Vietnam abn M1?

[ruddersrangers44]

Lets begin with the shell rear seamed McCord 1950's or 1960's?high dome or low dome?green coated steel or black coated chinstrap metal parts?genuine issued US shell yes!!!!the liner is called a P64 Nylon M1 combat liner type ii made by Firestone the 7 in fact is an F the 2 is the mold number,two contracts were ordered as already mentioned on the other thread,1964-1967,all P64 type ii liners had there A frames set seperately away from the A washers which was a new concept compared to all earlier types where they were inserted behind the existing A washers,the shell is nice and its one I dont have as they seldom show up in the UK,the liner as already been said could have been better but its a starting point from which one can learn,hope Mark this hasn't fried your brains too much,any questions just ask away..............

[Watchdog]

Outstanding Jake, that is exactly the kind of detail on which I thrive and is just what I was looking for , many thanks.

What you have told me here (minus the finer details of pattern period etc) is in line with what I was thinking but was not sure of.

As for the condition I think I might have enough old tricks up my sleeve in the conservation department to restore it to a good used standard. The main problem is that one section of the "headband" of the suspension has actually parted where the sweatband clip would have been attached. I think I have an idea for a sympathetic restoration / repair but would welcome any other suggestions before I start.
The chinstrap on the pot is clearly a standard ground troops pattern (and is fitted the wrong way) but a suitable replacement is already enroute although actual date of manufacture may be an issue. I do not intend to do anything to this helmet that is not in keeping with its' period of service.

One thing I am not clear about is the differences between high / low dome pots. The words are clear and easy to define but what does it mean in real terms, and how does this relate to the time frame for these helmets?

All contributions gratefully received as they say

Regards

Mark

[ruddersrangers44]

Ok Mark all ww2 produced shells which were done by McCords and Schlueter have come to be known as high dome.the McCord made shells of the 1950's were also of the same dimensions,however the shells made from 1965 onwards have a slightly shallower dome so when one is placed back to back with an earlier example the differance in height should be noticible,now McCords last contract in 1965 was the shallow dome version but used the same heatstamp text i.e an "M" in front of the number as they used on there 1950's shells so just looking at the heatstamp alone isn't enough you have to know if its high or low then that way you can be sure.also as a rule most if not all of the 50's production had green painted metal hardware,the chinstrap clasps and buckle,I've only seen one wartime made shell with this type of heatstamp,which obviously a rarity stamping type error............keep um com'in.........

[Watchdog]

Ah, alles klar! as they say,

I knew there was a difference but was thinking more of an overall shape similar to that between the wartime and post war Soviet Russian pots. Thanks for the pointer which makes things much clearer.

I have compared the pot in question to an early war fixed bale and a front seam swivel bale that I picked up from a US Army colleague in Germany some years ago and both are noticably higher so "low dome" it would seem to be.

Am I correct in the belief that the norm for Vietnam period pots would be chinstraps with black metal fittings other than perhaps very early ones?

Regards

Mark

[ruddersrangers44]

In general yes Black Buckle and Bale clasps usually refer to Nam period,especially as these were too carried in the field not just added at the manufacturing stage,some shells with the green hardware often stayed on in service through the 60's but most had there straps replaced in the early period around the 1961-65.................