M1 Helmet

Origins

The United States entered the Second World War with the M1917A1, a refined copy of the British Brodie Helmet that left the sides and back of the head exposed. Army Ordnance studied deeper designs through the 1930s and in June 1941 standardized the M1, a new helmet that covered much more of the head while keeping the Hadfield manganese steel of the old one. The McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company of Detroit pressed the great majority of shells, with Schlueter Manufacturing as the second maker, and the liner — the other half of the system — came from a series of contractors, including Hawley, Firestone, Westinghouse and others.

Design & Construction

The steel shell weighs about 2.25 pounds (1 kilogram) and the complete helmet about 2.85 pounds (1.3 kilograms). Its brim is stiffened by a rolled rim of stainless steel, joined by a seam that ran at the front on early helmets and at the rear from late 1944, and the chinstrap was attached by loops, the bails, which were fixed rigidly until swivelling bails replaced them in 1943 to avoid breaking the soldier's neck in a blast. Inside the shell sits a liner of resin-impregnated fiber or cotton duck, with an adjustable webbing suspension and headband, and it has its own chinstrap. The liner could be worn by itself on base or on parade. Paratroopers received the M2, and later the M1C, with a special chinstrap harness and cup for the jump. Covers of camouflage cloth and netting were widely worn, and the Marine Corps issued a reversible pattern cover.

Combat Use

The M1 went ashore at Guadalcanal, Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa on the heads of soldiers and Marines carrying the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine, and the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne wore it into Normandy and Bastogne. Its bowl was used to cook, wash and dig, a legend every veteran confirms. It served through Korean War and Vietnam War, where soldiers and the US Marine Corps carried the M16 Rifle under Mitchell-pattern camouflage covers inked with names, slogans and calendars, making the covered M1 one of the most personal artifacts of that war. Unit markings, painted as rank or divisional insignia, identified officers and formations.

Legacy

The M1 was replaced from the early 1980s by the Kevlar PASGT helmet, though some units kept it into the early 1990s. It was also adopted or copied by dozens of armies, and variants were made in Belgium, Italy, Austria and elsewhere. For collectors the details that matter are front-seam fixed-bail shells of 1941 to 1943, original wartime liners and paratrooper chinstraps, and authentic unit markings, which are frequently faked. Its shape remains the image of the American G.I.