Hi Everyone, 

So I came across this helmet online and am trying to ID it. After using Google Lens the closest I came is the Swedish M/26 but the trouble I've run into is that it has 72 stamped into it which I assume is the manufacture year but I read that the three-pad liner stopped being produced in 1965 so now I'm stumped. Any help you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, This is a M/1936 Norwegian/Swedish helmet used by the Norwegian Police troops in world war 2. I hope this helps

 

 

 

 

Hi Alexa,

 

Thanks for confirming that it's most likely a Swedish M26!

I can confirm that it is a Swedish m/26 helmet. I have a few of them in my collection. What triggered my interest was the marking L.I. and the number 72. After some internet search I got some info. So the number 72 isn’t the manufacturing year which VintageLucy already kind of suspected. It’s actually a size marking. Here’s the story I found. It’s a lot of text but bear with me…

 

The m/26 was, as the designation says, designed and manufactured in the mid twenties. It succeded the earlier m/21 helmet. Comparing these two the m/26 is simpler and probably cheaper to produce. The three crown crest on the front of the m/21 was dropped, as was the folded rim around the edge of the helmet. The lining was also simplified as the three leather pads were riveted directly onto the steel shell and not on a separate supporting ring as the m/21.

As the security situation in Europe gradually deteriorated from the mid thirties and onwards, Sweden had a pressing need to grow its military forces. Based on the increased threat from the air by bigger and more capable aircraft there was also a need to establish a civil defence to protect the citizens in case of war. A new Swedish government agency was formed in 1937 called Luftskyddsinspektionen (the Air Protection Inspection). It gave directions and coordinated other agencies, municipalities and volunteer organisations in matters such as air raid warning and air raid shelters, fire services, gas protection, repair and clearance services, policing matters and medical services. Early on Luftskyddsinspektionen identified the need of all kinds of material, among that the need for helmets and thus procured a new batch of m/26 helmets. From June 6th 1939 until July 15th 1944 a number of 610 000 m/26 helmets were made. The contractor was Eskilstuna stålpressnings AB (Eskilstuna Steel Pressing Inc). The cost during the production run varied between 5,9 - 8,2 kr, swedish crowns per helmet.

 

 

Production line at Eskilstuna stålpressnings AB sometime during the war

 

With this information we now can identify the markings in this helmet. The crown on top symbolises the swedish state, the letters L.I. means Luftskyddsinspektionen and the number 72 means size 72 cm. Apparently the helmets came in three sizes: 66, 69 and 72 cm. I don’t know what measure this actually refers to. When I measured two of my helmets (size 69 and 72) I couldn’t match any physical size of the helmet with these numbers.

 

 

Marking inside the helmet: a crown, L.I. and 69

 

Another thing that I couldn’t find out is why Luftskyddsinspektionen choose the ”old” m/26 design and not the ”new” m/37 design in their procurement. Was it a production/supplier issue, a cost issue, a weight issue or maybe something else. I don’t know.

These helmets were of course used by the civil defence and many were probably kept in storage in case of an attack on Sweden (this is perhaps the reason why these helmets still are quite easy to find in unused condition). But were these helmets also used elsewhere? Sources on internet states that the m/26 helmets were used by the home guard in Sweden, they were used by the norwegian police troops trained in Sweden during the war and they were also sent to Finland (togehter with m/37 helmets) as war aid. But were that the original m/26 helmets from the army or the ones procured by Luftskyddsinpektionen? Maybe, when the immediate risk of an attack decreased, these helmets could be released and be used by others. Just a speculation… Something that could point in that direction is that one of my helmets is decaled and in the three tone army camoflage. This would suggest army use rather than civil defence use, which didn’t have the decals and where camoflage wouldn’t make sense.

 

 

Three tone camoflage army m/26 helmet with double side decals

 

So, maybe one or two militaria collectors find this information disappointing as their cool old army combat helmet turned out to be ”only” a civil defence helmet from a small neutral country up in the north. For me this is definately not the case. The helmet is still a perfect representation of a m/26 helmet (civil or military) e.g.for a display and the civil defence story only increases the value of that historical artefact which now tell a broader and important history about the preparation of the complete swedish society for a total war.

 

 

Civil defence exercise in Uppsala 1951

 

Finally, in 1944 the Luftskyddsinspektionen was transformed into Civilförsvarsstyrelsen (the Board of Civil Defence) and that part of the swedish total defence was continually developed and improved throughout the entire cold war until it in the end was totally scrapped during the time of ”eternal peace” in the nineties. At the moment this capability is now, once again, under development and the horrific experiences from the war in Ukraine shows that the civil part of the defence is definitely vital for the survival of a country suffering from a total war.

 

/Lars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impressive detailed research.  Thank you for this.

 

Scott