M1 Steel Pot - Medical Related?

[McDermut99]

This currently resides in a local antique store I visited recently, which the dealer said the lowest they could go would be $45. I was hoping to get some of y'alls thoughts on it who know a bit more about medical-related M1s and can possibly shed some light on if this one is a legit paint job or something done by a civilian. I tried to find the heat stamp, but the inside has a decently thick layer of OD paint that is likely obscuring it. It's a rear-seam, swivel-bail with more circular than oval shaped welds on the seam. The paint is more silver than grey, and the red lettering on the rear of the helmet appears to read "MG". There are hints of OD paint under the silver, but the current paint job it has seems to have bee on there a while, long enough for surface rust to develop. The top is rather worn and a little dented but otherwise pretty solid all around. 

 

Any comments are always very much appreciated!

 

 

[CavalryCombatant]

I’ve always associated that type of paint job with naval shipboard doctors (for lack of a better term).  For $45 I’d grab it, I think it stands a pretty solid chance of being legit!

 

I’m sure I’ve seen threads covering similar helmets on the forum somewhere, I’ll look and see what I can find!
 

CC

[CavalryCombatant]

Here’s one posted on the Warrelics forum.

 

 

[BILL THE PATCH]

I think it's definitely worth 45.00, grab it

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[B24AT6]

22 minutes ago, CavalryCombatant said:

Here’s one posted on the Warrelics forum.

 

 

 

That one is in my collection, I do believe that it is a USN used helmet, and the one in the original post could also be USN but it is hard to say with any certainty without some kind of further ID. As I see it original helmet is a really late-WWII produced Schluter shell, and if it is a military application would probably be from the 50's or later. The Navy did start to use grey on most of their equipment as they moved into the post-WWII era, my helmet is a more blue grey that you encounter more typically in WWII, but if the OP thinks it is silver it may be something else. The only thing I can say for certain is that the paint appears to be vintage, regardless of the original use for the markings.

[CavalryCombatant]

8 minutes ago, B24AT6 said:

 

That one is in my collection, I do believe that it is a USN used helmet, and the one in the original post could also be USN but it is hard to say with any certainty without some kind of further ID. As I see it original helmet is a really late-WWII produced Schluter shell, and if it is a military application would probably be from the 50's or later. The Navy did start to use grey on most of their equipment as they moved into the post-WWII era, my helmet is a more blue grey that you encounter more typically in WWII, but if the OP thinks it is silver it may be something else. The only thing I can say for certain is that the paint appears to be vintage, regardless of the original use for the markings.

 
Wow! What a coincidence!  May I just say congratulations on your helmet, she’s a real gem!
 

And back to the helmet in question, I can’t help but notice the bends in the bales, I remember reading somewhere that that occurs when clip on chinstraps are removed, perhaps this is more of a Vietnam period lid?

 

 

CC

[B24AT6]

Thank you, it is one of my nicer Navy helmets!

 

I've never personally heard that regarding bends in the bales, but I do agree that this could have been a Vietnam-era helmet.

[644td]

Worth the 45.00

[phil b]

it looks to me to deff be a vietnam navy ship docs helmet

[Luxview]

It is much harder to find such pieces over here in Europe, and for $45 I wouldn't think twice about it :-)

[MattS]

With that light green interior, I'd say Vietnam era too. Possibly a shipboard Navy Corpsman (as the navy doesn't have medics) helmet. 

[McDermut99]

Thank you all for the comments! I was wary of it due to the silver paint instead of being battleship grey or similar color to the one in post #3 for example. I'll get over there as soon as I can and snatch it up. 

[huntssurplus]

Definitely post-WW2 navy helmet. Anywhere from the 1950s-1980s really.


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[conn]

grab it, 45 dollars gets you the bargain of the day

[McDermut99]

I went and picked it up the other day. Just need to clean the layer of dust that covers everything down here and get some better pictures!

 

I noticed that the upper half of the helmet seems to have a lot of wear compared to the lower half. You can see it in some of the pictures where the "line" of wear is. Could that be from military use or just bad storage/care?

[Nickman983]

Very likely from stacking. Moisture gets trapped in between the two helmets and causes more rust. This can be pretty common in navy helmets.

[McDermut99]

Here are some better pictures after I cleaned off the dust. I still couldn't find a heat stamp with the heavy layer of paint. I noticed the the red cross on the front is actually painted off-center, an inch or so to the wearer's right. The letters on the back appear to be "MG", though I'm not sure what either would mean in the context of medical personnel on board a navy vessel. Another interesting characteristic of the helmet is that there is remnants of red paint along and under the underside of the rim, which perhaps indicated it had more of a red paint scheme in the past. One of the bales also appears to have been repaired at some point. 

 

 

[McDermut99]

I also intend on putting the helmet up for sale very soon, as it doesn't fit my collecting interests currently. If you're interested feel free to send a PM!