Pickelhaube Topics

• copper and zinc alloy
• cloth helmet
• gardes du corps
• leather helmets
• august von mackensen
• silver fittings
• stahlhelm
• cuirassiers
• brown cloth
• british army
• lobster tail
• thin sheet
• sheet steel
• horsehair
• mountings
• full dress
• german government
• active service
• allied forces

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Pickelhaube, Pickelhaube

Putnam's Sons, 1972), page 133 from excerpt cited on What's the origin of the Pickelhaube spiked hat.

The early Russian Pickelhaube had used the spike as a holder for a horsehair plume in full dress, a practice also followed with some Prussian models (see below).

During the second half of the 19th century, the armies of a number of nations besides Russia (including Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Norway, and Sweden) adopted the Pickelhaube or something very similar. The Pickelhaube also influenced the design of the British army Home Service helmet, as well as the custodian helmet worn by police in England to this day.

These helmets were sometimes referred to as lobster-tail helmets by allied forces due to their distinctive curved neck guard. The design of these is based on the cavalry helmets in common use since the 16th century, but with some features taken from the leather helmets. The version worn by the Prussian Gardes du Corps was of tombac (copper and zinc alloy) with silver mountings. That worn by the cuirassiers of the line since 1842 was of polished steel with brass mountings,, August von Mackensen and others wearing Pickelhauben with cloth covers in 1915 In 1892, a light brown cloth helmet cover, the M1892 berzug, became standard issue for all Pickelhauben for manoeuvers and active service. The berzug was intended to protect the helmet from dirt and reduce its combat visibility, as the brass and silver fittings on the Pickelhaube proved to be highly reflective.

As the war progressed, Germany's leather stockpiles dwindled. After extensive imports from South America, particularly Argentina, the German government began producing ersatz Pickelhauben made of other materials. In 1915, some Pickelhauben began to be made from thin sheet steel. However, the German high command needed to produce an even greater number of helmets, leading to the usage of pressurized felt and even paper to construct Pickelhauben.

After the adoption of the Stahlhelm the Pickelhaube was reduced to limited ceremonial wear by senior officers away from the war zones. With the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, the Pickelhaube ceased to be part of the military uniform, and even the police adopted shakos of a Jager style. In modified forms the new Stahlhelm helmet would continue to be worn by German troops into World War II.

Traffic police in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan also use a form of the Pickelhaube. The modern Romania Gendarmerie ( Jandarmeria Romana ) maintain a mounted detachment who wear a white plumed Pickelhaube of a model dating from the late 19th century, as part of their ceremonial uniform.

The common model was coloured in the black-red-gold of the German flag, with a variety of other colours also available. This was not particularly successful, arguably because of the negative connotations that the Pickelhaube still evokes with many German people.

Source: Wikipedia > Pickelhaube