Today for Gus’ Gear I have a French Adrian Zouave helmet. The Zouave Regiments were raised in the region of French Algeria. This type of helmet was also worn by Tirailleurs, Riflemen from Senegal and Spahis, light horsemen from Algeria.
The photo of the front of the helmet shows the Cresent Moon and “RF” superimposed. The Cresent is the common insignia for the North African Regiments as they were predominently followers of Islam. The mustard color can be seen on the Cresent, the remainder of the helmet looks like it has had a number of layers of blue and mustard.
The side view shows that the front and rear visors are connected small rivets, that and the style of comb indicate this helmet was manufactured by Compagnie des compteurs.
The photo of the liner shows this one has remnants of a second pattern liner of dyed leather. The markings inside the helmet made it easy to identify the manufacturer as Compagnie des compteurs because the C
C is the logo of that company. This helmet is a size 58 and the original mustard paint color is visible inside the crown.