DH132-1 Prototype CVC Helmet

[Guy56]

In the early 1970s the U.S. Army was looking for a new CVC helmet to replace the maligned T56-6 combat vehicle (CVC) helmet. One example that emerged in this hunt was the commercial off the shelf Gentex-made DH-132. The DH132-1 was the was the first batch of prototypes procured for testing. The DH132-1 models did not perform well during sound attenuation tests. In fact the DH132-1 prototypes performed significantly worse on sound attenuation tests than the initial DH132 samples. The sound attenuation issues were resolved with DH132-2 prototype that became the production DH132. I have two examples of the DH132-1. This example was tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) based on the label attached to the front exterior. Also, like all early DH132s, this DH132-1 had foam earphone inserts that deteriorated over time. This shortfall was resolved on later DH132 helmets. Additionally, like early production DH132s, the DH132-1 has a non-ballistic fiberglass shell.