ADRIAN M26 HELMET

The helmet proved to be fairly efficient against shrapnel, cheap, and easy to be manufactured. As a consequence, more than three million Adrian's were produced, and they were widely adopted by other countries including Belgium, Brazil, China, Greece, Italy (including license-built versions), Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Siam, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., and Yugoslavia. It was also adopted briefly by the National Army in the Irish Free State. Each of these nations added its own insignia to the front of the helmet. The badge on the front is not original, it shows the Franc-Garde (English Free Guard) they were the armed wing of the French Milice (Militia) who fought alone or alongside German forces in major battles against the Maquis from late 1943 to August 1944. The Franc-Garde, soon announced the creation of the French Militia on 30 January 1943, was actually implemented June 2 the same year in Calabria camp near Vichy. Its field of action, initially confined to the former free zone, was formally extended to the former occupied zone as of January 27 1944. His role was to support the national revolution undertaken by the Vichy government in predominantly involved in policing, but also assisting, inter alia, the clearing of bombed cities. In the words of Secretary General of the French Militia, Joseph Darnand, in his keynote address January 30, 1943, the Franc-Garde should be "educated and technically prepared to fight to be always ready to maintain the order ".

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