Pharmacists Mate Helmet find

[Pep]

This helmet had been posted before.  Bugme and I could not locate the original post so I am re-posting this story.

Back in I think 2009 I got this helmet off the ebay.  The pictures below are its original condition when I received it.

[Pep]

If you look close you can see the cover up of the cross under the haze gray paint.

I started to clean with goof off as recommended by some.

[Pep]

In the end I cleaned the entire helmet of the haze gray to the darker blue it was when the ship numbers and cross where added.

[manayunkman]

Is the Red Cross painted on the original green surface?

 

If it is I might be tempted to remove all the glossy paint.

 

 

[manayunkman]

I see you did!!

 

I like it.

 

LCI-511?

[Pep]

The ship is the LCI(L) 511.  This was one of three American Naval landing ships to assist in the landings at Juno Beach.

The below is an exert from a book I found a while back and is one of the only listings for the 511.

The 264th LCI Flotilla Beaches.

Like the other groups of LCI's the 264th Flotilla had to wait some time before being ordered to beach. At 0940 the LCI's had arrived at their waiting position off "Jig Green" each, about two miles east of Arromanches. The tide was already falling when, at 1150, the LCI's were ordered. to beach on "Jig Red" by the Reserve Group Commander in H.M.S. "ALBRIGHTON" because the obstructions on "Jig Green" were almost impenetrable. They beached in precise flotilla, formation, in line abreast, within five seconds of each other at 1159, nearly two hours after their scheduled time according to the operation plans.

It had been the intention to provide LCM's for off loading troops from LCI's to the very shallow beaches of "Gold" area but there was such a shortage of ferry craft owing to the large number of casualties among the minor landing craft on the assault that no LCM's were available for the Flotilla as a whole. In the special case of LCI 255 carrying the Squadron Commander, Cmdr. T. Ellis, R.N. (Captain - Group G4), Brigadier E. C. Pepper (Cmdr. of the 56th Infantry Brigade which the rest of the Flotilla was lifting) and their staffs with signals equipment, an LCM was allocated to facilitate the safe disembarkation of the Headquarters Unit; LCI 255 therefore did not beach.

On the beach the L.C.M.'s had good reason to know why it had been planned to disembark troops by L.C.M.'s if possible. There was a heavy surf running which piled up dangerously on the shallow beach across which the troops had to make their way. Although the distance from the L.C.I.'s to shore averaged only 12 feet and the depth of water at the ramps was less than 3 feet, the surf caused some of the troops to hesitate up to 15 minutes before disembarking. The delay made unbeaching more difficult, but there was hardly any firing by this time and it was not until after unbeaching that bullet holes were found in the super-structure of two of the craft. No casualties were suffered by army or navy personnel during the landing.

The L.C,I.'s were, however, not undamaged. Since they had beached at the height of the tide, they had ridden over not only most of the obstacles but also over some of the minor landing craft wrecks which were impaled on them from earlier landings that morning. L.C.I. 295's propellers were damaged on an L.C.M. and she was holed in two places forward by beach obstructions. L.C.I. 288 suffered underwater damage from beach obstructions and both 288 and 302 lost ramps in the surf. 302 and 310's kedges were fouled by obstructions and wrecks but all except these two Canadian craft were able to get off the beach in spite of the ebbing tide. The three American L.C.I.' s 511, 400 and 421, who belonged to the same beaching group were heavier mark 2 type L.C.I.'s and they were not able to unbeach until high water in the late afternoon when they got off with 302 and 310. The precise trim of the Canadian L.C.I. 's was undoubtedly the major factor permitting them to get well on to the beach and yet enabling four of them to un-beach on a falling tide. The trim had been very carefully adjusted by using ballast and fuel tanks so that the flat bottoms of the L. C. I, s would form a line exactly parallel to the slope of the beach at the point where it was intended they should touch down. Their draft with troops aboard was trimmed to 4' 2" forward and 5' 3" aft.

[Pep]

The liner which I think may have been with the shell from the beginning had a name on it.

[postmanusnac]

There was a Jeanette Colo (married name) who was born in Iowa around 1902.

[Pep]

Oddly enough the 511's only action in the war was the landing at Juno.

It was sold or leased to the UK.

The salors name is Arthur Nicolas Carderelli.  I found this as there is only one PHM on this type LCI.

Wrote the Navy and was lucky to get his entire record from the war.  No picture of him but I got his fingerprints...

Ancestry was good for getting all the ships rosters that he was on for his war time ventures.

Even got a commendation for his care of the wounded.

[Pep]

15 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

I see you did!!

 

I like it.

 

LCI-511?

Landing Craft Infantry Large Hull # 511.

[Pep]

19 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

Is the Red Cross painted on the original green surface?

 

If it is I might be tempted to remove all the glossy paint.

 

 

Cross painted on the darker blue as were letters and the hull #

[Pep]

4 minutes ago, postmanusnac said:

There was a Jeanette Colo (married name) who was born in Iowa around 1902.

In discussion from the lost post we think the word COLO stands for Colorado.  As in those days the state abbreviations were 4 letters long in most cases.

[Pep]

Just now, Pep said:

In discussion from the lost post we think the word COLO stands for Colorado.  As in those days the state abbreviations were 4 letters long in most cases.

Jeanette could be a sir name or last name.

[Pep]

Just now, Pep said:

Jeanette could be a sir name or last name.

or nurse from Colorado...I dont think we will ever know.

[manayunkman]

Did they have female nurses on landing craft on D-Day?

 

Somewhere there must be a roster for the 511 crew.

 

[Pep]

2 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

Did they have female nurses on landing craft on D-Day?

 

Somewhere there must be a roster for the 511 crew.

 

No there is no Nurse on the many rosters I have for the 511.  Typically this is just a girlfriends name or similar.

They are really not rosters, the Nave calls them Muster roles and I have all of them for the 511.

[manayunkman]

Navy

[Pep]

8 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

Navy

Yep too fast typing. thanks,