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Need help with M1 helmet!


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Hi guys I'm a complete newbie with military relics. Today I went to a respected Military antiques store in Toronto and bought an M1 helmet and liner supposed to be vietnam era. The shell is supposed to be Navy(painted grey)
My main concern is the liner. I looks like fibreglass at first glance but upon close inspection of the edges where it has worn away it looks kinda like cardboard! The inside has a raised stamp with US 12 in the crown. Has anyone ever seen a M1 liner stamp with "US 12" in it? I couldn't find any other markings in the liner. The headband has some printed markings but cant make them out. The nape strap has markings but someone used black marker over it. I can faintly see the printed markings. Has anyone seen an M1 liner with only a "US 12" stamp and no maker mark? I looked very closely and there is none. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Is this a real Vietnam era M1 liner?

 

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Yup you have a nice Vietnam liner. It should have the ink stamping of the maker on the side of the webbing where the headband is snapped.

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It should look something like this if it hasnt faded.

Yeah the nape has this but its been gone over with marker. The headband has marking but its faded out so I cant read it. I just want to know if anyone has seen a liner with no maker marks other than that US 12 inside.

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Cap Camouflage Pattern I

US 12 means it was made with a US government owned mold, this case mold number 12. It is not cardboard, it is resin impregnated laminated cotton duckcloth. While you got a legitimate mid 60s - early 70s helmet, I would strongly advise researching before buying.

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I actually spent 2 weeks researching M1 helmets on the internet before I bought this helmet. I’ve never really seen a liner up close before and I only saw information about liners that had maker marks inside. From the info I found it seemed that every liner had a tiny maker stamp. So when I couldn’t find anything in the M1 liner except the US 12 mold mark I kinda got worried and didn’t know what to make of it.

Also, ww2 and Vietnam helmets are kinda hard to find here in Toronto so when I found this one in a local respected military antiques shop I was excited and didn’t look too closely inside for a maker mark. I did research helmets before I bought though.

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