British Composite helmet history - do we know it?

[Composite]

...so, what are the LATEST dated Mk6 and Mk6As out there?....Rene's thrown down the gauntlet (Mk6 2011)???

[reneblacky]

...so, what are the LATEST dated Mk6 and Mk6As out there?....Rene's thrown down the gauntlet (Mk6 2011)???

There is a boob tube vid somewhere and states a 2012

[Composite]

thank you...but you know what Greg's like...he'll wanna see the label! :-)

[Greg Pickersgill]

There is a boob tube vid somewhere and states a 2012

There are a LOT of helmet-collecting videos on Youtube, many of them very irritating indeed, as the 'collector' goes rambling on in a semi-informed way fiddling with the helmet all the time so you can't actually *see* it, and comes out with so many arguable or plain wrong ideas that you could devote all your waking hours to correcting them. And even then all you'd get is a snotty reponse, if anything at all. I'm not at all sure that video with voiceover is a good way of presenting and explaining a helmet. Give me nice stills and properly considered text anytime. Like what we get here, mostly.

[Composite]

...and we mustn't forget....will this be "contructed" date....or "refurbished" date...???

but...back to the work...having checked mine (where labels exist) I think my earliest Mk6 is 1984...and my latest is 2010...wth Rene showing one dated 2011. Mk6As....mine seem to range between 2006 and 2009.....tho I might have other 6As.....somewhere!

What do you lot have?

[Composite]

OK...an update (and also some prompts posted to other threads)...the latest Start and End dates we have (from actual helmet labels) seems to be:-

Mk6 1984 (numerous) - 2011 (Rene)
Mk6A 2007 (Composite) - 2013 (Old Steel)
Mk7 2009 (Mark K) - 2012 (numerous)
Virtus 2015 -

[Greg Pickersgill]

I'm not easily able to research my actual collection at the moment, but maybe we can shunt the Mk6 start date to a little earlier. A British collector who seems to have done some proper research (Richard Aixill, is quoted on Composite Helmet, Ballistic helmets, Military helmets UNITED KINGDOM, UK HELMETS, BRITISH helmet, Kevlar helmet -

"Development upon new types of a ballistic Helmet, of varying designs, are suggested to have been conducted during in the late 1970’s - for a recognisable MK VI design was later listed for user trials to begin during 1981 (note.2). An extended later trial, of 1000 units, probably accounts for the MK VI examples dated 1983/4 manufactured by NEI Electronics LTD (note.5) ."

Now, we may well gloss over the (highly desirable, hard to get, I want several!) pre-production examples, some of which are not quite a 'true' Mk6, but the NEI is definately the real thing in every regard. I have two, and they are definately labelled and dated '1983-84' and definately 'true' Mk6 with all the right bits in all the right places. They nay not have been general issue, but are the Mk6 in every sense.

[Composite]

...as they say at all good Club doorways...."if it aint on the label...it aint getting in"....but it is....so it will...... 1983 it is for Mk6 - thank you Mr P

[Jb4046]

I have a MK6 that has both 2013 and 1992 dates on it. Year and service year respectively. Would this mean it was handed out in 1992 and re handed out in 2013?

[Composite]

...b*gg***d if I know!.......GRRRREEEEGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!