I recently purchased this M42 Spanish helmet and was wondering what the history of it is. The seller said his grandmother was an MP and got in Spain. I know that the Spanish used German M42s and eventually adopted the US design. There is a marking on the back that says 151, I tried researching but did not come up with anything. Does anyone know anything about this? Who could have worn it? Any information helps thanks. helmet 1 helmet 2 helmet 3 helmet 4
Welcome to the Forums first off! I am no expert on things like this at all, but I'm almost 100% positive someone else on the forum can tell you the story behind it.
What you have is a Spanish M42/79 (Modelo Z) helmet. Although the shape is similar to that of a wartime German M42 helmet shell, the M42/79 was never manufactured by the Germans. The M42/79 you have has a liner that was first introduced in 1975 and continued to be used in to the 1980s. The metal used for the shells is also very thin and the paint job often poor with runs and blemishes.
