Sleeper M1s
Hi Guys,
Had some great (bargain) helmet finds over the past few months in the UK. Thought I'd share two that have stuck out. This is not a gloat post, but rather me sharing what massive bargains can be found with only a little detective work or a hunch.
Both interestingly looked like rather crappy or at least ordinary buys, but had a silver (or in this case steel) lining! Few months back on Gumtree an M1 appeared. Nasty 80s cloth cover, horrible plastic liner - nothing special. I asked the guy for more pics (off site), which he obliged me. Nonetheless, under the cloth was a lovely front seam WWII lid (painted a horrid brown) with OD3 chinstraps, correct heat stamp. Guy didn't seem interested in why I was asking these questions about seams, numbers etc. Anyway, cost me £30. Have subsequently resprayed the steel the correct shade of OD and fitted a good 1950s Belgian M1 liner (which is a great copy of a wartime one - as I can't afford an original at the exorbitant prices in the UK) and an old M1 leather chinstrap.
Second killer deal was a few days ago. I was using a well-known auction site, having a look-see. Bang - lovely M1 with Mitchell cover, 70s Vietnam liner etc, and not for auction but direct sale. OK - I normally only collect WW2 lids, but looking closely at the photos online I thought the steel helmet looked a little tall for a postwar manufacture. It looked much older. But I knew that at £49.95 it wasn't going to be on for long, as thats a big bargain for a nice 'Nam lid with cover, so I bought without asking any obvious questions hoping my hunch would pay off. Well, it certainly did. It arrived cover on - Mitchell in great condition dated 1973. But when I drew it back I realised I'd hit pay dirt - the shell was indeed a spiffing WWII McCord, with its original green paint and sewn on OD7 chinstraps. 800 series heat stamp dates to about early 1944. Needless to say I did the dance of the seven army surplus blankets. My plan now is find a postwar shell to use with the Mitchell, and display the WWII helmet with correct liner and liner chinstrap. Thats the trouble with collecting - there's always more to buy!
My point is this: sleeper WWII M1s appear to abound hidden under '70s and '80s covers, often with modern chinstraps. Its worth digging a little deeper when something looks a bit crap, because there really is gold lurking under those tatty old cloth covers...
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