Iranian M62 Style Helmets

During the Shah's reign in the 1970's, Iran purchased thousands of M62 helmets from West Germany. After the revolution of 1979, these helmets were still used by the new Iranian Military under Ayatollah Khomeini. However, they began to manufacture their own M62 variant alongside the West German M62 helmet, which are the ones so commonly seen in period photographs from the Iran Iraq War and today.

1st Pattern Iranian MAde M62

The first recognized Iranian made M62 helmet sports an imitation leather liner, as observed from period photographs from early on in the Iran Iraq War. This particular example has a very low profile shell, almost flat looking around the brim. I am not sure if this is normal for the 1st pattern but time will tell when more examples surface. The chinstrap is modeled off the West German M62 design and stays the same throughout all patterns during the 1980's.

2nd Pattern Iranian Made M62 

Shown above is a 2nd pattern Iranian made M62 helmet. the difference between this and the 1st Pattern is the transition from a leather liner to a cloth one. The chinstrap is exactly the same. It is unknown when this change began, but a small number of period photos showing the insides of Iranian helmets suggests it was done during the last half of the Iran Iraq War. This particular example has a religious slogan on the front which signifies that it was worn by a member of the Basij Volunteer force.

3rd Pattern Iranian MAde m62

The Iranian 3rd Pattern M62 is visually similar to the other patterns, mainly because the shell itself is manufactured the exact same way. After the Iran Iraq War, the Iranian military continued to use M62 helmets, and refurbished them with a new liner and new style of chinstrap. These two features are what differentiates the 3rd Pattern from the rest; the new liner is made from a light green colored fabric that is prone to fading, and the chinstrap has a built in chincup with buckles on both sides for adjustment. While many of the shells are 1980's vintage, it is very likely that factories continued to produce them afterwards due to the high volume of M62's still being worn by the Iranian Military today.