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WW2 M1 Fixed bail Helmet. Authentic?


SouthShore 8754
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SouthShore 8754

I have had this M1 fixed bail helmet in my collection for a bit, I always thought it was authentic fixed bail , but after seeing some recent posts on the forum about other helmets, I thought I should post it up and ask to put any doubts to rest. 

 

I have posted some photos of the bales and the stitching up close. Please let me know your thoughts as helmets are not my strong point in collecting and it seems that helmet collecting these days is basically like navigating a mine field. Do the fixed bales look to be made of the proper material? Do they look to be welded on correctly? Also, does the stitching on the helmet straps look correct? I'm not sure as to the paint on the helmet either, I realize that there were a lot of different color variants on helmets during that period. Does  the paint look accurate for the WW2 period? The heat stamp on the helmet reads "270 B" and it is a front seam. Please let me know your thoughts as to whether or not it is an authentic WW2 fixed bail helmet. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

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SouthShore 8754

The helmet also came with a stilted helmet cover, and a hawley liner. Not sure what type the hawley is.  I have no doubt that the cover and liner are both authentic. Just not sure about the steel pot. 

 

 

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SouthShore 8754

Thanks for looking it over and confirming that its an authentic early McCord! I thought the Hawley might be a later pattern because of the A washers. I think the steel pot and the liner are probably a matching set. However, if you look at the rust on the helmet cover, it doesn't match the wear on the helmet. The helmet has virtually no rust marks whatsoever, so I am leaning  towards believing that the cover originally belonged to a different helmet. Would like to know your thoughts on that.  I may be wrong, haven't had much experience collecting helmets. 

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  • 2 months later...

The helmet looks correct. There are slight differences on the welds on a McCord and Schlueter. The Hawley looks like a 3rd pattern?

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  • 1 month later...
On 8/16/2020 at 5:00 AM, SouthShore 8754 said:

Thanks for looking it over and confirming that its an authentic early McCord! I thought the Hawley might be a later pattern because of the A washers. I think the steel pot and the liner are probably a matching set. However, if you look at the rust on the helmet cover, it doesn't match the wear on the helmet. The helmet has virtually no rust marks whatsoever, so I am leaning  towards believing that the cover originally belonged to a different helmet. Would like to know your thoughts on that.  I may be wrong, haven't had much experience collecting helmets. 

If there's no match between the rust stains on the cover and the shell then my guess would be that the cover has been put on to cover the stress crack in the shell.  It's something I did too.

 

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SouthShore 8754
On 11/30/2020 at 9:55 PM, 'Flage Guy said:

Nice lid!!!! Hope you grabbed it.

Does the Helmet Cover have buttonholes in the flaps?

 

Thanks!  I grabbed it immediately when I saw it, glad I did! 

 

The cover does have the slits in the flaps. I'll post a photo of it below. 

 

 

1392292816_Helmetupclose.png.272d3ea2a3a3b3407fa5f82f0483b511.png

 

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33 minutes ago, SouthShore 8754 said:

 

Thanks!  I grabbed it immediately when I saw it, glad I did! 

 

The cover does have the slits in the flaps. I'll post a photo of it below. 

 

 

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😜 😜 😜😜 👍 👍 👍 👍

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Is there any story behind the helmet?

 

The person selling it have any background information?

 

Did you find a name in it? 
 

Overall a very nice set up.

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SouthShore 8754
2 hours ago, manayunkman said:

Is there any story behind the helmet?

 

The person selling it have any background information?

 

Did you find a name in it? 
 

Overall a very nice set up.

 

Thanks for commenting. Unfortunately, the seller didn't have any info on the original owner of the helmet. I think the helmet has changed hands quite a few times and the original story behind it is lost. I only took the helmet apart once due to the fragile hawley liner and didn't find any name stencil markings on the jungle or beach side of the helmet cover. I didn't find any markings on the pot or liner either. The seller seemed to think that all the components (Cover, liner and pot) were original to the helmet and were not put together.

 

I can only guess that the soldier who it originally was issued to, might not have seen much action due to the hawley liner still being present and the cover not being dirty. 

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SouthShore 8754
On 12/2/2020 at 8:29 AM, Dogsbody said:

If there's no match between the rust stains on the cover and the shell then my guess would be that the cover has been put on to cover the stress crack in the shell.  It's something I did too.

 

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Thanks for posting an example from your collection. That helmet cover is in excellent shape! I agree, the helmet cover probably didn't belong to the helmet originally.

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