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Early FS/FB Schlueter and Liner - "War Reject"


ClaptonIsGod
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ClaptonIsGod

I just bought this extremely mint and fairly early front seam fixed bail Schlueter with an equally mint and complete unpainted early to mid-war Westinghouse liner. I'd been wanting to add a Schlueter fixed bail to my collection for some time, and on what I've written alone it would be a fine specimen and I'd be content. However, that's not what drew me to this helmet (even if an eBay app glitch produced a much higher maximum bid than what I entered with seconds left – I couldn't bring myself to take the free escape and walk away from it).

 

What initially put it on my radar was the fact that inside the shell, in black ink, is stamped "WAR REJECT." I have a few rejected liners (one toy and one simply undrilled MSA shell), and a rejected shell blank (never got the rim, bales, or paint after failing ballistic testing). But I'd never seen or even heard of a finished shell being stamped as a reject, and somehow surviving. I did some research, and I came across this post (https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/255681-factory-reject-early-fixed-bail-schlueter-m1-helmet/) where someone bought this helmet's long lost twin and started a discussion.

 

The lot number is 18X, the last digit (unsure if a letter, or a number and letter) are illegible and so is a stamp in the back of the interior. The reject stamp was done twice, one over the other. The paint and cork are in excellent condition, as are the brass chinstraps (not 100% sure, will check with a magnet in due time). What appears to have done this helmet in is the rim pulling up and away from the shell in one spot. The liner is in equally excellent condition. The Westinghouse lot appears to be D39, the A-washers are brass, the liner chinstrap has a DOT rivet, the nape stamp is too faded to read, and the sweatband appears to be made by the Yale S&B Co. on a contract beginning with W11 and ending in 15007 - no date visible and the cloth is too dry to attempt moving, but the buckle is painted OD. Suspension appears to have laundry mark D-8303.

 

Enough talking, I'll let the helmet speak for itself and welcome discussion, and as always, any opinions on value. My gut tells me the number of surviving "WAR REJECT"-stamped Schlueter FS/FBs (or even any WWII M1 for that matter) is probably in the double digits, but my gut has been wrong many times before and surely will be again.

 

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huntssurplus

Interesting! Any notable deformities that would lead it to being a reject? Looks like there might be a problem with the rim in photo 4? 

Hunt

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ClaptonIsGod

You are correct, my conclusion is that there was an issue with the rim process in the early Schlueter days which led to the rim deformity you see. There may also be a small stress crack or two I vaguely remember seeing yesterday, but I don’t feel it’s worth the strain on the liner strap to check currently.

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ClaptonIsGod

Perhaps, the twin rejected helmet I linked in my post has the seam pretty much centered, so I wonder if this one was really close to the start of production or it was just a manufacturing error they initially didn’t think warranted scrapping it (assuming the liner is original and considering they gave it chinstraps, then presumably it failed after issue and the reject stamp was done by a QM).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Finally had a chance to check the chinstrap hardware with a magnet, appears they’re brass so I think everything about the helmet checks out as being fairly early.

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