FINNISH STEEL HELMETS

1939 - 1945

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After the WW I Finnish Defence Forces chose German m/17 (m/16) as its standard steel helmet model. Only a small part of the army was although equipped with helmets before the WW II and when the war broke in Europe in 1939 more helmets were urgently bought from Hungary and Italy. Smaller batches of mixed models were also obtained with other transactions and from foreign volunteers.
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Winter War 1939 - 1940
 
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Designation/type: Profile: Colour: Pcs: Notes:
30.11.1939:
German m/17 field-grey 75.000 15.000 were bought from France in 1919 and
directly from Germany during the 1920's.
Also models m/16 and m/18.
Obtained during the war:
Hungarian m/38  grass-green 75.000 Bought from Hungary. 23.000 pcs arrived in
February, 29.000 pcs in March and 23.000
pcs in April 1940.
Italian m/33
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green-grey 30.000 Bought from Italy during the Winter War.
Polish m/35
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? 1.000 Came together with other models.
Other steel helmets received:
Swedish m/21
Swedish imp. m/21
Swedish m/26
dk olive-green
blue-grey
blue-grey
8.000 Steel helmets of Swedish Volunteer Group
(SFK), m/26 is the most numerous model.
Danish m/23 . ? ? Steel helmets of Danish volunteers.

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Russian steel helmets m/36 were not used by the Finnish troops although several tens of thousands were captured during the Winter War. Most Russian helmets were without liner because they were used together with winter caps. Finnish Army lost also several thousand steel helmets during the Winter War.

In 1940 - 41 steel helmets were arranged so that most infantry battalions had initially similar kind of models but supplements normally mixed helmets soon. In 1940 a new Swedish steel helmet m/37 was tested in Finland and accepted in licence production as Finnish m/40. This model offered probably the best ballistic protection of all helmets used in Finland during the WW II.
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Continuation War 1941 - 1944
Lapland War 1944 - 1945

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Designation/type: Profile: Colour: Pcs: Notes:
25.6.1941:
German m/17
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field-grey 70.000  
Hungarian m/38
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grass-green 75.000 External shape similar to German m/35.
Italian m/33
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  green-grey 30.000  
Czechoslovakian m/34
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matt-khaki     50.000 Bought in spring 1940 (from Germany?).
Mixed models:
Polish m/35
(Danish m/23)
Swedish m/21
Swedish imp. m/21
Swedish m/26
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dk olive-green
blue-grey
blue-grey
10.000 Used mainly by Coast and Home Troops.
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Basically all Swedish models are
versions of official m/21.
The most numerous model.
Obtained during the war:
Finnish m/40
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olive-green 75.000 Licence manufactured Swedish m/37; produced
in several batches during the whole war;
last batch was ordered in the summer of 1944.
German m/35-40
German m/35-42
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dark-grey
dark-grey
25.000
24.000
?
 
Ordered in June 1941 from Germany.
Obtained in July 1943; both models.
Obtained in the summer 1944, number
of helmets and their models not known.
Swedish m/37
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olive-green 20.000
   
 
Ordered in June 1941 from Sweden.
War booty:
Russian m/40
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olive-green
(re-painted)
20.000 Original colour matt dark green.
Used by second line and anti-aircraft troops.

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During the Continuation War Finnish Army lost about 64.000 steel helmets, mainly in the summer 1944. Many soldiers threw their helmets (and field shovels) away to save weight when escaping fast advancing Russians during the hot summer campaigns in Karelian Isthmus and East-Karelia.
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© 2000 Harri Anttonen

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