Flight helmet for identification

[Silvio]

Thank you,

 

This is my first flight helmet ever and in a few days i learned so much about them so i really enjoying that

 

Dispite your thoughts we probaly will never know the history(military refurbished or a collectors frankenstein creation)

First i wanted to strip the helmet but at a other hand its a nice looking helmet but please be free to give your opinions about this.

[mohawkALSE]

I really think that helmet was just pieced together.

 

The visor cover is surely from one of the ballistic helmets as you can see the fiberglass look of it on the inside pic vs a molded plastic. Its certainly not a APH-5 as that would have had a large hole at the rear for the big black rubber grommet where the comm cord came out of the shell. Having the smaller rubber gromet at the lower left side would either be a AFH-1 shell or some kind of HGU-2/22. Why on earth someone used the SPH type plug keeper that screws into the shell with the shrink tubing covering is beyond me, that is totally non standard. The boom mic round mount is the SPH style but could be used on other helmets as well like the HGU or PRK helmets.

 

Being taped, you cant tell for sure if this was a AFH-1 shell as the 2 holes where the original ear cups would have been mounted to are covered up. There would be 2 screw holes at the center side area of the shell where the ear cups mount approx 1 inch apart. On the left side that is also where the MT1627 mic mount would have been mounted. If you can carefully remove the earcups in your helmet, see if there are those 2 holes Im talking about behind them in the shell. If you can do that and there are no holes its most likely a HGU shell of some sort. Also if this was a AFH to begin with, someone changed the ear cup string retainers. This has the snap style like used on HGU-2/22 helmets and the AFH would have had the little bakelite nippples like APH-5s had. The earcups in this are certainly HGU style.

[MilitariaKollektor]

HI, just wanted to add this reference for the cammo tape which I verified from my friend is a commercial version available in the 80s. He sent me a couple of photos of his restored pilot's helmet.

 

Commercial Cammo compared to Government Issue

 

Back of Commercial Tape Sheet

 

Restored HGU-26/P with Side actuated dual visor and MBU-12/P Oxygen Mask

[Silvio]

Thank you for adding the images with the cammo tape