Us navy m1 helmet by schlueter (ww2)
Hi Guys
I just watched the film “Greyhound” recently and I’ve seen USN lids for years now and thought it was time I added one to my collection. I have a Navy one but it is a combat marines and OD Green like we usually see, not Blue like this one indicting it’s use aboard a ship. I grabbed this little early birthday present to myself from Giorgio S. findings.
This is a Mid War Schlueter Number 275A Front Seam with Swivel loops in great condition. The markings “402” and “8th Div” on front could be anyone’s guess really. Some say it relates to a ship number. There were 2 known ships w this number designation.
-A similar helmet sold in Europe which this similar 3 digit number treatment and according to him it was from an LST (Landing Ship Tank) used by American (later British) forces in the Sicily and Anzio landings as well as Normandy.
-Another “402” boat was a Destroyer mainly on Patrol in the Atlantic.
But like I said no provenance to back these up. So just riffing here. The name “Wolfe” is written inside. I am still researching and will update this thread when more comes to light.
This one was well preserved. Markings on front are in extremely nice condition and matches the rest of the helmet. In person I can see some denigration of the paint and discoloring...natural no artificial aging like we see in say Medic helms. The blue paint is in great shape too as well as the interior green. All Navy helmets came off the assembly line as green M1s. Then at the naval base or more so, on the boat they were painted a variety of colors. Mainly gray and blue. The exterior blue paint on this one was very thin as the original cork from the factory is well intact. Looks like it was painted once. As opposed to 50 times like more worn USN examples we see.
I cannot tell if this was a set (Liner and Helm) since the war but I can say that I find Westinghouse liners paired more often with Navy helmets than say the Army. Thats just my observation reading through here and USMF looking at examples. I don’t know if there was some special contract or supply chain arrangement between the Navy and Westinghouse. Nothing in my books mention it. I know Westinghouse was the most common liner maker regardless just something Ive noticed. Leather liner strap is missing on this one. Ive also found many Navy helmets are in this configuration.... Schlueter PLUS Swivel Loops
For me this is a really great helmet that for me has “the look” and I am enjoying having this one around fully. These Navy M1s were not very popular for a long time. But seems that they are having a “moment” currently. I took this one down to the beach for some natural habitat shots. Thanks for lookin!
Z
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by tank destroyer
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