Marchville1918 Posted October 11, 2019 Share #26 Posted October 11, 2019 We will never know for sure. It looks real to me. I don't think it is a recent fake. I also don't think it was painted that way for use during active service. I've never seen another Kelly painted like that in any photos of actual service use. My theory is that after they were withdrawn from use by troops that someone painted it in the stile of the WW1 helmets from 20 years before. I doubt the army of that time would have allowed a soldier to paint up his duty helmet like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share #27 Posted October 11, 2019 I'm curious why you think the army wouldn't have allowed this. We know that soldiers applied camo schemes to M1s so I'm not sure why they wouldn't have been allowed to apply it to their M1917A1. I would have to imagine it was very uncommon though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted October 11, 2019 Share #28 Posted October 11, 2019 Looks like British tropical (Italy) camo. Who knows, perhaps a Tommy got a Yank helmet from a early arrival unit once they were fitted with the M1 helmet. The only matches to this style I have found are ID'ed British helmets such as this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juodonnell2012 Posted October 12, 2019 Share #29 Posted October 12, 2019 Morrocan goumiers were issued old m1917a1 helmets and American webbing during ww2. They were also known to camo paint their helmets in tan or a 2 color scheme. this helmet possibly saw use with Moroccan troops and the Brown name inside of the helmet is from a previous issue. Here is a link to a photo of a morrocan clearly wearing an m1917a1 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/182255116144355113/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share #30 Posted October 12, 2019 Hmm, very interesting, that could be one possibility. I don't think we''ll ever know for sure though exactly when and by who this camo scheme was done by. Morrocan goumiers were issued old m1917a1 helmets and American webbing during ww2. They were also known to camo paint their helmets in tan or a 2 color scheme. this helmet possibly saw use with Moroccan troops and the Brown name inside of the helmet is from a previous issue.Here is a link to a photo of a morrocan clearly wearing an m1917a1https://www.pinterest.com/pin/182255116144355113/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GITom1944 Posted October 13, 2019 Share #31 Posted October 13, 2019 This is not exactly the same scheme but it is evidence that "Kelly" helmets sometimes received camo paint... US troops training on a Bofors in Northern Ireland in 1942. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share #32 Posted October 13, 2019 Thanks for finding and sharing that Tom. I had no reason to doubt that they were painted on occasion but it's nice to see a picture of one in use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted November 5, 2019 Author Share #33 Posted November 5, 2019 I was poking around the internet and stumbled on another thread about a different camo M1917A1 posted here a few years back. Reading through the comments I found a bit of a surprise http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/255090-1917a1-navy-camo-helmet/?p=2043179 I would really like to know what happened to that other strap but nevertheless it's interesting seeing another forum member owned this helmet in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirvana Posted November 10, 2019 Share #34 Posted November 10, 2019 Youve gotta love the internet. Nothing disappears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now