A.E.F. Camouflage “Combat” Helmets

[AustinO]

Wanted to add this one to the topic, which I recently picked up. It's quite similar to the helmet in the first post. No provenance unfortunately, but you can see where a couple of the colored sections were scraped down to the bare metal (the red one towards the front, and a yellow one on the top).

[mccooper]

Great thread - thanks! Regarding the white helmets, here is a pic of mine, somewhat the worse for the wear, but seemingly authentic. The "Russia" stencil was painted while on the von Steuben going home, per the Bozich Bros. However, can I assume that the white was part of the war-time camo?

 

southridge

 

 

 

[mccooper]

And this label is attached to the inside rim.

 

southridge

 

 

 

[world war I nerd]

MAW, you raised some valid points. Your observations are very much appreciated.

 

There's no doubt that burlap covers were used by the AEF, but as you said to what extent. In the text, I think I wrote something like "burlap covers were widely worn by the troops of the AEF."

 

When I wrote that I didn't mean to imply that every third man was wearing a helmet cover, my thought was that the helmet covers were being worn by a wide cross-section of AEF organizations. Identified photos that I had access to depicted men from the 2nd, 26th, 33rd, 42nd, 77th and 81st Divisions wearing helmet covers ... plus there were a number of unidentified photos showing men wearing covers that if identified, would probably add a few more divisions to the above list.

 

In respect to your second point: Although there is no documentation stating so, I concur that camouflage painted helmets were likely not officially authorized by the AEF, and therefore they were not widely worn. Some of the posted photos do however, show individual soldiers wearing camouflage painted helmets at or near the front. Unless those men were carrying around two helmets one camouflage painted to be donned when a photograph was taken and the other not camouflage painted for wear in the trenches ... then technically, camouflage painted helmets were in fact worn in combat by at least a few men. But how many men? No doubt, it was a very small percentage, which would make camouflage painted helmets the exception rather than the rule.

 

I have read several diary accounts all of which stated that among other things, the steel helmet was often used to sit on when the ground was covered in mud ... hence the mud covering the top third or so of the helmet as you correctly suggested. We also need to consider that the upper portion of the helmet would likely be the most visible part of a soldier's anatomy when deployed in a trench. Thus camouflaging the top third of the helmet with mud so that it better blends in with the surrounding dirt and sandbag parapet of the trench is probably a wise thing to do.

 

Anyway, the whole point of this thread is to discuss the pros and cons of camouflage helmets in the AEF. The use of camouflage helmets in the AEF had to have been considered at some point by GHQ, perhaps somebody will discover a general order, memo, directive or circular put forth by that organization explaining exactly what the AEF policy towards camouflage helmets actually was.

 

PS, here's a cartoon drawn by Lieutenant Henry Morton Stoops depicting one of the many tasks for which a steel helmet was employed and a couple possible mud camouflaged helmets.

[world war I nerd]

Mccooper, Austin O & Suwanneetrader thanks for adding your camouflage helmets.

 

Coop, my understanding has always been that the Russian helmets were originally white and that the word "Russia" in blue was later stenciled on, but I don't recall the source of that information. The story regarding your helmet seems to somewhat confirm it though. It would make sense that helmets were painted white for the Russian winter, but so far there is no photographic evidence showing white helmets worn in action in either North Russia or Siberia.

 

Suwanneetrader, the yellow dot on your helmet is certainly an interesting feature that must have some significance ... yellow was the hatcord color for the cavalry ... a narrow yellow armband was worn by AEF carrying parties in combat ... it could also be related to British style shoulder flashes & battle insignia which the AEF experimented with during the St. Mihiel offensive and beyond.

 

Unclegrumpy, in respect to your question, I don't have a list of AEF unit insignia that was in use prior to the signing of the Armistice. I suspect that by November of 1918, most if not all AEF organizations had adopted an insignia to identify it transport and baggage. That practice may have even been mandated by GHQ. Not all, but many AEF unit histories devote a paragraph or two to their unit insignia and sometimes explain when and why it was adopted.

 

Off the top of my head, the 2nd, 5th, 26th, 42nd, 81st and 89th Divisions had all adopted their insignia between the spring and summer of 1918. I suspect others did as well, but these are the only organizations that I've been able to confirm so far, but I haven't really been looking very hard for that information.

[MAW]

Make no mistake...you do a great job on your articles...this one included.

 

There is a great compilation of photography and helmets in this thread.

 

For the post card photos that are included, it would be worthwhile to note the back of the card if there is an opportunity to do so....differentiating French "Carte Postale" backs and the standard German lined backs....to help better establish a time reference for the shot....German lined backs would definitely be occupation vintage, whereas French backs would be open for closer examination...

 

Just food for thought...

 

Another random thought on units painting their division insignia on their helmets....back in the late 1980s I was fortunate enough to interview a lieutenant in one of the local national guard companies (37th division). He told me that they had one man who had been a sign painter in civilian life, and he painted the helmets for their company. FWIW.... Sorry it's semi-off topic, but it's interesting to note.

[world war I nerd]

MAW, no worries. I hope the above reply didn't sound defensive. At any rate, it certainly wasn't intended to be. I was just trying to clarify some of what I'd written.

 

Also, I personally have no problem if the subject matter in a post wanders off the beaten path. As far as I'm concerned, so long as the information & images in this thread are helmet related, it just makes the topic more interesting or informative. For me, it's always good to learn about how, when, and by whom the helmets were painted as that sort of detailed information is always hard to come by.

 

I'm pretty sure that both of the studio shots of Doughboys wearing camouflage helmets were French. I'll check and let you know.

[David D]

Mccooper, Austin O & Suwanneetrader thanks for adding your camouflage helmets.

 

Coop, my understanding has always been that the Russian helmets were originally white and that the word "Russia" in blue was later stenciled on, but I don't recall the source of that information. The story regarding your helmet seems to somewhat confirm it though. It would make sense that helmets were painted white for the Russian winter, but so far there is no photographic evidence showing white helmets worn in action in either North Russia or Siberia.

 

Suwanneetrader, the yellow dot on your helmet is certainly an interesting feature that must have some significance ... yellow was the hatcord color for the cavalry ... a narrow yellow armband was worn by AEF carrying parties in combat ... it could also be related to British style shoulder flashes & battle insignia which the AEF experimented with during the St. Mihiel offensive and beyond.

 

Unclegrumpy, in respect to your question, I don't have a list of AEF unit insignia that was in use prior to the signing of the Armistice. I suspect that by November of 1918, most if not all AEF organizations had adopted an insignia to identify it transport and baggage. That practice may have even been mandated by GHQ. Not all, but many AEF unit histories devote a paragraph or two to their unit insignia and sometimes explain when and why it was adopted.

 

Off the top of my head, the 2nd, 5th, 26th, 42nd, 81st and 89th Divisions had all adopted their insignia between the spring and summer of 1918. I suspect others did as well, but these are the only organizations that I've been able to confirm so far, but I haven't really been looking very hard for that information.

I think I've read somewhere the 32nd adopted their insignia before the signing of the Armistice. However I forget where I read it...

[RustyCanteen]

WWINerd, excellent article as usual!

 

Regarding the painting of helmets, I have also read accounts mentioning men in the units going around offering to paint helmets or gas mask backs for a price.

 

RC

[Don L.]

This is an interesting thread and thank you for presenting it. Just wanted to add another helmet from my collection. The helmet received a total camouflaged painted finish across the external shell surface in gray-green with white and brick-orange/brown non-bordered irregular patches. I have no background on this one so anything is possible, but it does stand a chance pattern-wise (at least) of being used in the field.

[world war I nerd]

Don L. thanks for adding one of your camouflage helmets.

 

One of the things I always liked about the cammo helmets that show some age, is that (to me) those are the ones that just might have seen service in the trenches 100 years ago. Most however, probably received their weathered appearance from spending the last century in a damp basement or partially exposed to the elements in a barn or garage. But, unless you know the helmet's actual story, there's always hope that it too was a veteran of combat.

[kammo-man]

Amazing thread.

Thanks for posting.

Its great reading.

owen

[world war I nerd]

Owen, glad you enjoyed the topic.

 

As pure chance would have it, I bumped into this image of what must be an AEF Helmet Lanyard (as mentioned on post no. 42 on page no. 2 of this post) in use inside a folder dedicated to brassards worn by the AEF. Anyway, I'm glad I found it as it is one of the only two photos (that I've seen) of the lanyard in use. Now if I could only find the other one ...

[world war I nerd]

Obviously I attached the wrong image! The correct image will follow, but not until I explain what's going on in the above post ...

 

The above photo was sent to me by forum member Government Issue. It's of an 82nd Division Doughboy showing off the camouflage helmet he wore when what looks like a bullet ruined both his helmet and his day. The event was said to have occurred just two days before the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. The helmet appears to have been painted with a two or three (?) color disruptive pattern camouflage scheme.

 

Photo courtesy of digitalhistoryarchive.com via Government Issue

An event similar to what transpired above was described by a soldier of the 4th Division:

 

I was hit on the 'bean' by a head of a 3 inch shell. I didn't think that it had full speed, it bent my helmet, and dazed me for about five minutes, my head stopped the helmet from bending more.

 

Sergeant Henry J. Tudury, Company B, 59th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, AEF

 

 

PS, the tag tied to the collar of the 82nd Division Doughboy's overcoat is a diagnosis tag as filled out by by whoever first treated his wound either in the field or at a forward dressing station.

 

 

Attached here is the image of the helmet lanyard ... In this case the lanyard is attached to the left hand shoulder strap.

[world war I nerd]

A pair of American Doughboys wearing either genuine wartime or post-war counterfeit camouflage painted German helmets.

 

Photos courtesy of the Brennan Gauthier-portraits of war.wordpress.com collection

[MAW]

The 82d Div. battle damaged helmet looks like a sand-textured helmet with mud/dirt on it to me.....

 

The photo of the MP searching the Hun prisoner I've seen a thousand times, but never really focused in on that lanyard. Good eye!

 

I suspect that is a typical pistol lanyard that has been "re-purposed"... (?)

[world war I nerd]

I've seen the MP photo many times as well. When I first noticed the helmet lanyard, I thought that maybe it was a precautionary measure used by guards to prevent POWs from snatching their helmets and beating them senseless with their own tin hats.

 

Whether the 82nd Division guy's helmet is camouflage painted or not, it's still a great photo showing how the helmet helped prevent serious head injuries ...

[The Iron Brigade]

 

 

[world war I nerd]

Iron Brigade, thanks for adding that colorized image ... Benjamin Thomas did a great job digitally adding color. They always look weird when I see them in color though.

 

Found this image in the National World War I Museum's online photo archive. Without a date or context this particular image is not the "smoking gun" needed to prove that helmets were officially painted (at some level) by the AEF. However, it does show that helmets were camouflage painted "Over There" during the 1917 to 1919 time frame. The museum's caption for this photo was pretty vauge - "Soldier painting helmets," so not much help there.

 

Sadly, the question still remains ... is this a member of the 40th Engineer Regiment officially painting camouflage helmets for the the AEF or is he just another post-war entrepreneur making a buck selling souvenir camouflage helmets to the homeward bound Doughboys?

 

Photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

[aef1917]

The photo is from the collection of a doughboy in the 2nd Motor Mechanics Regiment.

[sgtdorango]

Fantastic photo....mike

[world war I nerd]

AEF 1917, any date to go along with the ID on the 2nd Motor Mechanic's photo? It sure would be nice to know if it was taken pre or post Armistice ... thanks for the ID by the way.

[world war I nerd]

A couple more American Doughboys from an unidentified unit wearing burlap helmet covers and a clearer image of the 89th Division soldier (from post no. 27) with the external drawstring burlap cover.

 

Photos courtesy of the Missouri Over There collection

[aef1917]

Here is one of mine with a hessian cover. It's also decorated with an Engineer castle and the doughboy's name.

 

[aef1917]

And another, with a cotton or linen cover, belonging to a 7th Division doughboy.