Code: WWW24756
38 ) Very Nice Original Untouched WW1 French Adrian Helmet 1st Pattern Made In 1915. This is the first pattern with one piece leather liner and 7 tongues which was only made in 1915. In 1916 liners were made of 2 pieces of leather and had only 6 tongues. Presumably an economy measure but very handy to date them accurately. The shell is dirty and dusty, it retains much original hand painted mat blue finish along with minor mixed in surface rust. This would clean up very nicely even with just a good wipe over and is far nicer in reality than looks in the photos. It was common for these to be over painted in the field. It has several minor dents to the upper right side (These tended to be from the wearer hitting the friction grenade to the shell to ignite the fuze before throwing). The original infantry man’s badge is still to the front and clearly all original to the helmet. The chinstrap has long since gone but the attachment bails are still in place. The inside shell is excellent. The liner is dirty and dusty from years of being in a barn or similar but in nice order. It shows age related edge wear and some age related wear/slight damage to one small area between the tongues (see photos). It is around a size 6 ½ to 6 3/4 British size. The original corrugated aluminium strips are still in place. These were quite often removed during service so nice that they are still in place.
