Danish M/46 helmet

M/46 helmet 

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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)  

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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. 

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 Above: Swedish M/37 helmet for comparison.

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. 

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

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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.

Danish M23 helmet (Army version)

(Danish soldiers: 1940's)
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The M23 helmet was introduced the same year as the first real khaki uniform.
(More correctly referred to as yellow-brown) It was the first helmet to enter service in Denmark.

They were produced by the company A/S Glud og Marstrands Fabriker in Copenhagen.
Each helmet is made of one single piece of steel, rim, liner, a chinstrap and a decal.
It weighs ca. 1600 grammes - about 3,53 Lbs.

 Notice the front decal. Three lions with nine hearts and oak-leafs around.

A better look at the decal.

The rear of the helmet.
Notice the hanging slot in the rear skirt of the helmet.
When in "marching" order, the soldiers strapped the helmet onto their knapsacks,
and wore the "garrison cap" instead. 

The brass plate underneath the liner...
The name of the company, and the serial number (83017)

The liner... Notice the eight leather flaps... All in great condition, age considered.
The leather adjustment-cord is original to the helmet.

 The unmistakeable Danish profile.

Additional information: 

The helmet is designed by Captain in the army HE, Johnsen.  

There are two main versions of the army helmet: 1) A size "normal" 90% of the helmets. 2) A size "large" - about 10% of the helmets.

The navy had an anchor as helmet decal. 

They are made from Swedish steel thickness = 1,2mm

The first 1924 helmets had two ventilations slots.

In 1924, 1926 and 1929 the design of the liner, steel thickness and some other small features (chinstrap among others) was altered slightly.

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Source:  Om den danske stålhjelm m/1923, Våbenhistoriske Årbøger, nr. 48 / 2003 - Pages: 123-179 by Frans Løvschall and E. Kandborg
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