Burning Hazard

I used to own one as well, still kicking myself for letting it go haha. I'm yet to find a period photo of one in wear, I saw footage of US troops occupying Italy as late as 1949 so it is possible that for a brief time the M1 was used by Italians before they reverted back to the M33. Another example here:

Thanks guys. I agree with it being tape that was squared off with a knife; took a closer look and the white parts are tape residue and that got pushed in when they were cut. Ken, I know the 509th used tape but mostly on shells; a liner would of been covered up which makes me think this one was used for training purposes. Pat

This is on the back of my WWII production Westinghouse liner; not sure if former follow me stripe? Maybe tape outline? There seems to be another horizontal stripe above which also may have been a name tape? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Pat

I saw Pieter Oosterman's book is temporarily sold out on Amazon, it's a pretty hot book right now since there are so many new M1 helmet collectors. Helmets of the ETO is also really good as pretty much all the helmets pictured there were found in Europe or come from European Museums. Note how many M1's in the Helmets of the ETO book are field repaints. Cheers, Pat

Hello all, The OD3 Chinstrap webbing looks like a reproduction (very fuzzy and too thick). Also, am I the only seeing sandpaper scratches on the insignia? I would pass on this one. Pat

Hi Kyle, most of us forum guys refer to the book "The M1 Helmet of the World War II GI" by Pieter Oosterman as it has all the manufacturers listed for webbing, sweatbands, nape straps, liners etc. I would highly recommend getting this book as it is packed with information; I got my book off Amazon. If you need some info then shoot me a PM and I'll see what I can help with. Pat

Fox777, Your best tool is grabbing books and read forum posts here. I also watch tons of WWII footage on YouTube under "Critical Past" which helps to provide what was worn in different theatres. I would highly recommend getting "The M1 Helmet of the World War II GI" by Pieter Oosterman and "Helmets of the ETO" by Regis Giard and Frederic Blais as starters since these contain a lot of good information for beginner collectors. Cheers Pat

2020 was a bit rough and I didn't make too many purchases as I'm focusing to eliminating all personal debt. Nothing too special but got another WWII NCO painted liner and a T/4 painted shell. Pat

Fox777, I would post this one on the helmet section to get more views and comments. I'm by no means an expert and never will as I'm always learning myself, but I like this one as well. You can see the old insignia underneath the top one, meaning the helmet was repainted before insignia added; this is something fakers are yet to replicate. Also, in my years of collecting I have not seen fakers targeting the GO Devils, they usually go for the big money stuff like Ranger, 101st AB, D-Day etc. Pat

Nice liner! Likely Korean War era. The "V" stamping on the inside is the webbing manufacturer stamp; stands for Vogt Manufacturing Corporation. Pat

Nice helmet, pretty standard issue plain Jane at the end of WWII and after. It is possible that this one may have caught the tail end of WWII but more likely used in Korean War; remember that US military pretty much re-used all WWII equipment in Korea. If you browse any "us soldier in Korean War" on google images you will see that they are all wearing SB helmets with OD3 or OD7 sewn chinstraps. I've looked through a lot of pictures and seen a mix of front and rear seams. Pat

P-59A, I never said in any of my previous posts that the helmet is fake or agreed that heat was applied. Just said the Rooster brought up a good point and Mark Brando’s helmet popped into my mind regarding damage. It is also possible that this liner was very wet when struck as the fibreglass/plastic was saturated with water and more bendy when newer. If you look inside at the webbing and sweatband there are signs of water damage. The leather has shrunk and pulled the webbing, eventually chipping away. The washers are corroded. I have a liner that appears to survived a flood and it

Good point Rooster. I recall the vet bring back 327th on Mark Bando's page, note the liner is cracked from the impact dent. "This helmet was submitted by Neal, a frequent visitor to this site. It was obtained from the son of Cpl. Willard Williamson, an E/327th trooper, who had it in a German box. Great find! There is battle damage to the crown: a dent 4 inches wide and 2 inches deep in the pot, and the crown of the liner broken and caved-in. This resulted from being struck by falling debris at Bastogne while running down the street under an artillery barrage. Williamson was slightl

I was looking through different period photos and saw black painted rank insignia being used in Italy during WWII. Also the Brazilian Expeditionary Force used black ranks as well. If anyone else can chime in on black painted ranks that would be awesome. Pat

Nice helmet! Likely belonged to an NCO before being re-issued to an officer, it's not uncommon to see WWII shells with two or more ID's. Also your shell is Schlueter made based on the rounded bails.. I have a very similar one except it's a black T/4 rank Pat