but collectors often put them on helmets without ties, so that you can move the plate from helmet to helmet from time to time.
Interested to read the article by the way, this means that relatives could also receive a souvenir plate (only upon request)
I forgot to say that M-15 Adrian helmets were also used in Greece and Siam