Danish M/46 helmet

M/46 helmet 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The M/46 helmet was a failed attempt to make a helmet to replace the large amount of British Mk. II's, Mk. III's, Mk. IV's and Swedish M/37 in service with the Danish army in the aftermath of WWII.  

Production began in 1946 and was undertaken by the company Glud og Marstrand. The same company that produced the M/23 helmets before the war.
Right after the war they had begun production again and approximately 4700 M23/41 helmets for the navy were produced. Glud og Marstrand were the only company in Denmark with the capacity to produce the M/46 helmets in the numbers needed.

The M/46 helmet borrowed the shape of the shell from the Swedish M/37 helmet. For the untrained eye they look almost similar. The liner is often the best way to tell which one is which. The M/46 were made with two different type of liners. The first liners were scavenged Mk. II helmet liners! Later they made a US Style liner with webbing and plastic for the helmets used by the civil defence. Both type M/46 helmets used a US style chinstrap. Made out of khaki webbing. 

The chinstrap bales are fixed and spot-welded in place making the straps prone to breaking when used over a long period of time.  

They are found with a greyish / green coarse paint job. ( they mixed the paint with sand) and a smotth grey paint job. (For CF use) 

A total of 30.000 helmets were produced, and most ended up with the navy (they stopped using them in 1951) and the Civilforsvaret (civil defence). It was never adopted by the army (officially), since they adopted the US M1 helmet in 1948. (M/48)  

------------------------------------------------------------

Above: The front of the helmet.

Above: The rear of the helmet

Above: The interior. Notice the Mk. II helmet liner. 

Above: The chinstrap and buckle. It is made out of webbing and brass.

Above: Chinstrap bale... Spot-welded in place. 

----------------------------------------------

 Above: Swedish M/37 helmet for comparison.

Czech FM3d gas mask - Danish civil denfence gas mask "Model F" 1940,

The FM series masks were used by Czechoslovakia, Germany (after 1940), The Netherlands, France and a few numbers were purchased by Statens Civile Luftværn during WWII. 

Statens Civile Luftværn = A Danish governmental organisation that was founded in 1939 as a part of the "Indenrigsministeriet" - the Danish equivalent to the British Home Office, to help the civil population if under aerial attack. 

----------------------------------------------

History: 

The FM series masks were produced from the late 1930s into the early first half of the 1940s by the Czech companies: Fatra, Chema, Horak and Kudrnac.

The factory codes for the different companies are: 

Fatra: F

Chema: CH

Horak: H

Kurdrnac: K

The FM masks were originally made solely by Fatra since they were the ones with the patent for the masks.

After the annexation the Germans took over production, and used the masks for antiaircraft units. That is why some FM masks are found with a Waffenamt proof stamp. 

In Denmark the 'Statens Civile Luftværn' was in desperate need of gas masks during the first years of the war. The M38 civilian gas masks had not been made in sufficient numbers before the war, and since the Danish government already had bought some helmets from Czechoslovakia for the DSB (Danish State Railways), they bought a number of gas masks as well. They bought the "Dutch" version with the 40mm thread, since all gas masks in Danish service (M31 and M38) already used 40mm filters.

In Denmark the masks was designated: Arbejdsgasmaske Model F

Regarding the filter: 
There has been a lot of speculations about, whether the filter contained any harmful materials, or not.
The Danish guide mentions that the filter is made of a carbon filter (for filtering chemicals / gasses) and a paper layer for larger particles. It is however NOT made for carbon-monoxide filtering, and it is useless against smoke produced by an ordinary fire.
There is no asbestos in the original Czech filters, but please do NOT use the filters. They have been bashed around for more than 60 years, and whatever there is inside of them does not belong in your lungs.

If you have to parade around with the mask, always do it without the filter, no matter what kind of filter it is. The British WWII filters DO contain asbestos, and are best kept a long way from children. 

--------------------------------

My own FM3d gas mask came in its original container, and the only thing missing is the anti-dimming gel. It is often the only thing missing from the war time gas masks, since it was taken out before the masks were put into storage after the war.

It is absolute mint condition, and there is still talcum on the mask. The rubber is soft and very pliable, and all valves work properly. The filter is still sealed with the original cap and tape. 

The shoulder strap is not adjustable, but the pamphlet suggest that you tie a knot on the shoulder strap at the desired length. 

The lid is held in place by the shoulder strap. 

 

The mask is a size 2. It is most commonly found in a size 2 or 3. The size 1 is perhaps no more than 5-10% of the total number of FM3d masks found in Denmark. 

The inhale / exhale valve without cover

The bottom of the filter. 

THe filter is produced by Chema, serial number 289 in 1939.

 The Chema company logo is stamped into the metal. I have no idea what the CHF-1 stands for. 

The ink stamp on the left, is a Czech governmental proof stamp.

 The exhale valve cover. The Fatra company was the only company to put their logo on the exhale cover.

----------------------------------------

I've scanned the whole pamphlet that came with the mask. It is in Danish and from 1940.

Enjoy, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. 

Norwegian M31 helmet (Post War - civil defence)

This note came with the helmet. It is guide on how to adjust the chinstrap and liner. 

It is written in Norwegian. 

---------------------------------------------

 NB!! Remember all pictures can be viewed in a larger, and more detailed version! Just "click" the pictures. 

---------------------------------------------

The M31 helmet is sometimes known as the M31 "Baltic" helmet. 

Among the Norwegian military helmets there is a confusion between the M31 and the M35 helmet. The only difference is that the M35 has a Lion decal in the front, and the M31 is "born" without a decal. 

The M31 was initially made in Sweden and is a hybrid between the Swedish M18/21 and the Swedish M26. The M31 has a raised comb much like the the Bulgarian M36 helmet. Later the helmet was produced at the Norwegian arms manufacturer "Raufoss Ammunisjonfabrikker" that still exists today. I lived next door to it for a couple of years... 

What surprised my was that it is very heavy, and the quality of the materials used. The leather is superb, and the paint-job is excellent! All buckles and fittings is of a very high quality. For a civil defence helmet that is very unusual. But then again, this helmet is unusual!

It is perhaps hard to see, but the helmet has a raised comb. Much like the the Bulgarian M36 helmet.