Description
Product Description: This is a nice example of an early, desirable and increasingly hard to find WWII US M1 Helmet with Hawley liner. These early fabric covered Hawley liners were phased out fairly quickly, due to them not being able to stand up to the rigors of combat and abuse; relatively few have survived. The shell of this helmet is typical early wartime production, with fixed chin strap bales and a stainless rim with the seam at the front. The exterior retains most of the original factory applied cork textured olive drab paint, with light patina and normal wear from use. There is some minimal surface rust inside as well as the stenciled inscription “A-27.” The desirable Hawley liner is complete and in very nice condition. There are three small cracks to the liner, common on these, but really minimal in this case. The interior of the liner retains the original green HBT webbed suspension system, with bare steel triangular washers. The leather liner band is intact, with some wear and darkening matching the level of wear to the exterior. The leather liner chinstrap is also intact, but with some light cracking. The bales on the shell retain a nice original khaki chin strap with attractive wear and patina to the brass buckle fittings. Overall, this is a very nice M1 helmet, with great character and appeal. The condition rates as excellent.
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 This helmet was a replacement for the outdated 1917 pattern “Kelly” helmet, which saw only limited use very early in WWII.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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