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WWII M15 Adrian Army Helmet -
The M15 Adrian helmet was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. The first standard helmet
of the French Army, it was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare and head wounds
became a significant proportion of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it served as a basic helmet of many
armies well into 1930s. Initially issued to infantry, its modified versions were also issued to cavalry and tank crews.
Its subsequent version, the M26, was adopted later and used during World War II.
FRONT
The helmet proved to be fairly efficient against shrapnel, cheap, and easy to be manufactured. As a consequence,
more than three million Adrians were produced, and they were widely adopted by other countries including Belgium,
Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Siam, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., and
Yugoslavia.
It was also adopted briefly by the National Army in the Irish Free State. Each of these nations added its own
insignia to the front of the helmet.
Because the new steel helmets offered little actual protection against bullets, some were reportedly among the first
pieces of equipment being abandoned by the soldiers on the battlefield. It was also discovered that the badge placed on
the front of helmets impaired the helmet's durability, which made several armies remove their national insignia
altogether.
The M-15 helmet is made of lighter material which can be punched by a bear fist.
SIDE
The item featured here is a a fine example of a WWII French M15 "Adrian" helmet. Complete with the bugle "RF"
emblem. This helmet was used by various branches in the French army.
The liner and chin strap are constructed of leather.
EMBLEM
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Most modern military helmets saw their birth during World War One. The need to address the
multitude of head wounds in the trenches was the foundation for the widespread development
and deployment of helmets.
This section discusses several of the military helmets of the world.
The helmets from various armies came in a variety of designs. There were a large number
of different types developed. In many cases the use of the spilled over into non-military
applications such as police and civil defense. most of the helmets during WWI and WWII were
constructed of a combination of metal and leather.
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LINER
LINER ATTACHMENT
In the French army, the Adrian helmet was standard military issue until after World War II, and was also used by the
French police up to the 1970s. In other countries the Adrian-type helmets were also in use with the fire fighting units,
railway guards or marine infantry. Adrian helmets are still prized by collectors today.
LINER ATTACHMENT 2
The author is not aware that this type of headgear is currently being
reproduced.
However, there is no guarantee that it is not. in many cases
it is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because
the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with
the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this headgear.
Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of
the collectible.
If you have an interest is seeing other French military helmets, you can do so by
going to our French Military headgear
identification guide. Where we cover multiple pieces.
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