Identifying French Helmet

[emileverbunt]

This might be a M17 bowl modified to look like a M15 Adrian. I know helmets like that were issued to black troops on the Western front in WW1.

I research on.
Cheers,
Emile

[Gary J]

The bowl shape looks more brodie to me too. (Very round rather than an Adrian)
The rim of a m15 could easily be taken off, and also note the crude way the holes have been punched through the shell to take the comb.

So in effect, the only Adrian parts are the rim, and remains of the comb.

Gary J.

[lebus12]

The RF insignia is very strange. If RF, only for French soldiers?

[emileverbunt]

In my opnion this is a hybrid made up specially for the black troops of the US 93rd Infantery Division in WW1. The US high command did not trust these black americans with US equipment. They were given obsolete and French equipment. Apparently these helmets were made up, using M17 bowls and liners, adding the french peak and for some reason a version of a French grenade with the capitals RF. Most peculiar! If this helmet is genuine, you have a helmet as rare as hen's teeth! For more information read Chris Armold's "Steel Pots" on this subject.

This might be a M17 bowl modified to look like a M15 Adrian. I know helmets like that were issued to black troops on the Western front in WW1.

I research on.
Cheers,
Emile

[Tinhat]

In my opnion this is a hybrid made up specially for the black troops of the US 93rd Infantery Division in WW1. The US high command did not trust these black americans with US equipment. They were given obsolete and French equipment. Apparently these helmets were made up, using M17 bowls and liners, adding the french peak and for some reason a version of a French grenade with the capitals RF. Most peculiar! If this helmet is genuine, you have a helmet as rare as hen's teeth! For more information read Chris Armold's "Steel Pots" on this subject.

Emile, it does look to be a hybrid with an M17, I dont have a copy of 'Steel Pots' but my understanding is that the 93rd was issued with French equipment, a hybrid helmet especially for 93rd would be very strange as at that time the US was taking helmets from Britain for the intial deployments. "The History of the Steel Helmet in the First World War" by Branislav Radovic, makes no mention of aspecial helmet. All pictures I have seen they have the Infantry badge not Artillery.
This may be some sort of trench art or even an officers special request. Either way it is really interesting and I would think almost too weird to be a fake.
The badge looks very different to the usual M15 badge, it is deeper, it may be an older Artillery badge taken from something else. Hopefully we will get a picture of the way the badge is mounted and also the comb that came off.

Steve

[lebus12]

LES MODÈLES DIVERS OU INCLASSABL

I sent him a mail, I see there is also civilian made helmets.

[ObKrieger]

Wow, thank you all so much for helping me out!

Here are a few more pics that might help:

#1 shows how the insignia is affixed to the front.

#2 might show the 'depth' of the insignia a little better.

#3 shows where the two pieces of the brim come together. It is indeed a 3-piece construction.

#4 shows some of the pieces of the comb. It's certainly some kind of metal, but it's extremely brittle. Like I said, I barely touched it and it just crumbled to pieces. Some of it disintegrated into a powdery rubble.

#5 shows what appears to be some markings on the 'bowl' piece, toward the rear.

[Tinhat]

Mo, thnaks for the pics.
I think the stamps on #5 are the heat stamps yopu would expect to see on an M17 or British MkI shell, so that is progress. If you feel inside the liner felt pad, does it have a rubber donut inside? #3 has probably been welded and dressed off when the shell was replaced.

The comb looks to be made out of a zinc based material, if you fancy doing a bit of science, scrape a bit to bare metal and put it in vinegar, if it foams it's zinc, if not probably aluminum.

Badge still distrubs me, can you tell if it stamped steel or cast (looks cast). Be careful, it may be made out of the same crap the comb was made out of.

It all looks wrong, but somebody has put some serious effort in to it.
Steve

[MAP]

All I can say is that this has been an interesting collaborative and fun thread

[Steelhead10]

The heat stamp looks like FS so Firth and sons a British ww1 helmet manufacturer so a English helmet sent over for the US Troops then modified into some trench art helmet maybe taken or given to the french.

Edit: So some how the original rim has been removed very professionally in order to add a peak maybe a french officer got it and had it specially modified into some sort of parade helmet.