Two Argentinian M1's

[aj4010]

I have just received the one with the net, the Air Assault (CAE) one I've had a while, and it definitely came from the Falklands. The new addition has the details of two conscript soldiers scratched inside the pot. One name is Ramon Ovando, born 1961. It turned up at a flea market, then to eBay, and then to me.


Edit: Here is a link to a similar Air Assault helmet, it's about halfway down the page.
Agrupacion Malvinas - Militariarg.com


Best Regards,

Andy

[James C]

hi andy im a big fan of the argie lids whats the years of manufacture and are they us m1's or made under licence argie ones and i really like the air assault lid with the cammo cover and banding it reminds me a little of my belguim para m71 the inscriptions make it even more special does this one have the liner thanks for sharing some great pics james

[aj4010]

hi andy im a big fan of the argie lids whats the years of manufacture and are they us m1's or made under licence argie ones and i really like the air assault lid with the cammo cover and banding it reminds me a little of my belguim para m71 the inscriptions make it even more special does this one have the liner thanks for sharing some great pics james

James, they seem to be American 60's 70's rear seam lids. I think the Argies made some of their own too. Interestingly there are no heat stamps on either lid. Yes, the liner came with the netted one, there are no dates on the liner, but it has been refurbed, note the copper rivets, and a possible "field repair" aluminium one.

Best Regards,

Andy

[James C]

american m1's even better i notice the liner must be held in position on the head via the lid chinstrap unlike the separate type on the us ones very nice all the same and worth a small fortune no doubt cheers james

[aj4010]

The prices on these things are going nuts, it was a very short war and there is not that much stuff about. One sold on fleabay for over £500.
Soon, somebody is going to realize that there are an awful lot of these in Argentina that have never been anywhere near the Falklands. I am not sure that the netted one is from the Falklands though, but there is a strong possibility it was, due to the age of the soldier.

On a lighter note.
I can see my two!

[noelh]

Based on the recent Ebay price there's more than £50k worth of helmets lying there! At the time I remember wishing I could get my hands on one. Having said that, at the time you could probably pick up a WW2 US M1 for peanuts or even decent Wehrmacht helmet for a realistic price.

[aj4010]

Yup, there were many about a few years after the war. I managed to pick up the Air Assault one from a retired Air Force pilot. I spoke to/emailed him, and he was a joy to listen to. Real "I say old chap." Wonderful. Price? £40.00.
When I first emailed him, before I knew he was an officer, I asked him if he was made responsible for picking up penguins which fell over backwards watching RAF fast jets taking off from Stanley, there was a daft story in the tabloids about that at the time.
His reply was classic.
"Oh no, old boy, I made them fall over."

Best Regards,

Andy

[MySonsDad]

James, they seem to be American 60's 70's rear seam lids. I think the Argies made some of their own too. Interestingly there are no heat stamps on either lid.

Yes, the Argentinians did make an M1 clone and judging from the chin strap, on the camo covered lid, that the lack of heat stamps, these are not likely to be US M-1 shells. Great looking lids by they way. Russ

[aj4010]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but in the interest of accuracy and for posterity, the rubber band on the Air Assault lid was replaced by myself, the original simply rotted off the helmet, but it looks exactly like the original when I received it.

Best Regards,

Andy