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Early WW2 Navy Fixed Loop with Hawley


The Rooster
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13 minutes ago, jmd62 said:

Ha! You're probably right :D Maybe a good crab or two in there for lunch..

I’ve seen video of the Brits doing the same thing in the Channel. Crate after crate of new weapons and ammunition, there’s and German, being rolled off the bow ramps of assault boats, back and forth across the Channel 

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10 minutes ago, jmd62 said:

It makes me want to take up scuba diving.. 

I do scuba dive. Like diving wrecks. Anything not metal is gone by 10 years. By 20 years, Metal is barely recognizable if you don’t know what your looking at. Again, all depends on the water. Stuff preserves better in cold water. Plus, the amount of contaminates in the water. I crossed Tokoyo bay in the 1960s. Filthy!  All sorts of pollutants and trash. That gets all over the bottom and speeds up the determination of things down there. 

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It's amazing what salt water will do, especially that nasty polluted water you described. I guess the best hope for finding anything decent from WW2 would be something somehow encased well enough to have protected it. 

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The Rooster
26 minutes ago, patches said:

Now all you need is a rayon sweatband. Hmm would there be a way to replace the chin strap liner?

 

You know Ive seen a lot of videos from Russia and the stuff they pull out of lakes and swamps is pretty well preserved.

Even Tanks and rifles etc etc. Apparently the mud keeps the O2 away. In salt water? Forget about it.

 

Patches........

 Yea and now a nape strap. Not sure about replacing the chinstrap though. May just leave that.

The only way I could think of doing it is to get an actual old chin strap and cut it and thread it through the existing

loops in the liner and re attach the leather where I cut it. Or try to remove a rivet on the strap??

Im thinking prob better left as is.

 

DSCF2880.JPG

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patrick_usmc

Beautiful helmet!

 

There's a Seaman 2nd Class Benjamin W. Callahan, who enlisted in April of 1941. He arrived at Pearl Harbor on December 24, 1941 aboard the USS Harris. Upon arrival he was assigned to the USS Vestal. It looks like he was assigned to the Vestal before December 7th, as he was making his way down there from Bremerton in late November 1941. He just didn't arrive until after the attack. He was on the Vestal until May or June of 1942, until being transferred to the USS  Columbia (CL-56), where it looks like he served the rest of the war. Not sure if that's your guy, but he's the one that pops out on the rolls when I searched Ben Callahan, unless "Ben" was a middle name or something. .

 

On the topic of cool things in the water,  the Lexington's Aircraft are incredibly well preserved, I think due to depth and the cold water. Boy I'd love to dive on that (except it's too deep). 

 

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1 hour ago, rooster77 said:

 

You know Ive seen a lot of videos from Russia and the stuff they pull out of lakes and swamps is pretty well preserved.

Even Tanks and rifles etc etc. Apparently the mud keeps the O2 away. In salt water? Forget about it.

 

Patches........

 Yea and now a nape strap. Not sure about replacing the chinstrap though. May just leave that.

The only way I could think of doing it is to get an actual old chin strap and cut it and thread it through the existing

loops in the liner and re attach the leather where I cut it. Or try to remove a rivet on the strap??

Im thinking prob better left as is.

 

DSCF2880.JPG

So you had a Rayon Sweatband for it?

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The Rooster

Much thanks and appreciation to AZNATION for finding out about Bejamin W Callahan whose name is written in the liner.

Ben Callahan was assigned to the USS Vestal in November of 1941?? Prob not reading it right ???

Looks like he was on the Vestal during the attack on Pearl Harbor. ???

He was transfered shortly after to the troopship USS Harris. The Harris was split into

3 divisions on the ship. Name in Liner is Ben Callahan, 2nd Division.

There was an Edward Bookhardt on the Vestal.

Possibly picked up off the Vestal by Callahan? And

taken with him to the USS Harris ?

Not sure yet as the name I found had no middle initial.

 

 

b43.jpg

b48.jpg

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The Rooster
On 7/23/2020 at 7:03 PM, patrick_usmc said:

Beautiful helmet!

 

There's a Seaman 2nd Class Benjamin W. Callahan, who enlisted in April of 1941. He arrived at Pearl Harbor on December 24, 1941 aboard the USS Harris. Upon arrival he was assigned to the USS Vestal. It looks like he was assigned to the Vestal before December 7th, as he was making his way down there from Bremerton in late November 1941. He just didn't arrive until after the attack. He was on the Vestal until May or June of 1942, until being transferred to the USS  Columbia (CL-56), where it looks like he served the rest of the war. Not sure if that's your guy, but he's the one that pops out on the rolls when I searched Ben Callahan, unless "Ben" was a middle name or something. .

 

On the topic of cool things in the water,  the Lexington's Aircraft are incredibly well preserved, I think due to depth and the cold water. Boy I'd love to dive on that (except it's too deep). 

 

 

I think this is the right guy. I may have the timeline wrong in my previous post but yea it looks like the same guy.

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I have seen this helmet set before with the same lettering on the fibre liner, just can't remember where. Very cool set though!

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On 7/23/2020 at 10:11 PM, rooster77 said:

I aquired one. They aint cheap either.

Yeah the sweatbands are almost as much as a nice fixed bail set!

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The Rooster

Now I see , I was reading it wrong. He arrived at Pearl Harbor

13 December aboard the Harris and transfered to the Vestal.

No Idea how the E.T.B. got on there?

Any thoughts? Guesses? The Columbia he was on latter was a light cruiser.

It seems in awfully good shape to have been used the whole time by Callahan. ?

Maybe E>T>B aquired it after Callahan? I dont see how it could have gone through the whole war

though and still be looking like it does? At the same time, I dont see anything jumping out as fake.

Ben Callahans name looks like old faded india ink from a fountain pen and its got fine dust and such schmutz

accumulated over it that it does look like it was put on there 80 years ago...

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The Rooster

The Heat stamp on the helmet is January 1942 production..

Callahan would have to have worn it possibly on the USS Columbia ?

Someone with the initials ETB on the Columbia maybe had it before him ?

I would think the helmets were issued on the ship. ?

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I have a sister helmet to this one, only main difference is the stenciling on the shell is on the crown rather than the front, and it's been identified to an individual who never left stateside during the war. He was enlisted in February of '42 and was sent to USNCTC at Norfolk in April of '42.

 

I'm wondering if it was used in training by Mr. Callahan and then reissued at training again to ETB at a later date. It could be possible that it never left stateside which would help explain the excellent condition.

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The Rooster
39 minutes ago, Nickman983 said:

I have a sister helmet to this one, only main difference is the stenciling on the shell is on the crown rather than the front, and it's been identified to an individual who never left stateside during the war. He was enlisted in February of '42 and was sent to USNCTC at Norfolk in April of '42.

 

I'm wondering if it was used in training by Mr. Callahan and then reissued at training again to ETB at a later date. It could be possible that it never left stateside which would help explain the excellent condition.

 

The thing about that is that the heat stamp on the shell is 41 according to the ghost treaders site it

 

http://ghost.treaders.free.fr/identification_casque.php

 

gives a date of January 1942.

Callahans name has 2nd Division under it.

Seems ike that would not be something used in training. 2nd division?

And if it was made in 1942, Callahan would have been way past training by the time it finally eneterd the system.

Is it possible a helmet aboard the USS Columbia during the last 3 years of WW2 could have a hawley liner in it in such good condition?

It would not seem likely. Possible ?

As far as I know Callahan was a signalman and a telegrapher for a civilian company after the war.

Much different than being a gunner or a loader physically speaking.

A signalman might be positioned high up in the superstructure so the helmet would be less likey wetted by the water...etc etc   .

Or like you said... Maybe he went to some training before transfering to the Columbia?

I think he arrived on the Columbia June 29th 1942.

Maybe he needed further training after going from the Vestal to a light cruiser?

Its a mystery no doubt.

 

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Helmets in the Navy are issued to SHIPS. Sailors might claim them and put their names on them, once they get it to fit. But helmets and not issued to ship board Sailors. And, because there’s only so much room in a sea bag, a Sailor most likely would not haul a heOmer from one ship to another, knowing there are piles of them there. 

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