Need Help - Vietnam Era Flight Helmet

[MasonK]

Picked this up at a local flea market. Not much of a collector when it comes to flight gear, however had to take it home as the original owner shares my mom's maiden name; Tull.

 

Decal for the 913th Tactical Airlift Group is present on the wearers left side, albeit crudely applied. Helmet itself has a 1974 manufacturer date.

 

In any case, I'd like to take a shot at restoring it.

 

It's missing quite a few pieces including the interior padding, headset and O2 mask.

 

Helmet is manufactured by Sierra. Not sure what the appropriate designation would be, but I believe this would be an HGU-26/P Single Visor?

 

With that said, can someone confirm what parts would be needed to restore and a good source to obtain them?

 

I believe the headset needed would be H-154A/AIC?

 

As for the 02 mask, would it be the MBU-5P?

 

Lastly, I assume the below padding would be correct for this helmet? Photo courtesy of flighthelmet.com.

 

Thanks in advance!

[MasonK]

Correct Padding?

[BlueBookGuy]

Hello,

 

your helmet is more correctly a later enhanced variant of HGU-2/P, thus the HGU-2A/P (perhaps arrived around 1968). The HGU-26/P is that dual visor helmet without the two "rams horns" slides, wich did appear around mid-'70s.

 

HGU-2A/P is the whole ensemble of the helmet. Being a single-visor in itself doesn't bring necessarily a true model's nomenclature, as we have the dual visor HGU-2A/P (the classic "rams horn" design) helmets in the same era. For all of them in this family, the shell alone is named HGU-22/P and, basically, is the same shell for all of these models.

 

* 1974 is more correctly the issued contract, helmet most possibly could be from 1975.

* The illustrated inner pads are correct.

* Also are OK the headset, but given the period maybe they are not spring-loaded anymore - rather attached with velcro pads.

* MBU-5/P would be more than right. But, not wrong would be even an MBU-3/P, moreover being a less common one and always interesting.

 

Greetings from Italy - Franco.

[MasonK]

Thanks, Franco! Tremendous help! I was looking over photos trying to compare differences...thought it may be the 2A/P as well, but wasn't sure. Thanks for clarifying!

 

It appears the padding and headsets can be had at a fair price. Looks as though the O2 Masks go for some big bucks, $250+. May be some time before I do a complete restoration!

 

Thanks again!

[BlueBookGuy]

Wish you will be able in completing your project!!

 

When in (for me) pre-Internet days I had some chances to go through some helmet restorations (lured by some low-priced shells ans straps), what was available here in Italy of spare parts invariably ran at exhaggerated amounts, somettimes bordering to the shameful - you could go twice a year to the two (not more) small/medium-sized Militaria events in Italy, and watch at boxes of those damned items.

do not say what they were used to ask for a pair nape/chin straps, or two cast Scott receivers for the oxy. mask - with the price of 1 blue visor Knob for HGU-2/P, I could have payed half the kilometers traveled that day.

 

In the end I preferred not to give those gentlemens this kind of satisfaction, rather I waited the double time if needed and when put together a correct amount exclusively with overtime work I purchased a complete, used, and history-smelling helmet.

Currently it would be a very different matter I believe, thanks to the Internet.

 

Greetings!! Franco.

[anton67]

First I get a VN pilot's helmet and now you???

Are you copying me???

 

Nice lid.

Good luck restoring it.

You really dont need an oxygen mask right away.

My helmet looks fine without one for the time being.

You do need a foam head to display it though.

Now you should find a diecast 1/72 plane that the pilot would have flown.

 

How about this:

Garrison/HQ Willow Grove Air Reserve Station

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/913th_Airlift_Wing

[anton67]

Looks like you will need to get a 1/72 scale plane like this:

 

It is a C-130 Hercules

 

[MasonK]

Ha! I most certainly am, Mark! Actually, it was one of those situations where this was the only piece of Militaria at the flea market....add to that the last name and well, I had no choice!

 

Thanks to Franco, I now know what I need to restore. Just have to play the waiting game so I don't wipe out the bank account in the process.

 

C-130 would be correct. 914th was stationed at Willow Grove so I'm guessing Tull might be a local guy.

[BlueBookGuy]

Glad to be just a bit helpful , Eric.

 

yes oxy. masks are not longer a cheap item when really nice - neither on eBay nor at fixed priced on any sites. In my opinion a mask, more than the helmet itself should be at least a decent one, as for rubber softness and lack of majors tearings.

I personally hated of dry spots and cuts, especially in those inner points of the corrigated hose. This the real weackness - secondary accessories like the bayonets (plains, or "offset" type) are not an issue in finding out.

 

Greetings - Franco.

[FtrPlt]

Gents,

The helmet shown is a (just) post-Vietnam HGU-26/P. First deliveries of this contract were in 1975.

 

 

[BlueBookGuy]

Strange enough.

As I read time ago on a official USAF publication, a complete helmet named "HGU-26/P" is only the dual visor model having two small actuators up-down at the sides (without the '60s-designed "ram's horns" with knobs).

 

All USAF single visors and their subvariants must be exclusively HGU-2/P or the enhanced HGU-2A/P. In this latter instance, basic shell for both the HGU-2A/P and HGU-26/P is the HGU-22/P (the shell alone).

[FtrPlt]

Tough to argue when looking at a factory box with PN and contract # matching the helmet in the OP

 

HGU-2A/P helmets cease to appear in Gentex and Sierra catalogs after 1974 with both companies offering single-and dual-visor helmets under the HGU-26/P nomenclature.

 

I was wearing a single visor HGU-26 in the early 1980s.

[BlueBookGuy]

Even if already posted in another topic,

 

here only to show some oddities in the strange world of flight helmets. Once in my collection, this HGU-2A/P Dual visor variant, by Sierra Eng. and marked as such under the visor shield.

Adhesive label (too much difficult to take any pics) reports date of 1977, and the Italian pilot who used it received this one brand-new and chose to have it modified with the "obsolete" Hardman chromed receivers.

Reportedly, MBU-3/P mask was still preferred by some guys over the MBU-5/P.

 

[FtrPlt]

Blue Book Guy: Are you saying the label on your helmet is under the visor? On US Military helmets, the label is on the back of the helmet shell. There are labels for the visor assemblies under the visors (molded in or stick-on labels).

[BlueBookGuy]

Yes this is true - on lower rear of that helmet's shell just a extremely slight trace does survive now, presume it was removed to make more room for Devil's Hand" painting? Who knows what read that label..

But, should the other label (placed under the shield) refer just to visor assembly, certainly it would read its own nomenclature (i.e. it's "EEK-..." followed by a digit, for the single visor kits).

Instead it is " Dual Visor Kit for HGU-2A/P Helmet, or 22/P - By Sierra Eng. Pat. Canada" - presume the 22/P is the shell alone, as read time ago in a USAF T.O.

Given the shell was undoubtedly born together with its visor housing (no plausible reasons for not believing so), I think the whole helmet at this point may be called a HGU-2/AP even if in a very late stage of this model's career.

[FtrPlt]

I think your helmet very likely started out as what was marketed as a "quarter helmet assembly" -- an HGU-22 shell with chinstrap. Back in the 1970s, many air forces were using poured, custom liners and assorted visors to be added by the end-users. It's entirely possible your helmet was put together at a flying unit using new parts but never left the factory in this configuration. These were often labelled as "Quarter Helmet, Subassembly". The same HGU-22 shell with the styrene liner and comm gear installed (but no visor) can be found labelled as "HGU-22"

[BlueBookGuy]

didn't know these latest infos - thanks FtrPlt.

 

In this instance, what would be the meaning of "quarter" in English?

[FtrPlt]

Blue Book Guy:
Quarter helmet I think refers to 1/4 of the helmet -- no wiring, no styrene liner, no eacups, no speakers, etc. Literally just a portion of the complete helmet assembly.

[BlueBookGuy]

One more thing I know - thanks!!

[FtrPlt]

Just wanted to correct my previous post. I mixed up the terminology.

The Quarter Helmet Subassembly is the HGU-22 shell with PRU-36 visor assembly attached. The liner, comms, etc were all added by the end user.

 

The HGU-22 was, as sold, just the shell without a visor attached. The visor, liner, comms, etc were all added by the end user.