The Rooster Posted May 21, 2020 Share #1 Posted May 21, 2020 Greetings, I have an M1 front seam here that has strange crimp welds on the front seam. They look somewhat like ovals but they are really faint. And the heat stamp is off to the side and partially covered by the rim. looks like 10 A or 104? Its strange. I dont think its a euro M1 but why the weird crimp welds and why the strange heat stanp placement? I'd really appreciate you folks who know, filling me in on what is with this thing? It looks like it has cork and not sand finish. Thank you. Rooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntssurplus Posted May 21, 2020 Share #2 Posted May 21, 2020 Might be a depot repaired helmet, and had the rim put back on using depot equipment. Also might just be manufacturer error. It isn't that out of the ordinary to have the seam not right to the front of the helmet. I believe I have seen a few other examples. Same thing with the heat stamp. I think this is still a good, original, WW2 era produced helmet. Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted May 21, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted May 21, 2020 Thank you hunt. I just cannot make out the shape of those crimps and I never saw a heat stamp way on the side Half hidden by the rim. Its a new one to me. I thought maybe there were more than 2 manufactureres during ww2 but I guess not. Depot repair seems a reasonable explanation for the weird crimps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aef1917 Posted May 21, 2020 Share #4 Posted May 21, 2020 8 hours ago, rooster77 said: I thought maybe there were more than 2 manufactureres during ww2 but I guess not. There were. The third manufacturer had lot codes starting with a P near the right chinstrap loop and 9 spot welds around the rim in addition to two at the seam. They were late war, so they should have rear seam manganese rims. Your pictures are too dark to make out much detail so I can't really tell what's going on with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted May 21, 2020 Share #5 Posted May 21, 2020 From the examples I've seen online I don't think Parish ever got to 10, to say nothing of 104, and I havent seen any number prefixes. Shape also does not look like parish, they followed the spec drawings a lot closer, so they have a more angled front brim and a much higher arch in the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted May 21, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted May 21, 2020 Here are some better shots. I can only see the two crimp marks at the front seam. It doesnt look like there are any other crimp marks on the rim ? So Parish is the third Brand? Thank you for that as all ive been able to read up on is McCord and Schlueter. The heat number, if you are looking at it with the brim facing front, is halfway between the front seam and the right loop. halfway covered by the rim. Ive never seen one like this. I appreciate the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickman983 Posted May 21, 2020 Share #7 Posted May 21, 2020 Almost certainly not a parish. I believe they only started manufacturing helmets very late in the war and only made a small number before their production ceased. As aef mentioned, the heat stamp on the parish would have been under the chinstrap bail. I've been keeping an eye out for one of these myself but haven't had any luck yet. My guess is this is either a production error or a refurbished helmet with the rim reattached off center. Looks like the heat stamp might be 103A, is there any evidence of there being fixed bails on it at one point? As for the heat stamp positioning. This is a bit extreme but I've got more than a few helmets in my collection with offset heat stamps. Here's one where the positioning is similar to yours but further away from the brim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aef1917 Posted May 21, 2020 Share #8 Posted May 21, 2020 Yeah, with the clearer pics I'd say some sort of refurb. I'm always interested in potential Parish-Reading helmets, since everything we know is based on about 10 known examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted May 21, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted May 21, 2020 Hey Thank you everyone. The seam is not off center by much at all. The second pic from the top makes it appear way off but its only slightly off center. I cannot tell wether it was once a fixed bail as I really cannot find any other crimp weld marks except the 2 at the front seam. I suppose maybe some blanks were accidentlly loaded off center so that the heat number could wind up near the rim on the side? So you all think its a repaired steel pot ? Thank you again to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted May 22, 2020 Share #10 Posted May 22, 2020 I think I saw a picture on here with the lot number on the outside of the shell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntssurplus Posted May 22, 2020 Share #11 Posted May 22, 2020 Definitely would have to agree with Nickman that it looks like there are 4 digits on the heat stamp. 10XA Reaffirms my earlier point this is definitely an original helmet, just with a bit of wonk somewhere on the timeline. Nice shell. Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchangelDM Posted May 22, 2020 Share #12 Posted May 22, 2020 Hey mate US helmet with a production error - not a euro Clone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share #13 Posted May 23, 2020 Thank you everyone. I got some close up pics of the heat stamp. It looks like 1103A with the second 1 and the 3 very very faint ? Looks that way ? Produced 12/1944... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntssurplus Posted May 23, 2020 Share #14 Posted May 23, 2020 That would match up with everything else! Nice, US produced shell. Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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