Condition: Excellent
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Product Description: This US M1 Captains Helmet is a top shelf lid, in outstanding condition. It’s a very desirable early shell, with fixed bales for the chin strap, and a front seam to the stainless rim. Rank insignia for the rank of Captain has been affixed to the front of the shell, and overpainted in an olive drab paint that perfectly matches the factory paint on the helmet. The exterior of the shell retains nearly all of the original, cork textured, wartime paint. There are a few areas of white residue on the exterior, and typical wear to the rim. The original wartime khaki chin strap remains affixed to the bales. This US M1 Captains Helmet is complete with its original liner, which is complete and extremely nice. The exterior of the helmet liner is in near mint condition, with a few small scuffs to the matte OD paint. Inside, the liner has a complete set of webbing straps, and a leather headband. The liner suspension shows only light, honest wear, and the original leather liner chin strap remains intact and perfect. Untouched helmets like this have become increasingly difficult to find. This one is in a very strong excellent condition.
Historical Description: The US military adopted the M1 helmet in 1941, near the outbreak of WWII. This helmet was a replacement for the outdated 1917 pattern “Kelly” helmet, which saw only limited use very early in WWII. WWII production M1 helmets featured a rim around the edge, made of a separate steel strip, with the seam in the front. Early helmets had chin strap bales that were fixed, and simple wire fittings that were brazed into place. Later wartime production helmets had a more complex “swivel bale” chin strap attachment system. The M1 helmet had a removable liner, initially made of a pressed composite material with a cloth color, later replaced with a more rigid liner made out of a plastic material that did not have a cloth cover. The shell itself was made to be one size fits all, and was made by only two manufacturers, while the liners were made by a variety of different companies. For camouflage purposes, the United States Marine Corps issued a cloth cover for this helmet, while the US Army generally used a helmet net for this purpose. M1 helmets existed in a variety of paint finishes, including gray helmets for US Navy use, and were further customized with a variety of indicators such as rank or unit assignment.
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