shifty5580 Posted December 2, 2019 Share #1 Posted December 2, 2019 Hello everyone, Here is a new helmet from my collection, coming from France. It's a nice fixed bail, with skull and bones insignia on the shell and the liner. There is an asn into the shell but the file burned I suppose. There is a strange marking into it but cant read good, someone know the meaning of it? I read : INF ?53 FUPT Someone know this marking from an unit? Dont think it's for a coast guard, the ASN is for an army soldier and the shell is green Thanks a lot Bertrand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shifty5580 Posted December 2, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted December 2, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burning Hazard Posted December 2, 2019 Share #3 Posted December 2, 2019 Pretty neat, looks like the shell was covered in shellac. Kinda reminds me of these coast guard painted helmets below. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shifty5580 Posted December 2, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted December 2, 2019 Thanks for your help, I think its the picture, there is no shellac on the shell for me, I made another picture with this nice weather I suppose it's not a coast guard helmet because we have an army helmet (paint in green) and an army ASN Maybe a minesweeper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted December 2, 2019 Share #5 Posted December 2, 2019 Looks like the symbol used on German mine flags to me. Maybe it was used by a bomb disposal unit? http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/240856-show-off-your-ww2-helmet-nets/&do=findComment&comment=1922287 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken88 Posted December 3, 2019 Share #6 Posted December 3, 2019 Bertrand, There are several possibilities, Generally speaking the skull and bones (often refered to as Jolly Roger) has a strong connection to pirates, hence why it has sometimes been used by naval troops throughout history. This however would not account for the infantry association in your helmet, unless of course your helmet was reissued before the application of the insignia, which is very much possible. The engineer/bomb disposal unit suggestion is a really good possibility as well. There is a very good chance of that and probably is the most likely of all possibilities. The skull and bones insignia most often signifies death or danger, which of course is why it has been the most appropriate to be used on warning flags and such. Considering this, perhaps there's also a chance of this helmet having belonged to an army coroner or someone in charge of removing fallen soldiers from the battlefield? Perhaps the latter sounds a bit too disrespectful, but I can imagine the people who had to do this work liked to lighten the mood with this kind of thing. Thirdly, there is a possibility of it being a personalization, USAAF bomber crews would sometimes paint whatever was painted on their aircraft on their helmets as well. The same may have been done in certain infantry units, armored infantry units in particular spring to mind. Finally, this one is pretty far fetched, but the Germans had an SS Totenkopf division that used the skull and bones as well. Unlikely as it may seem, there are pictures of German troops wearing allied helmets (see picture attached). This is thinking out of the box, far out there and ridiculous thinking perhaps, but every now and then you will come across period pictures that go to show there is no real 'normal' when it comes to collecting helmets. Frankly I'd rule out this possibility, it is just very unlikely but the pride some Germans took in wearing allied steel still is an interesting historical fact and what better time to share this than now? The insignia in any case looks original, I hope you can figure it out. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raddock Posted December 3, 2019 Share #7 Posted December 3, 2019 That’s a cool helmet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shifty5580 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share #8 Posted December 3, 2019 Thanks a lot for your answers. The bomb disposal is effectly the most interesting suggestion I contact geoff to help me to discover more about the soldier, it would be very helpful for the identification of the insignia Stay in touch! Bertrand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfields Posted December 3, 2019 Share #9 Posted December 3, 2019 I agree with the wide possibilities as posted by ken88. Just to throw in another photo, here is a shot of a cracked up cargo plane in the CBI with skull & crossbones usage. This is a photo in an album I have: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted December 4, 2019 Share #10 Posted December 4, 2019 Might be related to the 32nd Infantry regiment during the Korean War. See this thread. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/203842-32nd-rct-korean-war-era-items/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7thEvac Posted December 4, 2019 Share #11 Posted December 4, 2019 The skull design looks European to me, rather than American. Who knows, could be GIs that copied it from a mine sign or some other German source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightpath Posted December 4, 2019 Share #12 Posted December 4, 2019 Here’s a period photo of a mine flag on an M1, the skull painted on the OP’s helmet really does look German inspired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shifty5580 Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share #13 Posted December 4, 2019 Thanks for your help, I,dont think it's a korean helmet, it was found in France and there is a ww2 ASN I come back to you with more informations I hope Bertrand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shifty5580 Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share #14 Posted December 30, 2019 I just finish the identification, with the help of golden arrow The soldier was a half track driver of the 53rd armored (4th armored division). He received the purple heart in France (8/1944) . He fought in normandy, France, Ardennes,... So I suppose the skull and bones are for a half track driver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted December 30, 2019 Share #15 Posted December 30, 2019 Glad to hear you were able to get more information on the vet this helmet belonged to. Truly a very nice piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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