British Para Helmet: Need for info

[prcachia]

Ahhhh sorry about that , Greg! Didn't know about the existence of the Thetford North Ireland Helmet... and seems that neither Revuelta does! So mystery solved... No early-model Thetford Para helmet with black flaps. I still need to get used to the seemingly infinite variants of composite helmets... The good old steel helmets were nowhere as complicated!!!

[Greg Pickersgill]

Here's a rather poor comparison of the straps/flaps of an early Para lightweight (on the left) and a Thetford Northern Ireland (on the right). Difficult to do as I didn't want to dismantle the para; the NI was actually quite easy to take apart.

Anyway, as you can see the general shape is similar but the actual cut is distinctly different - much more obvious when you have then in hand, really. Obvious differences in strap fasteners too. See here for more pics of the NI in pieces - THETFORD NORTHERN IRELAND HELMET - breakdown

[prcachia]

Thanks for the link Greg. Well, the shape of the helmets and the flaps are quite similar at first glance and that's what tricked me in the first place (apart from the visor, of course). However, the differences are there for everyone to see. I didn't know about the existence of the Northern Ireland helmet at all!