Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good service used example of a rare genuine World War I M1915 French Army "Adrian" steel helmet, outfitted for Colonial Infantry & Navy personnel. This is one of the rarer types of Adrian helmets seen, much more so than the usual Infantry version.

The helmet retains the original "dark horizon blue" paint on the shell, with some great period wear that really shows that it has "been there". There is some denting on the right side of the helmet, both on the crown and the brim. There is also paint loss overall, showing a lot of small chips and also wear around the rim. Like it just came off the battlefield! The front of the helmet still has its original French Colonial Infantry & Navy Badge, which features an anchor under the standard R F on a "flaming bomb", for Republique Francaise.

The liner size is around a 59cm (7 3/8), and is in good condition, with supple brown leather and intact padding and top tie strap. The corrugated aluminum spacers look to be present around each securing clip. The chin strap is also original, though it is now worn and in very delicate condition.

Overall condition of the helmet is very nice, and it would make an excellent addition to any French WWI collection, especially one missing this particular type of Adrian Helmet.

The M15 Adrian helmet (French: Casque Adrian) was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. It was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by the new technique of indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.