M54 Stahlhelm

[yossarianlives]

anyone know design/development and service history (if any) for this design?

when it is said that the M56 had its origins in a late-war wehrmacht prototype, is this the design that is referred to?

[yossarianlives]

anyone?

[galbaldy]

The one marked MD-54?

http://nva.bizhat.com/nvahelme.htm

[yossarianlives]

yes, that's the one.

never seen one 'in the flesh', or offered for sale for that matter.

[galbaldy]

Also, this article here seems to mention its history:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=60239

[duke6]

Hi:

I think that you are referring to the German late war "Thale" model. Ludwig Baer's " History of the German Stell Helmet 1916-1945" covers this model to some extent.

I hope that you find this useful,

Dave Day

[Rainpattern]

The M54 and M56 are 2 distinctly different helmets....
the M56 lineage can be traced back to the M45 late war Nazi helmet that didn't meet the fuhrer's approval...

[Rainpattern]

M54 helmets appear on ebay.de every few weeks...
be prepared to hand over a big chunk of cash