The M1918 helmet (also known as M18) is a steel military combat helmet used by Switzerland from its introduction in 1918 to its replacement by the M1971. In 1943 improvements would be made to the design to which it would be called the M1918/40. The helmet would be seen used by Swiss servicemen until the late 20th century.
The design was drawn up by Dr. Edward A. Gessler and Paul Boesh, director of the Swiss National Museum and sculptor in the Swiss General staff as a Lieutenant, respectively. [1]
The shape drawing from the German M16 Stahlhelm and sometimes being confused with the coincidentally developed experimental combat helmet Model 5 by the United States sharing the near-same general shape and liner design. [2] The shell being made from 1.15 mm manganese steel and painted in a drab green with the liner being similar to the M16 Stahlhelm's M17 liner with its three pads and clamp and hook chin strap attaching directly to the liner. The liner being attached to the shell not by rivets but by clamps keeping it in place, the shell having two ventilation holes towards the rear.
In 1943 most M18s were given a coat of matte black paint mixed with sawdust for a textured finish, as well as a new liner that only went around three-quarters of the circumference of the inside of the shell. New production helmets after this year having more shallow side skirts to its former model. Camouflage covers for the helmet were introduced in 1941; reversible from one of two patterns depending on the conditions. [3] A second type of camouflage cover was adopted in 1956 featuring a variant of the Swiss TAZ 57 pattern. The earlier M18 was exported to Argentina in the late 1930s and issued - as the M1938 - as its first combat steel helmet. [4] It was also used as a civil defense helmet painted a fluorescent yellow.
Around 603,000 units of both models would be produced throughout its career.
The Brodie helmet is a steel combat helmet designed and patented in London in 1915 by John Leopold Brodie. A modified form of it became the Helmet, Steel, Mark I in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the U.S. Colloquially, it was called the shrapnel helmet, battle bowler, Tommy helmet, tin hat, and in the United States the doughboy helmet. It was also known as the dishpan hat, tin pan hat, washbasin, battle bowler, and Kelly helmet. The German Army called it the Salatschüssel. The term Brodie is often misused. It is correctly applied only to the original 1915 Brodie's Steel Helmet, War Office Pattern.
The Stahlhelm is a specific type of German military headgear made of steel, which is primarily 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.
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The helmet cover was first used by French soldiers during World War I.
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The M34 is a steel combat helmet used by the Netherlands from its introduction in 1934 replacing the previous M23/27, to the invasion by Nazi Germany in 1940. From which it was replaced by the M53 helmet, a local copy of the American M1 helmet. A tropical variant of this helmet was produced for use by the Dutch East India Army in present-day Indonesia known as the KNIL model.
The SSh-39 and SSh-40 were two similar designs of steel combat helmet designed and used by the Red Army. They were the main forms of helmet in use during World War II and had only superficial differences.
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