Named and attributed Japanese helmet with 1st pattern/Manchuria cover
Article about: Evening all, Firstly I would like to add that this cover and helmet has been seen by several very knowledgable collectors and the terms used I.e Manchuria and 1st pattern have been used by t
I guess all the "experts" agree that this helmet is completely legitimate, so I'll have my say and prove this to be a fake. But this time, instead of taking you through regulations, I'll tell you straight what it is.
What we have here is a helmet version of the Seabees produced Tojo Flag. It could very well be the Seabee vet himself that made this. We heard enough times already that they were producing souvenir helmets, too.
A junk helmet without a liner was used and Japanese graffiti was scratched on by the Seabee ( hence the awkward writing that told me "Fake" at first glance). This was stupidly added to a location that would not have been accessible at all, had there been a liner in the helmet, when the Seabee added his handiwork.
The helmet was also without insignia, so an army star was glued on (the prongs were broken off) and as a finishing touch, a navy helmet liner was located and slapped into place, but not fixed at front, as it should have been with the helmet insignia. Wartime original parts, but still a fake. The helmet cover is a hopeless fantasy fake as already explained.
As a precaution, I do think it's a good idea to check whether the capture tag and cord glow under black light to ascertain when the fakery was perpetrated, as that tag seems to have the power to blind the majority of collectors. Better a period fake than from last year.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 01-24-2020 at 11:25 PM.
Hi Gents, if the soldier who wore this helmet wanted a cover so badly, would'nt it have been a h##l of a lot easier to get one from the Q.M. if possible or take one from a K.I.A. rather than doing all these repairs??
Difficult to dispute Nick’s analysis. A better pic could confirm if it is in fact a navy liner, and there may also be a navy stamp on the liner next to the rear stitching as well. The scratch marks do appear to be exactly where the front liner pad would be if the liner was correctly installed. Good detective work.
Can you post a pic of the rear of the liner where the seams are sewn together? This is the area of the liner right above the chinstrap keeper in the back of the helmet. The liner material does look navy.
The owner confided to me by PM that he was "not short on cash and never will be", which probably meant he's not moving to Canada. But to think that he even could afford to go out to buy a bugle to go with this helmet without any advance research makes me so envious that I wish I was the owner of this helmet. One big cause of this mishap lies in the fact that he was obviously not aware that the liner should not be totally loose at front, a blind spot we need to bear in mind when we advise total outsiders to this hobby.
And not all wolves are out to harm you. Sometimes it's safer to listen to a lone wolf than follow a herd of lemmings.
Last edited by Nick Komiya; 01-25-2020 at 05:26 PM.
Why are we taking potshots at each other, now that there is a difference in opinion? If I was the owner of this helmet (helmet, not talking about the cover), I would certainly want to know why there is a navy liner in the helmet, and why there are kanji (scratched by a non-Japanese) and drawings, on the inside of the shell where the front liner pad would normally cover this area completely if there was a liner installed. I think the experts just simply failed to notice that the liner is Navy because the pic showing the stitching is not terribly clear. The conclusion is fairly clear that the shell had no liner when the scratchings were done. If the owner is happy that he has paid thousands for a put together parts rig, then good for him. I’d like to hear what the experts think now that we have a navy liner in the helmet, and the likelihood that some illiterate Japanese soldier decided to lift up the front pad and write and draw something that no-one could ever see unless the liner was removed.
by Jareth
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