M1 helmet heat stamp and manufacture date

[Marchville1918]

I have a WW11 M1 helmet with front seam and fixed bales. The chin strap is OD #3. The buckle is NOT brass (I'm not sure what nonbrass metal they used then). I don't see any heat stamp or stamp of any kind in the brim area. Did all helmets have a stamp? Based on its general features as described, when would it have been manufactured? Thanks

[Grant G.]

Can you upload photos showing the helmet overall? Some helmets did, in fact, leave the factory without heat stamps. Some also had their lot numbers stamped at the loop area. It's also possible (and probably the case) that the heat stamp is lightly stamped in its normal spot.

[Marchville1918]

I'm not set up to do pictures right now. What would the features I described (front seam, fixed bail of #3 strap) suggest for a manufacture date? Another thing about the helmet is that the surface is not especially rough. I don't think it ever had the cork particles added. I don't think it has been repainted and it is only moderately worn. Thanks for any help.

[Burning Hazard]

Assuming the helmet is unmessed with and chinstraps are still factory sewn, it sounds like your helmet might of been made sometime in 1943. There was a brass shortage in 1943 so McCord switched to steel hardware; these would corrode more in field. The brass shortage was lifted in 1944 and McCord started using flat brass buckles again on rear seam helmets.

 

Also to note, war production factories like McCord also like to use up all leftover materials; I've owned fixed bail shells with mixed steel and brass hardware, swivel bail shells with early raised brass buckles etc.

 

Hope this helps

 

Pat

[ken88]

Most definitely 1943 if it's a fixed bail helmet. What do the weld marks next to the seam on the front look like, oval shaped or circular? Circular= Schlueter oval for McCord. McCord bales have a ca. 90 degree angle whereas Shlueter used rounded bales. There's also a difference in the shape of the helmet if it"s a Schlueter.

 

Also if the interior had a repaint the number will be virtually impossible to find. Even if the paint is the original layer the numbers are sometimes hard to spot. I've seen a lot of helmets where people took away paint to be able to find numbers. Please don't do that if you can't find it. A helmet with all of its untouched original paint is worth more than a dated one if you ask me. Besides you will know the year in any case.

 

Edit: also would like to add that lot numbers aren't exact science. I've seen helmets with swivel bails that had very low numbers. Early stocks were sometimes used up later in the war.

[Marchville1918]

Thanks for your help. Based on your information, the helmet is a McCord (90 degree angle fixed bails).

[WW2JAKE]

Just to add to what was already said about lot number locations, there have been some helmets that were found with the lot number on the exterior of the shell rather than inside. How this happened, I have no idea. But it happened