1934 PERIOD ALLGEMEINE SS MODEL18 STYLE TRANSITION HELMET WITH DYE STRUCK SS AND RZM ACCEPTANCE STAMPINGS

This item is an extremely rare Model 18 Allgemeine SS transition helmet. Despite its the superficial loss of a portion of some of its outer coat of paint on the crown, which has exposed an under layer of black primer paint, together with some minor age cracks and miscellaneous chips in its outer coat of paint in other spots, this helmet continues to exhibit an impressive appearance that would merit it a place of distinction in any German WW II helmet collection.

While basically styled on the World War I Model 18 style helmet, the 1934 SS Transition helmet was constructed from lighter gauge steel which was painted black inside and out.

On the right side of the shell the helmet bears a shield, with SS runes in it, that was hand painted in white paint and is 1 and 3/8 inches wide by 1 & 7/8 inches tall. As can be easily seen in the photo shown left, this shield's upper left corner has been clipped with a slanted border for purposes of style.

The left side of the helmet also bears a hand painted shield which shows the national colors of black, white and red. Like the SS shield, this one is also 1 & 3/8" wide by 1 & 7/8" tall. Unlike the SS shield, however, none of the corners of the national colors shield were clipped. A physical inspection of both shields confirms that they have obviously been on this helmet for many years.

Pictured ABOVE is a full view of the right side of the SS transition helmet. Clearly visible in this photo are some of the minor dings and chips, to include the loss of some of the outer coat of black paint near its dome. The SS rune shield seen on this side of the item was actually hand painted on the helmet shell and is not a decal.

Pictured LEFT is a view of the full left side view of this SS transition helmet. Clearly visible in this photo is the hand painted red/white and black national colors shield. While not easy to see, the shield has two small chips in it which exposed the base metal underneath, causing it to rust at these two points. The visible texture of the helmet under the shield, as well as the rust points noted above, suggests that this shield has been on this helmet for many years. The loss of upper surface paint at points on the dome is also visible in this shot.

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