Guns International #: 103011677

• Complete with Liner & chin strap
• An influential design of combat helmet originally produced for the French Army during World War I
• French staff ordered development of a metal helmet that could protect soldiers from the shrapnel of exploding artillery shells
• Since soldiers in trenches were also vulnerable to shrapnel exploding above their heads, a deflector crest was added along the helmet's axis
• The helmet was surprisingly complex to produce, with seventy stages involved in its production, not including those required to prepare the metal
• The slot for the badges and the distinctive crest took additional time to manufacture
• the helmet was deliberately designed this way to evoke the artistic style of the highly popular military artist Édouard Detaille, which helped raise the morale of the troops
• The M26 helmet continued in use with the French Army until after World War II, and was also used by the French police up to the 1970s