We offer you Russian Adrian Helmet manufactured in France, M 1915. The helmet was made on the order of the Russian Imperial army during WWI. The helmets have an extremely interesting story of how they came in Bulgaria.  Please, read the historical background of the helmet written below. This will give you an idea why this helmet is so valuable.

The lining is very well preserved. The shell is of one piece construction also in very good/ perfect condition and has retain its original paint. Only at some places can be seen the green paint that helmet received during the service in the Royal fire department, but it is almost gone as seen on the pictures provided. There is a missing rivet in front of the helmet crest but it can be easily restored.  The liner and the shell are stamped with the FRENCH producer's mark. There also can be seen the Cyrillic stamp of the Bulgarian State Military Factory "DVF". At the front, under the Bulgarian royal fire badge are visible the marks of the original Russian imperial badge.

Liner size:  EU56/US 7

Short history of the helmet: During the second half of WWI the Russian army needed better military equipment, a big part of which was ordered in France, as in Russia there weren’t made Russian helmets at the time. As during the war the helmet proved to be reliable enough, the Russian Imperial army ordered more than 2 million Adrian helmets from France, 1915 model.The helmets had double-headed eagle badge on the front, and were painted khaki.
After the Bolsheviks took control of the power in Russia in 1917, there started civil war between the newly formed communist Red Army and the national patriotic volunteer movement of the White Army (White Guard) made up of former Imperial army forces. As the last commander of the White movement army was general baron Pyotar Vrangel, the people who took part in that army last are referred to as "Vrangel's army".After its defeat in 1920, general Vrangel's army fled out of Russia. In 1921 the army emigrated in Bulgaria where they were allowed to stay on the Allies demand (France, UK and Russia). The army comprised a great number of military people who left Russia with their families. This community had an organization of its own.
In 1922 there were found documents revealing connections between the White army and the Bulgarian bourgeoisie: both parties plotted against the Bulgarian government. On 17 May 1922, in Sofia, there took place a conference of the ambassadors of the Allies. It was decided that the Vrangel's army had to be fully disarmed. The officers who took part in the plot were extradited from Bulgaria. Later on, thousands of Russian soldiers and their families went back to Russia or fled elsewhere. The weapons of the Whites were gathered and given to the Allies, as royal Bulgaria was on the losing side in WWI. However, a certain number of helmets and other military equipment remained in Bulgaria. The helmet we are offering to you is a part of this military equipment.

As Bulgaria was a German ally in both WWI and WWII, the Adrian helmets were not widely used by the royal Bulgaria army. The Adrian helmets were in fact held in stock to be used at some later point. In the period prior to and during WWII, the small quantity of Adrian helmets was placed at the disposal of the royal firefighters to fill the gaps of insufficient equipment. For that purpose the leather parts of the helmet were changed. The liners used as replacement were made in the Military State Factory in the town of Kazanluk: this is evident from the stamp with "DVF" lettering and the face symbol with a gasmask. The Imperial double-headed eagle badge was removed and replaced with the emblem of the Bulgarian firefighter services, which is similar to the original French cockade. On some of the helmets we have come across there are visible very clear traces on the place where the Russian Imperial badge used to be positioned

Considering the events this type of helmets witnessed, everyone should be proud to have an item like that as a part of their collection!