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HGU-56/P Color?


Littleguy
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Hello everyone. I have a HGU-56/P shell that is brand new. I noticed that it is a much lighter, more foliage color than the dark green on military helmets. Is it possible that the helmet is military or is it a civilian shell?

 

Just for the sake of story telling, I purchased the shell to hold the confirmed military HGU-56/P headset set donor from a military shell that was spray painted (and peeling) to hide the fact that it was decommissioned from use due to a soft spot with a purple mark around it. I learned to never trust helmets off of eBay. I got burned $400 on what I thought was an original helmet with the original paint. It irks me to this day because I thought I was going to have a completely original helmet that was nice and worn to show off.

 

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Bluespicker

This probably will not be popular but I am ex-USAF, a flight helmet collector for 35 years and an ex-Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) system/software developer. Simply stated: If you buy a "NEW" flight helmet on EBAY, its a forgery. Why this would be surprising is a mystery. On EBAY right now, fully 3/4 of the current issue helmets are new and coming from China, Taiwan, or Thailand. A forger need only fool the first buyer and then he doesn't care. U.S. dealers are snapping these up and reselling them as authentic. It is a problem for those actually seeking a real helmet as Gibson and Barnes reported an increase in forged helmets being sent for refurbishment.<br />Yes, it is relatively easy to tell the fakes as they are made from subpar materials, workmanship is not up to mil standards, weight and balance are dead giveaways. A truly "NEW" helmet isn't yet sized to the flyer yet nearly all the "NEW" helmets I see have parts installed that are only installed when the helmet is issued. The fakes I have handled weigh twice as much as an authentic helmet.<br />Here's the way I see this: Guy shows up at Antiques Roadshow carrying an HGU-55/P Combat Edge Helmet and proudly submits it to the appraiser. Appraiser takes one look at the helmet and tells the guy his helmet is a forgery and is worth maybe $200 and cautions that Chinese forgers are notorious for dropping prices as they flood the market and it becomes saturated. It's why you can buy a fake Rolex for $50. The moral of the story: there are experts out there who have devoted long hours to research on flight gear and they can spot a fake and there are a lot of fakes out there.

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The foliage green helmets are/were a color change to go with UCP camo, With the official adoption of the new variant of multi-cam, there will likely be another color change soon.

 

This is the current color (via Gentex)

2685.jpg

 

 

and this is the older/original color (via Gentex):

ABH_new.jpg

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The helmet shell came without any equipment on it. It felt the same weight as my original, proven real one. There appears to be no difference in actual thickness, the thing passes the coin test, and all of the equipment on it is donored from my old, valueless helmet. What else should I look for on the shell?

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Bluespicker

The DLA is anal when it comes to what they buy and they pay very close attention to the material selection, packaging, labeling etc of an item. I am unaware of DLA buying only the helmet shells but that is precisely what the forgers are selling on EBAY. I found a reference to the material used in the shell as "hybrid composite made from SPECTRA® and graphite embedded in an epoxy matrix". That isn't simply fiberglass. The DLA site was down but www.landandmaritime.dla.mil/Programs/MilSpec/DocSearch.aspx is where the specs reside. Anyone can build an HGU-56/P as long as they submit their items for testing and pay for the rather expensive tests. And yes, they break up a lot of helmets during the testing. If they have officially changed the color of the shell, I would expect a new rev of the spec. I couldn't find this but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

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The lighter color has been in use since 2011, possibly earlier. No confusing this color with the original color -- which was the same as the exterior aviation green used on Army helicopters

 

This photo is via the Oregon Nat'l Guard from May 2014.

 

army-3.jpg

 

This photo dated 2011.

frayer_medevac_22.jpg

 

From the same series as above. Note the second crewman's helmet is the older, dark green.

frayer_medevac_28.jpg

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Bluespicker

I am not disputing the color change isn't authentic. Under the auspices of mil-specs, the color of the shell is clearly spelled out in the spec and if you change the color, the spec would have to be changed. If the mil spec is MIL-H-12345 then the change would result in MIL-H-12345(A). We are all familiar with the APH-6A; APH-6B, APH-6C etc. Same for HGU-2/P and HGU-2 A/P. they refer to the MIL spec with the same revision.

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OK. I'm now confused.

 

Bluespicker: I have no doubt that if the color changed for the HGU-56, there should be a revision to the applicable mil-spec.

 

The OP's original question was that he purchased a shell in foliage green and was trying to determine if that meant he had a non-mil shell because the color wasn't dark green. Clearly US Army has used the sage/foliage shells for several years.

 

The OP never stated whether his light green shell had a label so no idea if his helmet shows a revised mil-spec number or not.

 

Does anyone know the mil-spec for the HGU-56? I don't have one of these helmets so can't check the label on one.

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northcoastaero

The USCG is also using the HGU-56/P helmet. I have seen their helmets in the earlier darker paint with strips of white honeycomb type reflective tape. I do not know if the USCG adopted the foliage green variant. Just some misc. info.

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  • 5 years later...

OK, I know this is a five-year-old discussion but I need to toss in some facts here...

First, as mentioned the US Army changed the color of the HGU-56/P from a dark green to a lighter, foliage color as seen above.

There is also a "greener" and darker version used by USN LCAC crews and Dutch rotary wing aviation crews.  

USCG and LCAC versions are usually distinguishable by the quick disconnect NVG mount that is rounded at the top.

Lastly, while there are AirSoft copies of the HGU-56/P, they are easily recognizable from the Gentex models.

Bluespicker's claim that there are "forgeries" out there is simply unsubstantiated.  Other than the AirSoft copies, I have yet to see a HGU-56/P for sale that wasn't made by Gentex.  Same goes for the HGU-55/P.  There are helmets that are similar, but a forgery will be specifically made to look like an original to include decals and such.  Those simply don't exist.  The bigger problem is individuals configuring helmets to be something they simply aren't (i.e. Combat Edge helmets).

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