M1 helmet unusual heat stamp Transitional St Clair liner

[Redstalker]

Hi guys struck lucky on eBay again with this helmet. Seller had listed it as an 'M1 helmet with nice liner', he didn't know how nice the liner actually was
The steel pot is a front seam fixed bale made by McCord. The helmet chin straps are the M-1917A1 type with the raised bar buckle and hollow back and brass J hook with sharp tips. The heat stamp is unusual and I believe this to be a miss strike (common problem in early production) as it looks to be 2o1C so the middle digit is probably a 9 or an 8 so would put this helmet to around September/October 1942. The helmet front seam also appears to have a weld of some sort directly in the seam and has rusted over the years (field repair?).
This particular St Clair liner from what I have read is the Type 6 version and was the more common version in use from late 1942 to early 1943. St Clair received its first contract in January 1942 and by the end of its last contract had produced 1.3 million liners compared to Westinghouse's 23 million liners makes this one a lot rarer to come by. The interior of this liner is the transitional type with cotton suspension with the female snap fasteners. This liner is not fitted with the rayon headband with male snap fasteners but has the double wire barbuckle headband which has the spring clips to attach it to the suspension. The interior has been left unpainted unlike the earlier versions and has the SC in yellow in the crown. It comes with the green coated steel buckle liner chin strap in very worn condition.
Thanks for looking guys

[OldSteel]

Hi Ian,
a superb explanation and beautiful photos; very useful information for who, like me, has limited knowledge of M1 helmets.

thank you
Roberto

[Martin C]

Nice one Ian, congrats!!

Mart

[Watchdog]

Sometimes, digging through the mire on Ebay bears fruit. Congratulations on a great find
Regards

Mark

[ruddersrangers44]

I think your on a fast-track Ian to being one of the UK's leading M1 collectors,3 figures my man and still going,another great edition to your inventory mate,and a D/W sweatband to boot,well done..................

[Redstalker]

I think your on a fast-track Ian to being one of the UK's leading M1 collectors,3 figures my man and still going,another great edition to your inventory mate,and a D/W sweatband to boot,well done..................

Thanks Jake your making me blush It was just another lucky find on eBay wrongly listed not many people watching and I chucked in a bid right at the end and can't believe I got it for the price it was going for. It was just like the time I got that first pattern Hawley liner and 54C marked McCord cheaply it was just listed wrong. Just need to find that WW2 M1C now for about £20 and I'll be pleased as punch

[greatwhite]

Another super addition bud well done, Ebay does come good now and then.

[ruddersrangers44]

So i'm revisiting this thread and pow some things spring to mind that certainly contradict what many authors having been saying for years.
Point A-it's always been known that the first OD3 HBT cotton webbed Liners carried the six sets of female snaps to accommodate the millions of surplus Rayon sweatbands.!however how is it this example DOES NOT have the headband ends turned in.(which happened during october 1942)so transitional or simply using up excess stock later on in production?
point B-The McCord shell carries the second type of S/S F/B but carries the M17A Buckle which again is only supposed to seen on all early productions?again surplus stock?maybe.
Point-C where did type 6 S/C Liner come from?even i don't know that one.a very interesting set that certainly raises many points.

[Redstalker]

The Pieter Oosterman book on M1 helmet suggests there were 11 types of St Clair liner. I looked again and my one could actually be a type 6 or a type 8 all very confusing. Here are the two pics from the book.

[ruddersrangers44]

So what's the differance Ian?both pics look exactly the same to me.............
The only obvious differance is one carries single HBT webbing and the other triple,but that would not have been considered as a type/model etc,webbing was used as per say regardless of how the webbing was constructed.!