Two M1 Helmets w/Swivel Bales is one WW2?

[flash developer]

Hi All,
I purchased these helmets from a surplus store when I was 10 years old. The green helmet looks vietnam era and the gray looks like a navy issue. The navy helmet has a front-seam but I can't remember if the green does(in storage now). Is the navy helmet WW2? If so how should I restore the navy helmet? The green helmet looks pretty darn cool with the cloth camo cover!

Thanks in advance!!!!

[militarymania]

just add a liner to the navy helmet and its restored,,,i wouldn't change a thing about it...

[flash developer]

Thanks MM!
Is the navy helmet WW2? I've done a little research but I'm unsure as to how I might differentiate a WW2 swivel bale helmet(w/front seam) from a post war item?

[emileverbunt]

Front seam means WW2. Produced like that till about late 1943.
Your navy helmet might be a rather scarce "Schleuter" produced one. McCord produced the bulk of M1 helmets in WW2.

The Schleuter is marked with an S in the steel near the front peak on the inside.

Cheers,
Emile

[ncblksmth1]

In 1943 the US army adopted the rear seamed M1 helmet. Its easy to spot a WWII helmet. The secret is in the number of weld-spots. WWII helmets and very early Korea have 2 weld-spots on either side of the split. Later they went to one spot. Also both Cord Radiator and Shulter have numbers inside the rim area. In the middle of Korean conflict these moved to the side.

[flash developer]

Thanks guys!
I will pull the helmets from storage this weekend to give them a closer look. Stay tuned, and your feedback is much appreciated.

[flash developer]

The Schleuter is marked with an S in the steel near the front peak on the inside.

I haven't reexamined the helmets yet but here are a few more pics of the rim. It seems as though the navy helmet has a slightly different shape/line/rim than the army/vietnam helmet. Am I just imagining this difference, or is that another possible indicator that the navy lid could be a Schlueter?

I can't make out any heat treatment stamps on either helmet. Should I clean the stamp area(carefully, of course) with acetone or rust remover in my attempt to find stampings?

[flash developer]

Good eye Emile!
I found the "S" on the navy helmet. It's a little off-center(to the right side of the wearer) which is why I missed it the first time. I have the extremely rare Schleuter!

Well, that's what I thought until someone burst my bubble and corrected me. Schleuter is "fairly" rare. About 10% of WW2 M1's were Schleuter. We're not talking about finding a german paratrooper helmet here... :-) Even still, I'm going to enjoy my discovery and look for a comparable liner. I think I'll post a new thread on liner questions. I've "used the search engine" and I still don't understand much about liners besides their manufacturer...

I eventually would like to create a helmet display of a us navy 40mm antiaircraft gun crew. Besides the navy M1, I also have a nice navy talker helmet. If I could find an original radio headset to go with the talker, that would be cool. That's another thread too...

[ncblksmth1]

Check out Steelpots.com

[flash developer]

Thanks ncblksmth1.
Unfortunately, the site seems to be down at the moment.