I was reading this old post about the value of an M18 cut-out helmet and it seemed to me there was some confusion about these rare helmets. This made me decide to make a new thread about mine…

According Ludwig Baer’s book, 2100 test helmets with cut-out were shipped in August 1918 to several locations for trials and experiences had to be reported by December 1918. They had also the intention of further supplies of test helmets in September and October. It’s not clear if they did supply the extra helmets in September and October.

These 2100 test helmets had some specific characteristics:

- The chinstrap is attached directly to the liner band and is in two pieces with a carabine hook and a buckle.
- To improve the hearing, the helmet has a half-moon shaped cut out of approximately 20 by 60 mm on each side of the brim.
- The surface of the test helmet was covered with a felt finish. This finish was in fact anti-glare and because of that, a cloth cover wasn’t needed anymore. Also camouflaging the helmet with mud was easier than on the smooth surface of a painted helmet. The liner rivets are the standard felgrau ones as they were installed after the helmet was sprayed with the felt.
- All of the 2100 test helmets were produced by Thale and have size 64. The ET64 stamp is located on the wearer’s left side on the brim.

Regarding all the previous and a lot of other articles, books etc. about this subject, it seems that only the helmets with the felt finish, produced by Thale and in size 64, can be used before November 11 1918 with certainty…
Of course (but I’ve seen no proof of that yet) it’s possible that other cut-out helmets were delivered in September and October 1918 and maybe those are the camouflaged ones that are sometimes encountered? In my opinion all the other cut-outs are used after WW1, which of course doesn’t mean they aren’t rare or desirable…

Ok, here are the pictures…

Adler