British Para Helmet strange rivet pattern on the buckle side

[Babar007]

Hi guys,

What do you think about this helmet ?














Thanks !

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Somebody has been a bit over-ambitious with the blow torch when they tried to age the liner.

[Watchdog]

Somebody has been a bit over-ambitious with the blow torch when they tried to age the liner.

It certainly looks burnt rather than dried out. Also look how clean the webbing "crown" of the liner is by comparison and the leather of the headband above the line of the blackening and holes looks brand new.

This one looks wrong to me.

Here is a quick snap of the liner of my own from the '70s which I managed to keep hold of when the new lightweight lid was introduced.
It is not a wartime example but the liner was exactly the same it just wasn't dated. This one is very heavily worn, the rubber pad has fallen out and the drawstring is gone also but look at the leather and see how dark the webbing crown tapes are.



I think Steve's blowtorch reference is not far off the mark!

Regards

Mark

[SMP]

The liner is original. Many original para liners appear to have these strange "burn" marks. Some dealers claim they come from cigarettes kept behind the ears ! Most collectors put them down to leather rot from stacking helmets in poor storage conditions. The equivalent to helmet rings on MKIIs

[tinlid]

The rivet set up should be like this one, three rivets. Why yours is like that one??
Nothing wrong with the liner, quite often you see them like that, why burn/fake an original liner.
Straps haven't been crossed, so probably hasn't been issued, which begs the question about the outside paint.

[Babar007]

Unless we are not talking about the same thing, I can see crossed straps, and as G & S made them parallel, I understood that it was a proof of use (adjustment).

These rivets are really intriguing. Do you think that some parts of the straps are reproductions assembled on a real chinstrap?

For my part, I will not buy it.
Thank you guys for your opinion, and especially to SMP who took the time to answer to my posts on another forum.

Collector of the classic mk2 for 15 years, I would like to have at least one WW2 paratrooper helmet in my display case. I'm looking for such a helmet with leather chinstrap, so if you ever come across someone who'd like to part with their(s) , do not hesitate to contact me!

[Watchdog]

I think you are right to pass.
I did not mean to suggest that the liner was wrong just that I feel it is messed with and I personally don't like it. Also it looks to me that the shell and liner do not match.
Accepting that the liner "burns" are due to poor storage the rest of the liner seems to be in virtually as new condition so it would by extrapolation have been removed from the period "primary packaging" (that nasty brown paper etc) then immediately stacked one on top of the other with more helmets.
From my own experience of army quartermaster principles; the only circumstance in which I can see that happening would be where the helmets were "unit stores" rather than personal issue such as in a training establishment perhaps. This might have occurred post-war but as was mentioned further up the thread the shell is in quite a "used" condition which doesn't match the condition of the liner.
Another possibility is that the shell was refurbed after being used with just a new liner being added without reconditioning the shell then stacked without wrapping.
I would accept that in my collection were not the liner so badly damaged as we have discussed.

It's just my opinion and preferrence but as I say you are right to pass on it.

Regards

Mark