Original French WWII M1926 Adrian Helmet with Chinstrap & French Air Force Badge - Replacement Liner

Item DescriptionOriginal Item: Only One Available. This is a nice genuine World War II M1926 French Army Air Force 'Adrian' helmet. The helmet retains some of the original olive green paint and has an original WWII eraRF(République Française) 'Winged Star' marked Air Force badge attached to the front. The helmet shell is in great shape with some of the paint retained, and the original chinstrap is stretched taut over the brim.The liner currently attached may be a later replacement as the grommets appear very new, but it could just have survived well. The size is roughly 7.The chin strap is still present, though it is stretched taut over the front brim due to the leather shrinking, so it should be handled with care. This is a great helmet with lots of character, ready for further research and display.The M15 Adrian helmet (French: Casque Adrian) was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. It was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by the new technique of indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews.In 1926 the Adrian helmet was modified by being constructed of stronger steel and simplified by having the main part of the helmet stamped from one piece of metal, and therefore without the joining rim around the helmet that characterizes the M15. The large ventilation hole under the comb, which had been a weak point of the old design, was also replaced with a series of small holes. The M26 helmet continued in use with the French Army until after World War II, and was also used by the French police up to the 1970s.During the interwar period Belgium began to produce their own domestically made M26 Adrians and exported them around the globe. These helmets can be distinguished from their French counterparts, because they have a slightly different comb and a wider rim. In other countries the Adrian-type helmets were also in use with the fire-fighting units, railway guards or marine infantry (e.g. Japan's SNLF). Adrian helmets are still prized by collectors today.Shipping RestrictionsThis product is available for international shipping.Payment OptionsEligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle