NETHERLANDS
After an enormous amount of peering
at photographs with
a magnifying glass I now believe this
is a M28. It has a more pronounced
sweep and curve to the edges than
the later M34.
I am sure it would all have been easier if I had actually seen
a genuine M34 with my trusty Mk 1 Eyeball - working from photographs
is so difficult.
This helmet is known as the M23-27
and as the M28 Nieuw Model.
It was the third of a series of
helmets produced in the Netherlands
from original designs
Collector Graham Pendreigh gave me a lot of useful information; it is likely that this helmet was used by the Dutch Mareechaussee, a national police service, during the Occupation of WW2. The Mareechaussee predated the war (and indeed still exist) but were co-opted by collaborationists during the Occupation and lost much public support, since regained.
At some point the coat of black paint was rubbed off this area at the back, and it is clear that there is a coat of Dutch army bottle green below it, the same color as is obvious in the shots of the interior.
See indecipherable stamping and date on liner band.
See bottle-green paint still on inside of shell. Outer shell was obviously repainted black after original issue.
There are no identifying marks or insignia save a '717' scored into the underside of the the front brim, and a date of '193?' on the liner band. There is no indication that a Dutch army badge was ever attached.
A clone of the US M1, made by the
Verblifa concern in the Netherlands,
in the 1950s. Identifiable by the
'VB' followed by a number stamped
under the brim and the unusual arrowhead
type chinstrap fastener.
Thanks to Michele Tagliavini for
this vital information when
I was an even more ignorant beginner
than I am now!
Dutch-made post WW2 British Mk2
clones are also easily identifiable
by the VB+number stamping and the
arrowhead chinstrap fastener.
(The Dutch-made mk2 clones are
sometimes mis-labelled in British
shops as US M1917A's.
Beware.)
I have a query regarding the Dutch-produced British mk 2 clones that came out just after WW2; many of those I have seen are without the rubber cross-shaped crown pad. Is this 'normal' in that they were made without it, or have they been removed at some time since the 1950s? Information please!
A friendly and helpful Dutch collector passed on this information regarding the Netherlands-produced British mk2 clones :-
"On your question on Dutch Mk2 clones. These were manufactured for the Dutch civil defense in the early 50ties, This service was abandoned in the 1980s. All stock was sold off. The cross section of the liner should be in place just the same way as in the British orginal. The civil defense helmet had a chinstrap like the Dutch M53 combat helmet, it also could be completed with a leather neckguard with was seperate from the liner."
Henk van der Waarensburg