The world leader in military collectibles, military antiques and the militaria industry. Original WWII Hungarian M38 Steel Helmet (German M35 Copy)- Size 59cm, US 7 3/8. Original Item: In another military antiques coup, IMA has just acquired the last of all the known WWII helmet stocks from the government of Finland. These helmets are 100% genuine WW2 issue Hungarian M38. In world war two Hungary was an ally of Germany. The Germans allowed and assisted the Hungarians in copying their design of the M35 steel helmet. Therefore, the WWII produced M38 Hungarian steel helmet is nearly identical to the German WWII M35. Both have the same shape, riveted ventilation holes, and the classic rolled edge. The minor differences between the M38 helmet and the German M35 was the liner system, liner pin position, as well as the addition of a small horizontal rectangular carrying hook above the back brim of the Hungarian helmet used to attach the helmet to a backpack when on the move. The Model 1938 Hungarian helmet was one of the most common types used by the Finnish Army during the Continuation War of 1941-44. The Finns originally wanted to acquire the German M35 during the Winter War of 1939-40 to supplement their old stock of German WWI M17 & M18 helmets however, the German government refused the order and sent it to the Hungarians instead. Apparently this was done for political reasons as the Germans were technically still &###x201C;allied&###x201D; to the Soviets (who the Finns were fighting) during the Winter War of 1939-40. Styles and colors (Field Grey, Field Green) may vary slightly so please see photos for variation examples. Each helmet is offered in good to very good condition, but will show storage wear, minor paint chips and scratches, and occasionally a small ding but all are free of major dents or imperfections. After all, these are real WWII manufactured and issued military helmets that were used by actual soldiers in the defense of their country. Additionally the Finnish Army used some of these helmets from WWII up until the early 1970s. The companies that manufactured the M38 were Mavag of Budapest, Weiss of Csepel, and Gyori Vaggon-es Gepgyar. We believe that all these shells have maker and shell size markings stamped to the inside of the brim. However, because these helmets have been painted and repainted, in some cases, multiple times, it is impossible for us to see if each one is marked without using paint stripper or a wire wheel. The leather liners and chinstraps are a mix, most were made in Finland for the Finnish army after WWII. Some may have the original Hungarian made leather liner, however these are extremely rare and often in poor condition, so are unable to accept any requests for these. Liners also vary in form from a Finnish M55 style to a German M35 style to a WWI style three sided type. Sizing- we offer a range of sizes, but we sell these helmets based on the interior liner size, not shell size. However, a general rule of thumb is; size 56cm liners are usually inside size 62 shells, we only honor requests for liner size. This is a rare chance to own a genuine WWII M38 Hungarian made German type M35 WWII helmet at far less than half the price of a German manufactured wartime one. History of the German & Finnish Alliance- In 1938 Finland became very concerned with Stalin’s Soviet expansionism and turned to Great Britain and France for support. Both Countries were under supplied themselves so Finland, perhaps reluctantly turned to Nazi Germany for aid. Hitler was swift to assist supplying great quantities of materiel including thousands of German Battle Helmets. The Russians invaded Finland in 1939 driving deep into the country. The Finns resisted with amazing tenacity that has been the subject of legend and the wonderful WW2 Movie “THE WINTER WAR” (offered by IMA). The Russians paid a very heavy price and sued for peace in early 1940 keeping the invaded areas of Finland. Finland totally exhausted agreed with great regret. In the summer of 1941 Hitler&###x2019;s Nazi War Machine invaded the Soviet Union driving everything before them. Finland whom had received so much help from Germany then rose up and drove the Soviet presence out of Finland. However Finland would not “invade” the Soviet Union, they declared themselves not to be aggressors. It is true however that the Germans recruited great numbers of Finnish “Volunteers” for their “SS UNITS” that did invade Mother Russia but that was true of all the overrun European Countries and even some others, still independent including apparently England and the United States, although these number were said to be very low. At the close of WW2 with Germany defeated Finland was highly penalized by the Soviet Union, again gave up the lost territory of 1939/40 but did manage to retain it’s independence unlike so much of Eastern Europe. WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU GET! We display multiple images and write detailed descriptions of the products we sell in order to provide the customer with as much information as possible so you know what to expect when you open the box. However, most of our original antique items are not one-of-a-kind. Meaning the images you are viewing will not be the exact item that you will receive when you place your order. The images will, however, represent a typical example. In fact, the photos of products displayed on the website are never the very best examples of what we have. We make a concerted effort to photograph average examples of each product. This way, you can expect to receive an item that is at lest as good as the one photographed, unless specified otherwise. The only time you will get the exact item photographed is when an item is listed as? IMA Inc was founded by Christian Cranmer in 1981. In 2004, his son Alexander joined the business and together (with plenty of help from their magnificent staff) have grown IMA to become the world leader of the Military Collectibles, Military Antiques and the Militaria industry. We offer thousands of military antique items, including very rare original pieces spanning the past five centuries, as well as hard to find top quality new made reproductions. IMA supplied some of the world’s foremost Military Museums, Film Productions (Saving Private Ryan), Collectors, and Re-enactors. However, most IMA customers are just everyday people that happen to share our passion for history. We are an American company with European roots. Our corporate offices are located in Gillette, New Jersey, less than one hour from New York City. Thank you very much for visiting. While the majority of orders will arrive on the estimated dates some orders may be delayed for various reasons. Please allow us the opportunity to resolve problems; we understand the concern and frustration you may have and will do our very best to resolve any and all issues. We want to make it easy. You DO NOT need a Return Authorization Number (RA#). Unaltered Condition means that no restoration, painting, major cleaning, or change of any kind has occurred. The return address label provided by IMA is not pre-paid. It is only an adhesive label with our correct address. We appreciate your patience and understanding. We will resolve your issue before either option is required- that is a promise. We will notify UPS about a pending claim. (UPS rules, not ours). UPS claims can take up to four weeks, but typically are resolved sooner. We also maintain a secure database of customer addresses. If a mistake was made and IMA is responsible, we will correct it out of our cost. Add to Favorite Sellers. Sign up to Newsletter. View more great items. This listing is currently undergoing maintenance, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. The item “Original WWII Hungarian M38 Steel Helmet (German M35 Copy)- Size 59cm, US 7 3/8″ is in sale since Thursday, September 20, 2012. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\WW II (1939-45)\Original Period Items\Other WWII Original Items”. The seller is “international-military-antiques” and is located in Gillette, New Jersey. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Russian federation, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, El salvador, Honduras, Jamaica.