m1a2u2 Posted October 29, 2020 Share #1 Posted October 29, 2020 These are my 2 arvn ranger helmets that I was lucky enough to pick up over the past 10 years or so. How do they look? Any idea what unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1a2u2 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share #2 Posted October 29, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
644td Posted October 29, 2020 Share #3 Posted October 29, 2020 I can’t comment on original as these helmets are a huge mine field and buyers thread lightly. I look forward to others thoughts. marty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
644td Posted October 29, 2020 Share #4 Posted October 29, 2020 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Posted October 29, 2020 Share #5 Posted October 29, 2020 I will defer to Owen (and a couple of others) on these, but I like the first one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1a2u2 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted October 29, 2020 I took them to an art restoration specialist who did some tests to date the paint as around 50 years years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted October 29, 2020 Share #7 Posted October 29, 2020 The first one is a very classic design, lots of battalions with helmets quite similar but none exactly the same in my photo collection. The second is very vaguely similar to the iconic 44th Bn but yours is tan instead of yellow. I a haven't seen any like that, but of course I haven't seen every ARVN helmet... yet😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Posted October 29, 2020 Share #8 Posted October 29, 2020 26 minutes ago, Cap Camouflage Pattern I said: The first one is a very classic design, lots of battalions with helmets quite similar but none exactly the same in my photo collection. The second is very vaguely similar to the iconic 44th Bn but yours is tan instead of yellow. I a haven't seen any like that, but of course I haven't seen every ARVN helmet... yet😉 Hi Cap, the first helmet is at least the 3rd, if not 4th, nearly-identical ARVN Ranger helmet I’ve seen. There is one on WAF, in the Indochina section, and there is the one that sold on eB^y last year, that I posted a link on. IIRC, Owen has one that is pretty close as well. I’ve compared the camo patterns beyond the Tiger / star, and they are absolutely different helmets - versus the same helmet showing up multiple places. Here is the topic on the eB^y one from last fall: Deja Vu, as it seems like a few of us keep congregating around these. Here is the WAF example, reported to have been authenticated by our very own “Bugme” (see post #45): https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/ken-jasper-international-militaria-forums/indo-china-wars-1945-1975/358365-arvn-helmet-camouflage-schemes-covers-in-photographs/page3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted October 30, 2020 Share #9 Posted October 30, 2020 I have seen the examples in collections, but what I mean is I have not seen this exact style in wartime photos. This is the closet one I have seen looking at the details like the size and placement of the star points, inverted whiskers center tooth, "invisible ERDL" style camo, but still there are differences, of course the glare and B&W doesn't help. Unfortunately I haven't been able to pin this one to a bn yet. A South Vietnamese stretcher-bearer wears a face mask to protect himself from the smell as he passes the bodies of US and South Vietnamese soldiers killed fighting the Vietcong in the Michelin rubber plantation, 27 November 1965. More than 100 bodies were recovered after the Vietcong overran South Vietnam’s 7th Regiment, 5th Division, killing most of the regiment and several US advisers. The plantation, situated midway between Saigon and the Cambodian border, was the scene of frequent fighting throughout the war Photograph: Horst Faas/AP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Posted October 30, 2020 Share #10 Posted October 30, 2020 I personally think that is the same helmet design in your B&W picture. If we were looking at it straight on, it looks like a dead ringer - where the horizontal arms of the star disappear into the ears, the white-to-black whiskers, the perfect circle for the tongue, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1a2u2 Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share #11 Posted October 30, 2020 Some of the key differences I've noticed is the number of teeth. My helmet and the one pictured both have 4 teeth in the bottom row. I believe these to match the same design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted October 30, 2020 Share #12 Posted October 30, 2020 Look at the location of the bottom star points, could it be a variation in a hand painted item, for sure, but without more examples I am hesitant to say it is the same. I would want to see at the very least 3-6 examples of whatever unit this is before saying it is the same as this a very common design, if it was a distinctive design like 33rd, 38th, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, then I would be less anal about it tiny details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted October 31, 2020 Share #13 Posted October 31, 2020 The first one is 100% yes all day long.The second ranger is not bad either but I need to over my painted helmet photo files to fully investigate it.Owen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1a2u2 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share #14 Posted October 31, 2020 5 hours ago, kammo-man said: The first one is 100% yes all day long. The second ranger is not bad either but I need to over my painted helmet photo files to fully investigate it. Owen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Many thanks. Eagerly awaiting your review, Owen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1a2u2 Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share #15 Posted November 12, 2020 Any additional thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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