Navy's official helmet designations discovered

[Nick Komiya]

I have found a navy memo from 1932 defining their use of the terms Type 1-3 helmets. Perhaps that also answers the question Scott had about the "heavy shipboard" models. I have added the new information to the army helmet thread as a correction The Evolution of the Japanese Army Steel Helmet (1918-1945) Revised and Expanded Version

If you wish to discuss this new info, do it here and not in the article, please. The article is still a work in progress, as I plan to add such information as I discover them and do not wish them to be buried in speculative discussions and one-liners.

What I uploaded is all I've got, but still I think it is a great discovery for navy collectors.

Another point has been added about all navy helmets requiring to be painted in earth brown from June 1939. I will leave it to navy collectors to speculate what that meant for the shipboard grey helmets collectors seem to love.

[Nick Komiya]

It is interesting that the navy is designating helmets as weapons when only a few months before in April, the army had switched them to clothing items. The army also changed nomenclature from Tetsukabuto to Tetsubo at that time ,but the navy persisted to call them Tetsukabuto still in 1939 and actually until the end of the war.

[Jareth]

Good info Nick! Many type 90 navy helmets observed with grey interiors & repainted exteriors. An
issued grey helmet untouched is scarce ! I can only speculate why some survived in all original issue grey.

[Nick Komiya]

The basic precept of grey being shipboard helmets needs to be questioned. Also the famous photo of repainted helmets drying onboard in the sun might actually be the reverse of what it was thought to depict. Did that photo have any clues as to the date?
Why did collectors call grey helmets ship helmets in the first place? What are the facts behind that term or was it only collectors needing a catchy name for things?

[Jareth]

I think "battleship grey" as a collectors term. I have a type 90 navy that been repainted a few times from grey to green & back to grey. I've always assumed that indicated a back & forth from ship to land etc. Would be great to clarify. My guess is earliest helmets issued to navy started out grey from factory/Arsenal. Can anyone else come up with an explanation for grey paint other than shipboard?

[RussM]

In the absence of any hard facts as such, I think the assumption that the grey helmets were used on ships, or at naval facilities, or both, is probably the most likely explanation. However, keep digging Nick! I realise navy info is scarce, but something else may pop up when you least expect it. We certainly appreciate your efforts!

Regards

Russ

[RussM]

Another reason for the assumption I guess is the colour footage and photographs on a ship showing personnel firing their anti-aircraft guns, wearing grey helmets. I'm guessing this is likely not 'period' colour film, but colourised post war, likely thinking that the helmets would be grey like the ships.

Also, the heavy 2 piece helmets in collections are mostly found painted grey, but I'm sure I saw a pic of one that was brown or green as well somewhere. I'll try and find it.

Regards

Russ

[MAP]

Why did collectors call grey helmets ship helmets in the first place? What are the facts behind that term or was it only collectors needing a catchy name for things?

It could be a transfer of the term used for German helmets. While typical Kriegsmarine helmets were standard colors (Feldgrau, etc.), there are examples of grey KM helmets that are attributed to being used on board ships and thus called "shipboard". That said, there is also speculation that they were used along the coast in the northern hemisphere (i.e. Norway). And finally there are supposedly examples of Heer helmets with similar colors and they were called "bunker" helmets. So...we go full circle to your original question....

[Nick Komiya]

Navy work documents are scarce, perhaps for one reason, because the Ministry burned down in 1945. But the 20 volume master regulation books survived, holding all navy regs from its inception till approx 1941. That is about 20 thousand pages of material to comb through, so there is still plenty to study.

Anyway, if that is all that is behind "shipboard", that theory has now been torpedoed and sunk. Regulations were always meticulously written to cover exceptions, if there were any exceptions, as otherwise it created confusion and ended up in repeated revisions to clarify. In this case, there were no such follow-up announcements, which is also a confirmation of absence of exceptions.


No exceptions means that all navy helmets before June 1939 were grey as a navy standard color and and switched to earth brown from that point, no exceptions. Grey is merely an early color like the apple green of German M35 helmets, nothing to do with ship use.

However, with Type 3 helmets, there is still room to entertain a shipboard theory whether grey or brown, as the navy generally deferred to the army in onland fighting equipment (key members of the NLF were even army trained) and would have known that helmets heavier than the type 90 could not be worn for any extended periods . The Type 3 therefore assumes shorter use, but exposure to higher impact fire.

[Jareth]

Based on early top vented navy helmets I've owned, seen & examined I believe many were repainted for land use prior to 1939. The over paint color tended to be more a dark yellow ocher. That was the official date as per Nicks research. Was there a date correlation to the discontinued use of black/dark blue for winter & white for summer tunics? At some point the navy switched to green all season ware. I have yet to see later yellow stencil anchor helmets that weren't green brown.