militbuff Posted January 31, 2020 Share #1 Posted January 31, 2020 Picked this up a few weeks back. I got it from an Army brat who lived with his dad who was stationed in France in the early 1960s before they pulled out of NATO. He said there was a large US Army depot full of helmets, backpacks, etc. that they pulled this helmet and liner out of. Is the helmet a WWII era one? It’s a rear seam swivel bail but I can’t locate any numbers etc. on the inside. Any idea how to date it? Also attached are pics of the liner. The head strap is dated 1953 and 1952 and it’s a Westinghouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share #2 Posted January 31, 2020 Liner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted January 31, 2020 Strap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted January 31, 2020 Stamp. Is 61 for 1961? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivedrab1970 Posted January 31, 2020 Share #5 Posted January 31, 2020 Looks to be a Late War helmet and liner, a post war sweatband and adjustable nape strap. To bad the leather chinstrap is broken it was a green buckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted January 31, 2020 Share #6 Posted January 31, 2020 This website has a handy timeline. http://www.hardscrabblefarm.com/ww2/dating_m1.htm Your shell is rear seam with khaki sewn straps making it very late 1943 or 44. The liner is a WW2 Westinghouse (should have a grommet on the front) with added later OD7 parts. Could it have been used in Korea that way? Yep. It's not like when Korea erupted the army took all their millions of helmets and made sure they ONLY had khaki straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gap Posted February 1, 2020 Share #7 Posted February 1, 2020 Pretty sure rear seam is late 1944-1945 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share #8 Posted February 1, 2020 Thanks to all of you for your help. Very interesting about the helmet and liner being WWII with some post war added parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 1, 2020 Share #9 Posted February 1, 2020 Thanks to all of you for your help. Very interesting about the helmet and liner being WWII with some post war added parts. Really common. It's a really nice set, you can find sets just like with Mitchell covers added being used in Vietnam and later. They military used what they had, almost all Korean war helmets are pretty much WWII helmets that have been reworked. Really neat helmet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted February 2, 2020 Share #10 Posted February 2, 2020 Pretty sure rear seam is late 1944-1945 Yes but the khaki straps are earlier than the OD7 sewn ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivedrab1970 Posted February 2, 2020 Share #11 Posted February 2, 2020 Yes but the khaki straps are earlier than the OD7 sewn ones. I have 2 pots a Schleuter and a Mccord, both are front seam and have sewn in OD#7 chinstraps.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted February 3, 2020 Share #12 Posted February 3, 2020 I have 2 pots a Schleuter and a Mccord, both are front seam and have sewn in OD#7 chinstraps.. Khaki straps were produced earlier than OD7 ones, and front seam shells were produced earlier than rear seams. There was some bleed-over during the transition, but I'd guess your 2 shells were reworked with later straps to replace the original damaged khaki ones. I have a front seam M1 that came from a vet of the 26th ID, Massachusetts National Guard and was still being used in the early 1980s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 3, 2020 Share #13 Posted February 3, 2020 Schleuter shells in all forms can be found with original factory applied OD#7 straps. Front seam fixed loops (both OD#3 & 7) Front seam swivel loops (both OD#3 & 7) And rear seam schleuter shells (only OD#7) There are the oddball McCord front and rear seam that have OD#7 straps but as Matt suggests they are most likely reworked examples from the 1940s There also seems to be a lot of rear seam M1C helmets by McCord with OD#7 straps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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