Hook Purpose On USN Helmet Liner

[Wayward Son]

Greetings.

 

I am looking for clarification on the purpose of the two small hooks installed on a USN soft helmet liner I have. I appreciate your input.

 

[dmar836]

I assume an O2 mask. IIRC the "Juliet straps" used over early AAF helmets used a similar clasp.

Dave

[boxerdogi]

Looks like a hook from the hook and ball found on an M1 combat helmet chinstrap. Is there one on the other side? Could be to keep an H4 helmet in place or something like that? Have not seen this before.

[Wayward Son]

2 hours ago, boxerdogi said:

 Is there one on the other side? Could be to keep an H4 helmet in place or something like that? Have not seen this before.

There are two hooks. One on each side of the chin strap attachment points. There is nothing on my H-3 or H-4 helmets to suggest an attachment point for the hooks. Perhaps this cloth helmet predates the H-3 / H-4 series helmet. The attached photos do a better job of showing their orientation on the chinstrap.

 

[Vark_07]

Found the same hook on another H-4 liner, quite identical to yours (although there is just one present on the chinstrap).

 

The unclear purpose of these hooks for the H-3 / H-4 series (one picture clearly shows the "hook and ball" mentioned earlier, but its position makes it too low to have been used for O² mask retention... but perhaps quick don ?) would make me tend to think these straps were not specifically designed for the Navy cloth flight liners. Perhaps a rigger modification or so, picked from the M-1 combat helmet as mentioned by Boxerdogi.

Still, I assume they could have had a comm cable management role on these flight helmets.

[Wayward Son]

8 hours ago, Vark_07 said:

Still, I assume they could have had a comm cable management role on these flight helmets.

Didn't think of that purpose. That could be very feasible!

[cricket]

The “hook and ball” was another method used to attach the inner liner to the hard helmet.  It’s simply more common to see the buckle design vs the hook.

[Mikeym_us]

On 7/30/2021 at 7:51 PM, boxerdogi said:

Looks like a hook from the hook and ball found on an M1 combat helmet chinstrap. Is there one on the other side? Could be to keep an H4 helmet in place or something like that? Have not seen this before.

Good eye that is indeed what that is I have a M1 helmet that does have that hook.