Firestone M1 Helmet Liner

[Seagle07]

Hello everybody, I hope you are having a good day,

 

An M1 Helmet liner came in the mail today, and I would just like to clear up a few things about it.

 

The webbing is all intact, but the shoelace digs into my head and the suspension feels like balancing a heavy book on your head. Unlike my vietnam-era M1 helmet liner suspension, the WW2 webbing does not reach my forehead even with a sweatband on, which is very uncomfortable. I do not want to stretch the webbing.  Did soldiers really deal with this throughout the war or is there evidence that they wore something underneath to make it more comfortable?

 

The fibreglass shell has already bent inwards which makes it harder to get out of a shell. Also, I have noticed that the webbing is placed at an angle inside the shell body, meaning that half of the helmet reaches the back of my neck. 
 

Is there anything I can do to make my situation feel better? 
 

PS: I have a headache now after wearing the helmet whilst typing this up...

[MasonK]

Nice WWII era liner. You're missing the sweatband, which is adjustable to make a comfortable (using the term loosely) fit to the wearers head, as well as the nape strap, which also helps with the fit. 

 

Photo below of a complete liner to show you the components that are missing. 

 

 

[ispy]

No neck nape would be half the problem and the webbing can be adjusted by undoing the tie

[MasonK]

Here's a graphic I found identifying the parts of the liner. Hope this is helpful.

 

If you want to restore the liner, there are quite a few sellers on the forum that have parts available. 

 

 

[shadawg]

try wearing a jeep cap with it, it might help. a common thing in the field