Historien-Kabinett

Topics about collecting Pickelhauben and stuff related to imperial Germany

Development history of the metal Pickelhaube

The following is about the changes to the metal helmets, as it was simply called in the Prussian regulations, that it underwent during its years of wear from 1843 to 1918:

M1843 

(Modifications until 1852)



M1853 

(Modifications until 1861)

M1862 

(Modifications until 1866)



M1867 

(Modifications until 1888)

M1889 

(Modifications until 1914)



M1915 (until 1918)

 Leib-Gendarmes special helmet type



Jäger zu Pferd (hunter on horseback) special helmet type


In some cases, the different helmets look quite similar. Therefore, again the note that you can classify the helmets in case of doubt well on the basis of the dimensions of the front visors, because they were different for each model. To help, the average lengths and widths of measured front visors of various helmets were again summarized in the following table:

(THE HEIGHT IS MEASURED IN THE CENTER OF THE FRONT VISOR, FROM THE OUTER EDGE TO THE UPPER EDGE OF THE METAL TRIM, WHICH IS LOCATED AT THE UPPER EDGE OF THE FRONT VISOR FOR THE M1843, AND AT THE LOWER EDGE OF THE HELMET SHELL FOR LATER DESIGNS. THE WIDTH IS THE STRAIGHT DISTANCE OF THE TWO OUTERMOST CORNER EDGES OF THE FRONT VISOR)

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Pickelhauben ABC

 Sources:

  • „Bekleidung und Ausrüstung der preuß. Kürassiere aus der Zeit 1809-1918“, by Georg Peschke (was published in several issues between 1958-1963 in the German magazine for military science)
  • Prussian clothing regulations for enlisted men: „Bekleidungsordnung - Vorschriften für die Beschaffenheit und Unterscheidungszeichen der Bekleidung und Ausrüstung der Mannschaften“ - from 1896, 1903
  • Prussian clothing regulations for officers; „Bekleidungsvorschrift für Offiziere, Sanitätsoffiziere und Veterinäroffiziere des Königlich Preußischen Heeres“ - from 1896, 1899
  • „Formations und Uniformengeschichte“- Part 2, by Paul Pietsch
  • „Casques à pointes et coiffures prestigieuses de l'Armée allemande 1842 1918“ - Part 2 „Troupes à cheval“, by J.-L. Larcade
  • „The German cavalry from 1871-1914“, by Ulrich Herr and Jens Nguyen
  • „Ingolstädter Tageblatt“ year 1895, page 156 - www.books.google.de
  • „Allgemeine Militär-Zeitung“, Part 69, page 190 - www.books.google.de
  • „Geschichte der Preussischen Armee vom 15. Jahrhundert bis 1914“ - Part 4, page 308, by Curt Jany
  • Several issues of the Prussian army regulationsheets