Interesting video from 1956

[BlueBookGuy]

Hello all,

found this interesting video that could somehow dating an helmet's accessories earlier than I thought, I wondered whether anyone here is able adding some more infos. In this video titled as from 1956 the NAA test pilot George Smith is back to fly F-100s for the first time since his incredible adventure of February 1955, when he ejected from a Super Sabre supersonic at 785 MPH at low level    -   he survived although very badly injured, and had to stay hospitalized many months.

 

I had read elsewhere it took about one year for Smith after the accident to be able flying again the F-100. Here he talks about this flight as being the very first F-100 flight so, time of this interview could be around March or April 1956, I guess not much after anyway. Smith does talk about trials and experiments with dummies and rocket sleds coming as a logical consequence of his impressive feat, thus suggesting (at least, so it looks to me) the things we see in the video are earlier than the interview or, more or less contemporary.

The matter:  we clearly see that helmet fitted with 'Hardman Tools' receivers for the MS-22001 mask and its 'Christmas Tree' bayonets, meaning they already existed in service well earlier than I thought  (say, mid-1957 or early 1958).

 

Please anyone having more precise dates for this accessory?    Thanx!!   

 

[RWW]

I am not a helmet person, but I think this may be what you are asking about. I have an August 1958 dated WADC Technical Note with pictures and a description of the Hardman mounts. I do not have the 1957 pub, but I believe what you are asking about are shown in the modification kit shown on page 22. So, they were around by August 1958, if not earlier.

 

[P-59A]

I don't mean to step on your post or move it in another direction, but you might find this interesting. I have been to a number of F-100 crash sites in the Mojave. Blackburn's ZEL F-100D was interesting. It was hard to find because its a localized crash site. It is cleaned up, but tid bits are to be found.

[BlueBookGuy]

Thanx P-59, no problem  -   always interesting to look at those vintage documents, I find them fascinating.

 

RWW, thanx very much,  yes sure the MD-1 retention system was used in fair measure some time earlier than summer 1958. I read time ago the thing was under evaluation in early 1957, nothing less, so I figured out the later part of that year was reasonably a correct time to see the item in operational use; and in fact, a Navy APH-5 that I got time ago being upgraded this way showed those chromed receivers in late 1957 when worn by a Skyray pilot.

 

Matter is, what surprised me of the above video is the 1956 date that if correctly meant within the context, brings the dummy's helmet not later than the interview and this apparently would bring the said receivers to early 1956. Unless the date is only for the interview in itself, and possibly the other footage have been added later on    -     just to offer a more generic view of how those trials looked like?