Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Share #1 Posted April 18, 2019 Just got this one in the mail today. Early McCord helmet with a heat stamp of 63C painted battleship grey paired with a rough 1st pattern Hawley liner. The story from the seller is that this was one of the helmets taken off the USS San Francisco When it was decommissioned and sold the scrap. Unfortunately the helmets were exposed to the elements and the Hawley liner on this particular helmet started to collapse a bit due to the strain from the webbing. Besides the dents near the rivets and a little fraying on the rim the liner is still fairly solid. The webbing itself is in great condition and the chinstrap is still present in its entirety. The chinstrap and the leather on the sweatband are very stiff, to the point that the chinstrap can't be moved without risking damage to the chinstrap or liner. All in all I'm glad to finally add a Hawley liner to my collection, even if it's not in the best of conditions. Other than some surface rust the helmet itself is in good condition, only having two stress cracks which don't make it through the shell. The only significant issue with the shell is the short chinstrap is almost torn off. Anyone know if there's anything I should do to help prevent further tearing or am I better off doing nothing besides limiting the stress put in the chinstrap webbing? Also, with a heat stamp of 63C does that put this helmet's production date in late '41 or early '42? I'm wondering if it's possible that this helmet was on board the San Francisco during the attack on Pearl Harbor or if the navy started receiving M1s after the attack. In any case, here's an imgur album of the full size images for anyone who wishes to see them https://imgur.com/a/mV6Ta4G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted April 18, 2019 more pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted April 18, 2019 more pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted April 18, 2019 more pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted April 18, 2019 more pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted April 18, 2019 more pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted April 18, 2019 Share #7 Posted April 18, 2019 Nice early helmet. Yes, it is a little rough but its "been there". Astonishing that the liner chinstrap is intact. I would leave it all as it is. A very nice helmet. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted April 18, 2019 Share #8 Posted April 18, 2019 Ive been seeing those hawleys on ebay lately going for big bucks and they are not even half as nice as yours!!!. Just the liners all torn up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #9 Posted April 18, 2019 Nice early helmet. Yes, it is a little rough but its "been there". Astonishing that the liner chinstrap is intact. I would leave it all as it is. A very nice helmet. Jim Thanks Jim! I'm very happy that the liner still has the chin strap. So often you see the riveted chinstraps partially or entirely missing. And the as much as I'd love a pristine Hawley I still enjoy this one as it's a great example of some of the issues with these liners without being too far gone Ive been seeing those hawleys on ebay lately going for big bucks and they are not even half as nice as yours!!!. Just the liners all torn up. Yea, Hawley liners can get up there. I've had my eye on getting one for a while and missed a few in the past. All things considered I think I did OK on this set, especially with it being a very early set and the potential connection with the USS San Francisco. Going to have to try to get my hands on a St. Clair or Hood liner next! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M24 Chaffee Posted April 18, 2019 Share #10 Posted April 18, 2019 I really like the look of this set. It will display nicely! It’s great to have a complete, slightly warped Hawley! Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share #11 Posted April 18, 2019 I really like the look of this set. It will display nicely! It’s great to have a complete, slightly warped Hawley! Frank Thanks Frank! The fact that the liner was complete was definitely a huge draw for me on this helmet. It's actually only the second helmet I own that still has the liner chinstrap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conn Posted April 19, 2019 Share #12 Posted April 19, 2019 it looks great as is semper fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravecreek Posted April 19, 2019 Share #13 Posted April 19, 2019 I was bidding on this helmet, just not enough ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaher55 Posted April 19, 2019 Share #14 Posted April 19, 2019 Like it...! Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaptonIsGod Posted April 19, 2019 Share #15 Posted April 19, 2019 Ah yes, the San Francisco strikes again. Welcome to the CA-38 helmet club, here's my considerably saltier fixed bail Hawley combo (but my first and only real Hawley nonetheless), also scored some other shells from him, willing to bet you had the same tape and plastic packaging?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted April 19, 2019 Author Share #16 Posted April 19, 2019 Ah yes, the San Francisco strikes again. Welcome to the CA-38 helmet club, here's my considerably saltier fixed bail Hawley combo (but my first and only real Hawley nonetheless), also scored some other shells from him, willing to bet you had the same tape and plastic packaging?: Haha yup, painters tape and thick plastic wrap. I'm surprised by the amount of Hawley liners have come from the crates the guy is selling from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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